Big Brother Racism Complaints Reach An Estimated 20,000
An estimated 20,000 complaints have been made to Channel 4 and Ofcom about racist abuse on Celebrity Big Brother.
Reports in the trade press claim that the majority of the complaints received by both Ofcom and Channel 4 are in relation to comments made towards Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty by contestants Jack Tweed, Jackiey Goody and Jo O’Meara.
Channel 4 said that it would take any allegation of racism on the programme extremely seriously, and added that it is closely monitoring the actions of all the housemates.
Apparently several websites have been urging viewers to complain to Channel 4 and Ofcom about the perceived racism in the house.
The number of complaints has risen rapidly since Monday, when Ofcom confirmed that it had received over 200 complaints about racism on the show.
There have also been rumours that the show’s sponsor, Carphone Warehouse, is unhappy with the current controversy and may be about to pull out of its sponsorship of the show.
A Channel 4 spokeswoman said that the broadcaster had received no complaints from Shetty, and that Ofcom had not been in touch concerning viewers complaining of racism towards Shetty.
In a statement, the broadcaster said: “Matters of bullying or racial abuse in any form are taken extremely seriously by Channel 4 and Endemol. The nature of the show often includes incidents where conflicts arise and housemates are encouraged to resolve issues among themselves.
“Housemates are closely monitored at all times to ensure they have the appropriate support inside the house which includes being able to talk in confidence to producers. Shilpa herself has not voiced any concerns of racial slurs or bullying against her.
“Appropriate measures to reprimand individual behaviour would take place where necessary.”
The racism row is also set to reach Parliament with Leicester East MP Keith Vaz tabling an Early Day Motion after being contacted by his constituents.
Viewing figures for this year’s Celebrity Big Brother have been relatively consistent, settling at a peak of around 3.5 million adult viewers per show, with Monday and Tuesday night’s programmes attracting 3.3 and 3.8 million adults respectively (see New Programmes Give Networks A New Year Boost).
Following the furore over the alleged racist bullying, Celebrity Big Brother‘s ratings rose, reaching a peak of 4.3 million adults for yesterday’s show.
Channel Four: 020 7396 4444 www.channel4.com Ofcom: 020 7981 3040 www.ofcom.org.uk