Usually, these days, any reports on the fallout of the Shilpa Shetty-Big Brother controversy make my eyes glaze (v, intr) over but this one has potential – a “Best of ………” collection of the racist comments made that fateful season Shilpa Shetty was featured on the show including some unseen footage.
Channel 4, the media network that broadcast the controversial season of Celebrity Big Brother (1,2,3), got the proverbial gaand mein Danda from Channel 4’s real life big brother, OfCom.
From BBC (tip Karthik via email):
The watchdog found that Channel 4 made “serious editorial misjudgements” in its handling of the incidents involving Indian actress Shilpa Shetty.
Channel 4 has been ordered to broadcast a summary of Ofcom’s findings at the start of series eight next week.
OfCom is censuring Channel 4 for the broadcast of strong language including racist comments over its channels. Here’s a “Best of Big Brother racist comments”:
The first one was the now immortal clip of Jane Goody referring to Shilpa as “Poppadum“.
One was where Jade Goody referred to Shetty as “Shilpa Poppadom”
Wikipedia defines “Papadum” as “a thin South Asian wafer, sometimes described as a cracker“. Those who have seen the word “cracker” used elsewhere, will truly appreciate the irony.
the second was Lloyd telling Shetty in foul language that she should go home.
What actually happened on the show: Danielle Lloyd called Shilpa “a dog” and told her to “fuck off home”.
The third centred on an argument over Shetty cooking a chicken – Lloyd and O’Meara were both seen making offensive comments about Indian cooking.
What actually happened on the show: Jo O’Meara reached the brilliant conclusion that Indians were thin because they ate undercooked food.
Of course, no “Best of ……” compilation is complete without unseen footage.
In unseen footage from the show, Goody, O’Meara, Lloyd and Goody’s boyfriend, Jack Tweed, were seen making up a limerick about Shetty in which they joked about using a word which they said rhymed with “tacky”.
What BBC is not telling you: “Tacky” rhymes with “Paki“, a common slur for South Asians in Britain. Jack also referred to Shilpa as a “cunt”, which was bleeped out of the show.
That last incident is just a sample of the kind of racist bullying South Asian kids, specifically kids of Pakistani origin, have to undergo in schools and playgrounds in the UK. OfCom seizing the opportunity has suggested more censorship on Big Brother. While I’m against most forms of censorship, openly racist behavior on national TV is something we all can make an exception for. While the Big Brother controversy has outlived its 15 minutes, hopefully it has opened up more discussion of the issue of bullying and racism of South Asian kids.
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