Loose Women has been hit with 211 Ofcom complaints as viewers slammed Janet Street Porter for her comments about racism at the Ukrainian border in a heated debate with fellow panellist Charlene White
Loose Women has been hit with over 200 Ofcom complaints as the stars clashed about racism at the Ukrainian border.
Janet Street Porter and Charlene White got in a heated debate about the racism experienced by some refugees as they tried to flee Ukraine in the wake of the horrifying events happening there.
Charlene was left frustrated with Janet, with viewers convinced Janet was trying to ‘play down’ the racism some had experienced at the borders and took to Ofcom to complain over her comments.
Ofcom received 211 complaints for the segment, which aired at lunchtime on ITV on March 1
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180 complaints were made in relation to comments made as the pair discussed minority ethic refugees fleeing Ukraine, whilst 33 complaints related to a discussion about racism and the crisis in Ukraine.
During the original chat, Charlene addressed the problem faced by some refugees.
Discussing what was happening in Ukraine, Charlene explained: “But there is one thing that has really shone a light on where I’m concerned, that has really stuck out to me, is that in the midst of all of this, the midst of people trying to flee from their homes, the midst of them trying to dodge bullets and bombs, they still have time for racism.
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“Because you’ve got thousands of Black, Asian, Syrian, Arab students and workers who have also been trying to get out of Ukraine and have been prevented from doing so due to the incessant racism that they have experienced.
“They’ve not been allowed to go through the border into Poland from example, where they’ve been pushed back.”
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Detailing refugees’ struggles, she added: “There are posters up saying no black … It really does shine a light on the fact that it doesn’t matter how devastated someone is, how scared somebody is, it seems like there’s always time for one of the worst traits of society.”
However, Janet interrupted what she was saying to praise Poland for accepting 150,000 refugees.
“I hear what you saying, and I completely understand it and on the news last night, they did show some of the students talking about how bad they were treated and the effort it had taken for them to actually get on the train and get across the border,” she added.
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“But I also think Poland, for example, has exceeded all expectations in accepting 150,000 refugees.”
Charlene couldn’t believe what Janet said as she put her head in her hands.
“Oh my goodness! I understand that – but if you have thousands of refugees, you can’t stand there and say oh you 50 people come in, you four people with darker skin sorry,” she remarked as she fumed over the struggles some were facing at the border.
