Bollywood vs. Brits
Out of context: Reply #17
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- Jaline0
From Wikipedia (yeah, yeah, non-academic source but lots of things are true):
'Racism controversy
A record 12,000 complaints have been received by OFCOM and Channel 4 relating to alleged racism against Shetty by several of the housemates. Viewers were outraged by "ganging up" on the actress by Jade Goody, Jo O'Meara and Danielle Lloyd poking fun of her accent, and voiced their concerns on Internet forums. Shetty had been branded a "dog" by Lloyd and former housemate Jackiey Budden was unable to pronounce her name properly, instead referring to her as "The Indian". Jack Tweed allegedly called her a "fucking Paki" although show producers have denied this, stating that the actual word used was "cunt". Danielle Lloyd also referred to Shetty as 'a bitch'. After Shetty had accidentally undercooked a chicken, derogatory comments were made about Indians' habitual ill-health.
When the actress cooked chicken curry for her housemates, contestant Jo O’Meara refused to eat it, saying she didn’t “trust” it and was “scared.” She also did impressions of Shetty’s accent and protested that the actress had “touched housemates’ food with her hands” (to which fellow contestant Danielle Lloyd replied that “they eat with their hands in India...you don’t know where her hands have been").
Former housemate Carole Malone told the BBC Asian Network that the attacks were motivated by "jealousy" over her beauty and success, and anti-bullying campaigners have demanded action. The charity Act Against Bullying dropped Goody from their list of patrons in spite of the latter's past support, branding her behaviour as "unforgivable". The controversy even reached the British Parliament as Labour MP Keith Vaz tabled an early day motion in the House of Commons about the racist treatment, saying: "We would not tolerate this kind of racism on other types of television programme and we should not do so on a programme that is watched by millions of people." Shetty's mother, Sunanda, told the BBC's Asian Network that she hoped her daughter would be able to handle the situation.
Channel 4 had earlier dismissed the controversy as "girly rivalry" but said that it was taking the matter seriously. An official spokesman said that the show does not tolerate bullying or racism, and that close monitoring of the housemates would result in "appropriate measures to reprimand such behaviour where necessary." '