BBC upholds complaints over Victoria Beckham slur on Have I Got News For You
The BBC's Executive Complaints Unit has upheld complaints about a remark linking Victoria Beckham to a swear word on an episode of Have I Got News For You hosted by Katherine Ryan.
The BBC has upheld complaints about a remark broadcast on Have I Got News For You that linked Victoria Beckham to a swear word, the corporation’s Executive Complaints Unit (ECU) has ruled, the BBC reported on Thursday.
The complaint concerned an episode from 7 November last year, hosted by comedian Katherine Ryan, in which the panel discussed an email allegedly sent by Sir David Beckham in which he used the c-word. Ryan told the panellists: “I don’t know that we are allowed to broadcast the c-word, but you did reference Victoria Beckham earlier and we’ll allow that.”
Two viewers complained that the remark was gratuitously offensive, and the ECU found there was no editorial justification for a comment which “presented Victoria Beckham as equivalent to a particularly offensive word”.
The segment aired as the panel discussed Sir David’s investiture by the King. The emails in question date to a 2013 leak; at the time, a representative for Sir David said the reports were “based on outdated material taken out of context from hacked and doctored private emails from a third-party server”.
Sources
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