An episode of Big Brother has been pulled from the ITV hub following a row over a contestant’s choice of clothing.
Forensic psychologist Ali Bromley was spotted wearing a T-shirt with an image of Palestine and Israel shaped like a watermelon. ITVX announced on X, formerly known as Twitter, that the episode was taken down “due to compliance reasons”.
Despite questions from viewers about the episode’s return, ITV has confirmed it is being edited and will be re-uploaded by late Wednesday night. The watermelon image is significant as it symbolises Palestinian resistance to occupation and is a globally recognised emblem of Palestinian solidarity on social media.
The watermelon’s colours correspond with the Palestinian flag, and after the Arab-Israeli war in 1967, public display of the flag was banned in Israel, a restriction lifted following the Oslo Accords in 1993.
Yet, last year, Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir ordered the removal of Palestinian flags from public spaces, as reported by the Mirror. Ali, who came out as a “late-in-life lesbian”, has also shown support for the transgender community, previously wearing a T-shirt proclaiming: “Trans rights are human rights,” reports the Manchester Evening News.
Following her appearance on the reality show sporting a watermelon T-shirt, she was met with both criticism and support. Some accused her and ITV of being insensitive, while others praised her for showing solidarity with Palestine.
The Campaign Against Antisemitism voiced their concerns about the T-shirt’s graphic, saying it “caused significant distress among the British Jewish community” and disclosed that they had filed a complaint with Ofcom. They also questioned: “How did the show’s staff allow this shirt to be worn, let alone broadcast it on national television? This incident represents a serious violation of broadcasting standards.”
On the flip side, many viewers celebrated Ali, with one stating: “Ali should be applauded for these t-shirts btw, first a trans rights are human rights shirt and a Palestine one. Honestly, queen s**t right there.”
Another admirer of Ali remarked: “I love how she’s brought in both pro-Palestine and pro-trans shirts, I just love this woman actually.”
Online speculation has been rampant about why the episode was taken down, with one viewer tweeting: “I hope this has nothing to do with Ali’s pro Palestine t-shirt. Big Brother is a social experiment, all walks of life with different views and opinions (Ali happens to have very good ones). Don’t go down this road.”
A punter vented their fury online, writing: “Shame on @ITV if this is about Ali’s Palestine t-shirt. There is literally a Palestinian refugee in the house who has talked about his struggles and you wanna edit out a watermelon. After an audience member had their Palestine flag ripped off them too, this is disgusting.”
Following a concern from a viewer about the missing segment, ITV confirmed that it would soon be available again. Tweeting back to the enquirer, the channel said: “Thank you for reaching out to us today. Hope you are well. Regarding your question about last night’s Big Brother show, we have some news, it will be available to view later this evening. We apologise for the inconvenience caused by this but the wait will be worth it.”
Big Brother have now released a statement saying: “All Housemate items are checked by our production team before they go into the Big Brother House to ensure they comply with the Rules and compliance requirements. Big Brother does not allow any personal items into the House that could be deemed harmful.
“We regret that the implications of this particular item of clothing were not fully understood in our bag checks or prior to broadcast of last night’s show. We apologise to any viewers who have been offended by the broadcast and assure viewers that Big Brother was unaware of the implications of the image.
“The item of clothing has been removed from the House. The Housemate has been spoken to and they have expressed that they are unaware of the implications and did not wish to cause any harm or offence. Any offensive messaging associated with the image does not reflect the values or beliefs of Big Brother.”
Big Brother airs Sundays to Fridays at 9pm on ITV2