Jade Goody Fans

A record 22,000 complaints have been received by OFCOM and Channel 4 collectively, making the Celebrity Big Brother the most complained about show in UK history. The complaints relate to the alleged calling "Shilpa a paki" racism by several of the housemates. Viewers were outraged by "ganging up" on the actress by Danielle Lloyd, Jo O'Meara and Jade Goody 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 Tweedy 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."

On 17th January 2007, the racism row attracted much media attention, with it being the leading story on many news programmes and on the front covers of many national newspapers. The story also made international news - especially in Italy and Portugal. The row continues to escalate. Ofcom and Channel 4 received over 21,000 complaints about the allegations by the afternoon of January 17th, with further complaints being received continuously.

In India protesters have started burning effigies in the street over the Celebrity Big Brother reality television show.

Channel 4 issued a statement over the alleged racism on the 17th of January 2007, it read:

"To date there has been no overt racial abuse or racist behaviour directed against Shilpa Shetty within the Big Brother house. However there has undoubtedly been a cultural and class clash between her and three of the British females in the house. Unambiguous racist behaviour and language is not tolerated under any circumstances in the Big Brother house. Housemates are constantly monitored and Channel 4 would intervene if a clear instance of this arose. It is in the nature of Big Brother that conflicts arise and housemates are encouraged to resolve issues among themselves. Shilpa has not voiced any concerns of racial abuse to Big Brother. Housemates have access to support from Big Brother at all times. The issue of whether there is racism in the CBB House has been discussed on Channel 4's companion programmes CBBLB and BB's BM and a range of views has been aired, including those of BB viewers."

The controversy has attracted political attention, with Prime Minister Tony Blair, MP Gordon Brown and Mayor of London Ken Livingstone commenting on the issue.

Gordon Brown said:

"I understand that in the UK there have already been 10,000 complaints from viewers about these remarks, which people see, rightly, as offensive. I want Britain to be seen as a country of fairness and tolerance. Anything detracting from this I condemn."

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Linked from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shilpa_Shetty