Big Brother UK faces backlash for removing pro-Palestine symbol from contestant’s T-shirt

British broadcaster ITV faced backlash for removing a pro-Palestinian symbol from the shirt of a Big Brother reality show contestant during a recent episode.

The international reality show, first aired in the Netherlands, has various adaptations around the world, including Bigg Boss in India and Tamasha Ghar in Pakistan.

In the show, a group of people are placed together in a house with surveillance cameras and microphones. The housemates are isolated from the outside world and are free to act as they wish.

The controversy arose after Tuesday night’s episode, in which a contestant, Ali Bromley appeared wearing a T-shirt featuring a map of Palestine with watermelon theme – a widely recognised symbol of the Palestinian liberation movement.

According to the BBC, the episode was pulled from ITV's streaming platform, ITVX, and was later reshared with the contestant Ali's T-shirt edited to remove the symbol, following a complaint from an Israeli NGO.

.@ITV @ITVX aired Nathan’s anti-immigrant/pro-Farage views. all of Marcello’s misogynistic/pro-Trump comments and Khaled and Ryan’s “anti-woke” views.

Yet Ali wearing an anti-genocide symbol of Palestinian liberation gets censored? #BBUK #BigBrotherUK #FreePalestine pic.twitter.com/6my0HuXX2l

— haz ☭ (@emopunkloser) October 23, 2024

A pro-Israeli organisation, Campaign Against Antisemitism, complained on X about Ali's shirt, which they claimed caused “distress among the British Jewish community.”

“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,” the post read.

How is this becoming the norm?

A Big Brother (@bbuk) ‘housemate’ was seen wearing a T-shirt depicting the map of Israel as a watermelon—a symbol widely associated with anti-Israel sentiment. This graphic has caused significant distress among the British Jewish community, who… pic.twitter.com/NNaOOuojz0

— Campaign Against Antisemitism (@antisemitism) October 23, 2024

The T-shirt was from Wear the Peace, a pro-Palestinian brand that donates proceeds from its sales to Palestine. The brand expressed outrage on Instagram over the censorship, stating, “Everything pisses them off except for the genocide.”

Pro-Palestine shirts from Wear the Peace went viral when Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner’s 18-year-old daughter was seen wearing a black sweatshirt featuring a watermelon in the shape of Palestine’s map.

According to the BBC, Ali Bromley told ITV she was unaware that the symbol on her shirt could result in a controversy and emphasised that she did not intend to offend anyone.

The British broadcaster issued an apology, stating that the item had been removed from the house and that the contestant did not realise the implications of wearing the symbol on the show.