Big Brother apologises to offended viewers and removes ITVX episode to edit housemate’s pro-Palestine T-shirt

Contestant Ali Bromley, aged 38, wore a top depicting a map of Israel as a watermelon on the show’s Tuesday episode (October 22).

The symbol, which is in the colours of the Palestinian flag, has become associated with the pro-Palestine movement amid the ongoing Gaza conflict. Bromley’s T-shirt has been reported to be a “Freedom Melon Tee” from Wear The Peace, which donates all of its proceeds to the charity Pious Projects of America, who use the funds to supply medical aid, food, water and other necessities to people in Gaza.

The controversy surrounding the top led to the broadcaster pulling an episode from ITVX and re-uploading an edited version. The outfit choice quickly caused outrage online, and The Campaign Against Antisemitism reported complaining to Ofcom. The organisation issued a statement stating: “How is this becoming the norm? This graphic has caused significant distress among the British Jewish community, who regard it as a genocidal message similar to the slogan ‘From the River to the Sea’, which calls for the elimination of the world’s only Jewish state.

They 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.”

The relevant episode was removed from ITVX on Tuesday night shortly after the controversy begin, and was re-uploaded to the streaming service the following day, (Wednesday October 23), which showed Bromley’s T-shirt edited to be plain black.

A spokesperson for Big Brother issued a statement earlier today (Thursday October 24), which read: “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 the 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.

They added that Bromley wasn’t aware of the meaning behind the T-shirt: “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.” They also affirmed that “any offensive messaging associated with the image does not reflect the values or beliefs of Big Brother”.

ITVX also took to X on Wednesday to answer a fan who had asked why the previous night’s episode was no longer available to view online. A spokesperson said: “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.”