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In a year of fiery conflicts and stormy TV segments, a war of words between veteran journalists and a Palestinian politician took the crown for the most lamented moment.
Julia Hartley-Brewer’s a heated exchange with Dr Mustafa Barghouti, secretary-general of the Palestinian National Initiative, on TalkTV received 17,366 complaints on January 3, media watchdog Ofcom announced.
The 56-year-old presenter discussed the war between Israel and Hamas with dr. Barghouti after a senior official in the militant group Hamas, Saleh Arouri, was killed.
She was seen getting upset with her guest and accused him of not letting her “finish her sentence”, saying “maybe you’re not used to women talking”, seemingly implying which meant his origin he didn’t like women talking.
After assessing the complaints, Ofcom said it had told TalkTV to “take particular care to ensure that potentially offensive comments are editorially justified”.
The volume of complaints received about the Hartley-Brewer interview was almost double the number of complaints about last year’s most complained about program – Laurence Fox’s “misogynistic comments” about journalist Ava Evansin which he asked “who would do that?” received 8,867 complaints.
The figures do not include complaints about the BBC, which are dealt with primarily by the corporation.
During the year, Ofcom received 69,080 complaints against 9,065 cases, which is down from 2023’s total of 69,236 complaints.
The watchdog also launched 43 investigations into broadcasting standards, finding in 40 of these cases that its rules had been breached.
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But Brewer’s conflict was not the only one that drew the ire of Ofcom. Below, we bring you the ten most divisive TV moments of 2024.
The 10 most complained about programs in 2024
‘I’m sorry to speak as a woman,’ Hartley-Brewer criticizes Dr Marghouti in Israel-Gaza war exchange
1. Julia Hartley-Brewer’s exchange with the Palestinian politician dr. by Mustafa Barghouti on her TalkTV show (17,366 complaints).
A heated conversation about the war between Israel and Hamas led to Hartley-Brewer being accused of stereotyping the community by suggesting Dr Barghouti was not allowing women like her to speak.
MP Zarah Sultan calls for Southport riots to be called ‘Islamophobic’ and ‘racist’
2. Interview with Coventry South MP Zarah Sultana and Home Secretary Yvette Cooper on ITV’s Good Morning Britain (16,851 complaints).
As Sultana tried to explain the importance of calling the riots “Islamophobic” and “racist”, Balls repeatedly interrupted her, accusing her of not answering his questions. Garraway was also criticized for appearing to subtly side with Balls by telling Sultana: “We have to ask you questions too”.
Viewers also addressed the fact that Yvette Cooper and Balls are married, questioning their impartiality, with around 1,000 complaints.
The media regulator said its assessment showed Sultana had been “given sufficient opportunity to express her views and answer the questions put to her”, and reminded ITV of the need to make connections, such as the fact that Balls and Cooper are married , be clear to viewers and their responsibility towards impartiality.
Love Islanders Joey and Sean take their behavior too far
3. The behavior of Love Island contestants Joey Essex and Sean Stone (1,832 complaints).
Viewers complained that Essex and Stone treated their fellow citizens as islanders Towie The star struggled to let go of her ex Grace Jones and hit out at winners Mimii Nguluba and Josh Ojinsan for not being genuinely interested in each other.
Stone was dubbed on social media as Essex’s “mate” while helping him in conflicts.
The XL bully discussion descends into chaos
4. The debate over whether XL thugs should be relegated to ITV Good morning Britain (1,777 complaints).
As the debate over XL bully dog ownership raged, viewers complained about an “insensitive” segment on GMB in which panelists debated whether the animals should be killed. The debate turned into chaos and “shouting”.
Emmerdale character Belle King’s dog is put down by an abusive husband
5. An Emmerdale story about dog poisoning (1,193 complaints).
Dog lovers have been left seriously outraged after Belle King’s abusive husband used a syringe to poison her dog Piper as part of an ongoing coercive control story.
Episodes of the ITV soap on May 27 and 28 prompted 1,193 complaints over scenes in which vet Tom King cruelly killed an innocent dog.
‘Stop the Boats’: Contestant slammed for offensive comment
6. Comment from Big brother contestant Sarah who some viewers found racially offensive (747 complaints).
Sara used the anti-immigration slogan “stop the boats” in her conversation with the black contestant Hana. The producers gave her a formal warning on the show.
Sunak v Starmer: ITV’s General Election Debate
7. ITV General Election Debate between Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer (710 complaints).
Viewers felt the Tory prime minister was having too much time to discuss his views ahead of the UK general election. Among complaints about the debate, viewers were left unhappy with the nature of the questions regarding Israel’s military action in Gaza.
Emergence of UK reform leader Nigel Farage Good morning Britain
8. Interview with Reform UK leader Nigel Farage on ITV’s Good Morning Britain (705 complaints).
Ofcom found that while the line of questioning was “robust”, Farage was given plenty of time to formulate and provide a response about his political policies.
Nick Ferrari accused of “trivializing” nut allergies
9. Broadcaster and LBC radio presenter Nick Ferrari’s comments on ITV This morning which some viewers claimed was a trivialized nut allergy (647 complaints).
Josie Gibson and Dermot O’Leary were presenting the ITV program when Ferrari responded to reports of a new dog-focused airline. He talked about what he’d like to see on airplanes, talking about peanuts and saying he couldn’t get them because people might “drop dead or something.”
Channel 4 removes the pro-Palestinian symbol from the contestant’s shirt
10. Complaints about images on Big Brother contestants’ T-shirts which were claimed to contain a pro-Palestinian symbol (553 complaints).
Contestant Ali Bromley, 38, who is a forensic psychologist, wore the T-shirt which shows a map of Israel as a watermelon on the show on Tuesday, October 22. Fans threatened to boycott the show as a result.
