Broadcasting regulator Ofcom has rejected 527 complaints regarding allegations of bullying in January’s Celebrity Big Brother.
The majority of the complaints related to American rapper Coolio’s treatment of female housemates in the series, and in particular ex-Liberty X singer Michelle Heaton, although some complained that he was being ‘negatively stereotyped’.
In its’ ruling, Ofcom noted that Big Brother will ‘almost inevitably contain controversial material’ and that the show’s audience has come to expect such material to be broadcast.
They said: “Ofcom recognises that arguments, disagreements and name calling between Housemates is anticipated by many viewers of Celebrity Big Brother.
“It is important that Channel 4 accurately reflects what has happened in the House so that viewers are adequately informed regarding the characters and conduct of individual Housemates.
“Were Channel 4 to ’sanitise’ events which occurred in the House it could be seen as an attempt to manipulate voting.
Ofcom was satisfied that enough was done to ease conflicts. They added: “The Housemates did work towards defusing tense situations themselves and, where necessary, Channel 4 through Big Brother intervened.
“As a consequence we did not consider that compliance with the Broadcasting Code had been brought into question by Channel 4’s handling of the conduct exhibited in this particular series.”
A Channel 4 spokeswoman told the Guardian: “Channel 4 has robust procedures in place to safeguard housemates’ welfare and avoid any harm or offence to fellow housemates or viewers, and Big Brother will intervene as and when necessary.
“We are pleased that Ofcom have decided not to pursue an investigation into Celebrity Big Brother 6, and their report noted that the mechanism of allowing housemates to police themselves and their relationships worked effectively in this series.”
Ofcom previously cleared nearly five thousand complaints relating to last summer’s ninth main series of Big Brother.
Stick with bbspy…
