ITV and Banijay have apologized after Big Brother UK featured a housemate wearing a pro-Palestine T-shirt depicting the map of Israel as a watermelon.
Tuesday’s episode of the reality show was removed from streaming service ITVX and later restored with contestant Ali Bromley’s garment cut out of certain shots.
The Campaign Against Antisemitism said the shirt had caused “significant distress” among the Jewish community and that it had lodged a complaint with Ofcom, the UK media regulator.
The watermelon has become a symbol of the Palestinian flag, which when depicted as a map of Israel can indicate support for the erasure of the Jewish state.
The shirt appears to be a “Freedom Melon Tee” from Wear the Peace. Profits from the sale of the shirt are donated to Pious Projects, a U.S. charity that supplies food, water, and medical aid to Gaza.
A spokesperson for Big Brother, which is produced by Banijay-owned Initial, said the show regretted that the meaning of the T-shirt was not recognized before Bromley entered the house.
“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. Any offensive messaging associated with the image does not reflect the values or beliefs of Big Brother,” the spokesperson said.
They continued: “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 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.”
Before entering the Big Brother house, Bromley said she can be outspoken: “If someone does something I think maybe isn’t kind, or could have been a bit better thought through, I have this thing where I tend to tell people. I can be quite direct. It doesn’t always land well.”