After receiving over 8,000 complaints concerning Adjoa Andoh’s statements against the Royal Family during ITV’s broadcast of the coronation, Ofcom has announced that it will not take action.
The broadcasting watchdog has completed its investigation after complaints regarding the Bridgerton star alluding to a ‘terribly white balcony’ at King Charles III’s Coronation.
‘Looking at all those young people, there is a portion of me that has gone from the rich diversity of the Abbey to the dreadfully white balcony,’ the 60-year-old actress added.
‘We have finalised our examination of complaints we received concerning a comment made during ITV’s broadcast of King Charles III’s Coronation, and can confirm we will not be pursuing them further,’ stated Ofcom in a statement.
‘We received 8,371 complaints from viewers about a comment made by actress Adjoa Andoh during the live broadcast, which focused on the appearance of the Royal Family on the balcony of Buckingham Palace.’
The organisation noted there were also people objecting to ‘references to the comment made by ITV News presenters Tom Bradby and Chris Ship’.
‘While we understand some viewers had strong feelings about this comment, after careful consideration, we have concluded that the comment was a personal observation that was part of a wide-ranging panel discussion that also touched on other diversity-related topics and contained a range of viewpoints,’ the watchdog continued.
‘Our decision to not pursue these complaints further also takes into account broadcasters’ and guests’ right to freedom of expression.’
BBC executives also received blowback from irritated listeners when a Radio 4 presenter told Andoh that she ‘had nothing to answer for’ in connection to her statements.
‘I suppose I offended a few people yesterday I was talking about the day and how amazing it was and then gazing over the balcony at the end,’ she said on the station after her comments sparked outrage online.
‘And I suddenly went “ooh, it’s so white” – because the day had been so so mixed. I didn’t mean to upset anybody.’
Her remarks have been the most discussed TV moment of 2023 so far.
Source My Celebrity Life.