Susanna Reid has backed Fiona Bruce in the aftermath of the Question Time debacle, calling her treatment ‘outrageous’.
Bruce, 58, said this week that she was stepping down as an ambassador for the charity Refuge after being accused of trivialising domestic abuse on the BBC show.
In discussing an alleged domestic violence event in which Stanley Johnson’s wife claimed that he smashed her nose, the TV host stated, ‘Stanley Johnson has not spoken publicly on that. Friends of his stated it did happen, but it was a one-time occurrence.’
Following backlash online, Bruce said in a statement declaring her resignation from her role at Refuge: ‘Last week on Question Time, I was required to legally contextualise a question about Stanley Johnson. Those words have been taken as an expression of my own opinions which they are absolutely not, and as a minimising of domestic abuse, which I would never do.’
‘I know survivors of domestic abuse have been distressed by what I was required to say on-air.’ she said. ‘For that, I am deeply sorry. I cannot change what I was required to say, but I can apologise for the very real impact that I can see it has had.’
Reid, 52, discussed Bruce’s choice with co-host Ed Balls, 56, and a panel of guests on Tuesday’s Good Morning Britain, following the harsh criticism she got on social media for her talk with Yasmin Alibhai-Brown about Johnson on Question Time.
‘Yasmin, as you saw in that clip, then pointed out the allegation that was made about Stanley Johnson. It was incumbent on Fiona Bruce, as the host of that panel, to – as she says – contextualise it,’ Reid said.
Balls then chimed in to add: ‘Can I just say Susanna, I’ve actually seen this in the last year, which I’ve never experienced before, when you do that, which is put the other side, which is our responsibility when we’re doing the roles we’re playing, you get these pile-ons on social media where people assume that if we say that, that’s what we believe.
‘That’s what happened to Fiona Bruce. She wasn’t saying that she believed that, she was saying that’s what the other side said.’
‘She very clearly emphasises in that footage that she is contextualising it and offering the right of reply,’ Reid noted, emphasising her defence of Bruce. She wasn’t debating Yasmin Alibhai-Brown. It’s absurd that she’s being held personally responsible.’
However, Balls believes that Refuge should have backed Bruce more strongly in its statement.
Following the newsreader’s announcement that she would no longer be an ambassador for the organisation, Refuge issued the following statement: ‘Refuge’s position was, and remains, clear – domestic abuse is never a “one-off,” it is a pattern of behaviour that can manifest in a variety of ways, including but not limited to physical abuse. Domestic violence should never be tolerated.’
The organisation talked with survivors of domestic violence, who described how ‘devastating’ the phrasing was for them, adding, ‘Although we know the words were not Fiona’s own and were words she was legally required to read out, this does not minimise their impact, and we must lose sight of that.’
The organisation stated that the words’minimized the nature of domestic violence and has been retraumatizing for survivors,’ adding that their focus’must stay’ on survivors, stating: ‘Every two minutes, someone comes to Refuge for help, and our priority is the women and children who need us.’
Good Morning Britain airs weekdays from 6am on ITV.
Source My Celebrity Life.