‘Big Brother’ apologises and edits out housemate’s pro-Palestine t-shirt

The image of a housemate's t-shirt depicting an Israeli map as a watermelon was included on the original broadcast

ITV have apologised and removed the image of a housemate wearing a pro-Palestine t-shirt during an episode of Big Brother.

On the original broadcast of Tuesday’s instalment of the long-running reality show, contestant Ali Bromley was seen wearing a t-shirt that depicted a map of Israel as a watermelon.

The image has been interpreted by many as a symbolic message of support for the erasure of the Israeli state, with watermelons commonly used to represent the Palestinian flag.

After the Campaign Against Antisemitism said they lodged a complaint with media regulator Ofcom in response to the image being broadcast, ITV temporarily removed the episode from their streaming platform, later restoring it with the t-shirt now removed.

A spokesperson for Banijay, the producers of Big Brother, said (via Deadline): “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.

“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.

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“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.”

The reality show is currently in the middle of its 21st season, which launched on October 6 on ITV2. The opening episode drew its lowest first night viewing ratings ever, being watched by 825,000 viewers during its live broadcast.

16 competitors entered the custom-built Big Brother house on the show, all hoping to eventually pick up the £100,000 prize in the show’s finale in 41 days’ time.

The series was acquired by ITV in 2023, with the current season being the second regular run since its debut on the network. It is expected to conclude on November 15.