Record complaints after royals labelled ‘terribly white’

The most complained about TV moment so far in 2023 was a comment about the Royal family being ‘terribly white.’

Ofcom has so far received 4165 complaints after Bridgerton star Adjoa Andoh, whose father was from Ghana, commented on the ethnicity of members of the royal family who were gathered on the balcony at Buckingham Palace according to Metro.

On ITV’s coverage of the King’s coronation last Saturday, May 6, 60-year-old Ms Andoh said, ‘Looking at all those young people, there is a bit of me that has gone from the rich diversity of the Abbey to the terribly white balcony, I’m very struck by that.’

The 60-year-old actress continued, ‘I am also looking at those younger generations and thinking, “What are the nuances that they will inhabit as they grow?” Nuances that Charles has exhibited, from a teenager into early 20s young man.’

In light of the public reaction to her comments, she was featured on BBC Radio 4 the next day. In an interview, she attempted to clarify her comments and said, ‘I think I upset a few people yesterday I was talking about the day and how marvellous it was and then looking at the balcony at the end.

‘And I suddenly went “ooh, it’s so white,” because the day had been so so mixed. I didn’t mean to upset anybody, I just was…’

BBC’s Paddy O’Connell interjected and said she ‘had nothing to apologise for’ and added, ‘you haven’t upset anyone.’

Social media has been alive with posts about the controversy over Andoh’s comments and that of interviewer O’Connell.

Someone tweeted, ‘I’m disappointed in Adjoa Andoh. The Coronation focused on promoting positive race relations & representing modern Britain.

‘There were many people from diverse backgrounds who had prominent positions yesterday, and yet Adjoa chose to discriminate with her divisive comment.’

Another disgruntled viewer added, ‘why is it OK to dismiss a white family for being white?’

Regarding the comments from Paddy O’Connell, one said,‘It’s bad enough that someone can get away with saying that on national TV. But when she said on BBC Radio 4 “I didn’t mean to upset anybody” Paddy O’Connell came out with “You haven’t upset anyone.”’

one person referred to O’Connell as an ‘enabler’ as one raged: ‘Please don’t speak for me!’

In response, Ofcom released a statement, ‘We are assessing the complaints against our broadcasting rules, before deciding whether or not to investigate.’