Big Brother has edited out an image of a symbol “widely associated with anti-Israel sentiment” from the T-shirt of one of its contestants.
Ali Bromley, a London-based forensic psychologist, wore a T-shirt on the ITV2 show on Tuesday featuring a slice of watermelon that appeared to be in the colours of the Palestinian flag – red, green, white and black.
The Campaign Against Antisemitism wrote on the X social media platform that the T-shirt “depicts the map of Israel as a watermelon – a symbol widely associated with anti-Israel sentiment”.
The reality show issued a statement today apologising to viewers “who have been offended” and said episodes of Big Brother and Big Brother Late & Live had been edited to remove the image.
Images shared on social media show how the contestant was wearing a black T-shirt with the watermelon symbol in the original episodes.
However, the episodes now available on ITVX show her T-shirt to be completely black.
A Big Brother spokesman said in a statement: “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 (Tuesday)’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 item of clothing has been removed from 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.”
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The Campaign Against Antisemitism, which has made various complaints about TV programmes amid the war in the Middle East, also questioned how the programme’s production staff allowed the T-shirt to be “worn, let alone broadcast it on national television”.
The watermelon symbol’s link to the pro-Palestinian movement goes back decades.
As the Palestinian flag was subjected to bans and restrictions within Israel at different points in time, the watermelon became a substitute for the Palestinian movement.
The fruit has been seen on placards at pro-Palestinian marches since war broke out in Gaza following the Hamas attacks on 7 October 2023.