Rachna Prasad for NDTV
London/New Delhi, Jan 19: In a complete turnaround, Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty says that she did not feel any racial discrimination from her housemates on the sets of reality TV show Big Brother.
In reaction to the allegations of racism in the show, Carphone Warehouse announced that it was withdrawing its sponsorship.
"Our concern has rapidly mounted about the broadcast behaviour of individuals within the Big Brother house,” said Charles Dunstone, CEO of The Carphone Warehouse in a statement.
“We are totally against all forms of racism and bullying and indeed this behaviour is entirely at odds with the brand values of The Carphone Warehouse. We have instructed Channel 4 to remove our sponsorship name and branding with immediate effect," he added.
Soon after, the heroine of the story seemed to do an about turn. When Shilpa was asked on the show about her earlier remark on being discriminated against because of her race, she said:
"No actually I take that back. I thought it was because everybody was having an argument with me and I take that back. I don't think that is true, you know people say things in a fit of anger and, I stand corrected," said Shilpa Shetty.
"I would like you to please clarify and put this as a statement from my side if you can. That I don't feel there was any racial discrimination happening from Jade's end. I think that there are a lot of insecurities from her end but it's definitely not racial," she added.
High viewership
Meanwhile, all the controversies have taken the show's viewership through the roof. It climbed to 5.2 million from two million before the racism controversy began.
The show's broadcasters say they are glad the show has started the debate.
"In my view, it is unquestionably a good thing that the programme has raised these issues and provoked such a debate. These attitudes, however distasteful, do persist,” said Andy Duncan, Channel 4 Chief Executive.
“We cannot with certainty, say that the comments directed at Shilpa have been racially motivated, or whether they stem from broader cultural and social differences," he added.
Monitoring show
Earlier, Ofcom, UK's media watchdog said they were taking the allegations of racism very seriously. They have so far got 27,000 complaints against the show.
"We are monitoring the situation very, very closely. Clearly what is happening is very serious. Any allegation of racism is a very serious matter, so that is what we are doing at the moment. It's obviously Channel 4's responsibility to respond to what are clearly very significant viewer concerns," said Ed Richards, Chief Executive, Ofcom.
With the sponsors pulling out and another round of evictions on Friday with both Shilpa and her most vocal opponent Jade Goody nominated for it, it's not surprising that the controversy has peaked.