'Racist' kicked out of BB house
2007-01-20 11:24
London - British television star Jade Goody, accused of being a racist bully for her treatment of Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty, was evicted from the Celebrity Big Brother show on Friday.
The 25-year-old was favourite to be kicked out by public vote after she was cast as the villain of a programme that triggered protests and dominated headlines in Britain and India, prompted a sponsor to pull out and threatened Goody's career.
After leaving the Big Brother House, which is cut off from the outside world, Goody appeared embarrassed after watching footage from the series and from recent news bulletins.
"I can't dignify myself because that video footage of myself is nasty," she said. "I'm not going to sit here and try and justify myself. Yes, I said those things and they were nasty."
But she denied she was a racist or a bully.
"I am not a racist and I sincerely ... apologise to anybody I've offended out there."
Goody, who rose to fame after a 2002 appearance on Big Brother, also hinted that she was concerned her career, built on reality television, could be in jeopardy.
Was it racism?
"It was the beginning of my career and it's the end of my career," she said before leaving the house.
Shetty, an A-list Indian star, was called a "dog" on the show. Housemates refused to learn her name, referred to her as "the Indian" and "Poppadom", and model Danielle Lloyd said: "She should f**k off home. She can't even speak English."
Internet chatrooms, newsrooms and newspapers have been abuzz with debate about whether what was said on the show was racism and to what extent Goody and her allies in the Big Brother House reflected prejudices in society at large.
Top politicians have weighed into the row, which dogged a visit to India by British finance minister Gordon Brown.
"There is a lot of support for Shilpa," said Brown in Mumbai. "It is pretty clear we are getting the message across. Britain is a nation of tolerance and fairness."
But Trevor Phillips, head of the Commission for Equality and Human Rights, doubted that events on Celebrity Big Brother were part of a broader problem.
"What we are seeing is a noxious brew of old-fashioned class conflict, straightforward bullying, ignorance and quite vicious racial bigotry," he said.
Shetty herself rowed back from earlier comments suggesting she was a victim of racism, and she and Goody hugged and made up on Thursday and Friday.
Channel 4, under pressure to limit the fallout, banned crowds gathering outside the house on Friday, meaning a surprised Goody was greeted by silence instead of shouts and cheers.
The channel, which has seen audiences jump by over two million viewers since the furore erupted, also cancelled a post-eviction press conference.
Carphone Warehouse, Europe's biggest cellphone retailer said it was pulling out of the show because it did not want to be associated with allegations of racist bullying.