Ofcom dismisses complaints about ‘offensive’ gay best friend discussion on Loose Women
Ofcom has cleared the ITV chat show Loose Women, after complaints regarding comments made about gay men in November.
Ruth Langsford started the the discussion about whether “every woman should have a gay best friend”.
She then went on to joke that gay men are a “must-have accessory that every woman needs”.
The outrage initially started from a post on their Facebook page: “A new study has found that becoming friends with gay men may be a key part of women’s ‘mating strategies’.”
Many people took to social media to criticise the topic for relying on stereotypes and treating gay men as accessories:
@loosewomen I’m not a fucking accessory.
— Jack Robert (@jackrobjacks) November 25, 2016
Oh @loosewomen are referring to gay men as an ‘accessory every woman needs’ how derogatory. REALLY!? Come on! #LooseWomen
— Thom McCaffrey (@thomjamesmcc) November 24, 2016
Love casual homophobia. Well done @loosewomen pic.twitter.com/thGcKhTnbX
— Calum (@tr4ngpak) November 24, 2016
However, Ofcom has now rejected the complaints.
The show has come under fire many times in the past for it controversial opinions. There was a backlash in 2015 when it drew criticism for an “uneducated” and “unacceptable” discussion about transgender issues during which it was labelled the new “in thing” with adolescents, like self-harm and bulimia. In the same year, Coleen Nolan compared gay rights to supporting ISIS.
More stories:
The 5 hottest trends from London Fashion Week Men’s
17-year-old boy ‘stabbed to death by mother’ because he was gay