Ofcom has confirmed it won’t be taking action after more than 8,000 complaints over Adjoa Andoh’s comments about the Royal Family during ITV’s coverage of the coronation.
The broadcasting watchdog has finished its assessment of complaints made about the Bridgerton star referring to a ‘terribly white balcony’ during the Coronation of King Charles III.
The 60-year-old actress 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.’
Now, Ofcom has said in a statement: ‘We have concluded our assessment of complaints we received about a comment made during ITV’s coverage of the Coronation of King Charles III, and can confirm we will not be pursuing these further.
‘We received 8,371 complaints from viewers about a comment made by actress Adjoa Andoh during the live broadcast, which focused on the appearance of the Royal Family on the balcony of Buckingham Palace.’
The organisation noted there were also people objecting to ‘references to the comment made by ITV News presenters Tom Bradby and Chris Ship’.
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However, the watchdog continued: ‘While we understand some viewers had strong feelings about this comment, after careful consideration we have concluded that the comment was a personal observation which was part of a wide-ranging panel discussion which also touched on other diversity-related topics, and which contained a range of viewpoints.
‘Our decision to not pursue these complaints further also takes into account broadcasters’ and guests’ right to freedom of expression.’
BBC bosses also faced backlash from annoyed listeners after a Radio 4 presenter reassured Andoh she ‘had nothing to apologise for’ in relation to her comments.
She had appeared on the station to explain her comments after the reaction they caused online, saying: ‘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.’
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Her comments have become the most complained about TV moment in 2023 thus far.
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Metro.co.uk has contacted representatives for Adjoa Andoh for comment.
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