The Laurence Fox rant on Dan Wootton Tonight is now comfortably the most complained about broadcast of the past two years while complaints have come flooding in for yet another GB News show, Lee Anderson‘s interview with Home Secretary Suella Braverman.
Another 1,500 complaints have been filed to regulator Ofcom over Fox’s rant, bringing the total close to 9,000 and meaning the edition has now totted up the most complaints since an episode of Love Island in August 2021, which attracted nearly 25,000.
The Dan Wootton Tonight episode, which has seen both Wootton and Fox suspended and Ofcom open an immediate investigation, featured Fox making highly misogynistic comments about female political journalist Ava Evans. He claimed no “self-respecting man” would “climb into bed” with her, while Wootton could be heard laughing before he later apologized on social media. Wootton has also had his MailOnline column terminated. Evans has said she has received multiple threats on social media.
GB News is currently being investigated for seven other Ofcom breaches and has already been rapped for three this year, while it was summoned for a meeting with the regulator several months ago following the second. One of the potential breaches pertains to Fox’s own show.
Lee Anderson
Meanwhile, complaints have come flooding in for an episode of Lee Anderson’s Real World during which the host, who is Deputy Chair of the Conservative Party, interviewed the Home Secretary.
As with many of the Ofcom investigations, the complaints relate to the issue of impartiality around politicians interviewing politicians who both represent the same party.
Anderson is a firebrand minister who has previously called for the return of the death penalty, while Braverman gave a speech at the Conservative Party Conference earlier this week in which she was heckled for perceived “transphobic” and “homophobic” remarks.
Ofcom does not necessarily investigate all the shows for which it receives a high number of complaints.
