BRITAIN: Big Brother player axed over race row

Already controversial reality show removes contestant for racial slur

Times of India
Friday, June 8, 2007

London --- In a mini re-run of the five-month-old racially-charged incidents revolving around Shilpa Shetty in the Celebrity Big Brother house, the show's broadcaster has had to remove a white English contestant for calling a black housemate "nigger".

But Big Brother's re-living of the racially-sensitive nightmare was tempered when Channel 4 swiftly removed a 19-year-old contestant from the Big Brother house. Emily Parr, the broadcaster said on Thursday, was removed for using a racially offensive word. Angela Jain, head of the Big Brother commissioning team said, "The word nigger is clearly racially offensive and there was no justification for its use."

Jain added that the decision swiftly to remove Parr had been taken in the wake of events involving Shetty. Late on Wednesday, Parr called black fellow contestant, Charley Uchea, "nigger" and was immediately called to order by British-Indian Nicky Maxwell who was present at the time.

The exchange, which is understood to have occurred when the three were dancing in the living room, involved Parr asking Uchea "Are you pushing it out, you nigger?" Maxwell immediately responded by telling Parr, "Erm, I can't believe you just said that." Uchea added, "You are in trouble (I am) in shock". Parr ended the conversation with the breezy plea: "Don't make a big thing out of it... I was joking."

A spokesman for the Britain's race relations watchdog, Commission For Racial Equality said: "This (removal of Parr) will show everyone that racism must never be tolerated in any way, shape or form".

But Jain insisted that the objectionable scenes would be broadcast on Thursday, and said, "I think people watching the show tonight will agree that Emily spoke carelessly rather than maliciously -- certainly Charley and Nicky, the two housemates most directly involved in the conversation with her, seemed to accept that she did."

Date Posted: 6/8/2007