By Annette Le Couteur
Celebrity Big Brother got off to a dramatic start after actor Jeremy Jackson and former Coronation Street Star Ken Morley got kicked off the show.
The popular reality TV show has never been one to shy away from controversy and this years television series is certainly following in the infamous footsteps of its predecessors.
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Disgraced actor Jeremy Jackson was the first to be unceremoniously evicted from the Big brother house after just three days of entering after being accused of exposing model Chloe Goodman’s breast from her dressing gown.
This came shortly after Jackson’s erratic behaviour had sparked concerns with fellow Big Brother contestant Perez Hilton who questioned Big Brother producer’s decision to allow the actor to enter the Big Brother house in the first place after claiming he was “mentally unstable” and “borderline scary.” The celebrity bloggers fears were justified considering Jackson’s chequered history of alcohol addiction and ironically, alcohol seemed to be the culprit behind the actors immoral actions due to the incident occurring directly after he began vomiting from a heavy night of drinking.
According to the Sun Newspaper, a source close to the star had also voiced their concerns about Jeremy’s state of mind and said: “Jeremy is not in a stable place at the moment. His divorce has left him utterly broken, and he has been suffering from a deep despair.
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“It is no excuse for how he behaved with Chloe, but he was drunk, and he just isn’t himself. It was a drunken mistake, but he realised too late.”
Shortly afterwards, former Coronation Street Actor Ken Morley was also given his marching orders for using the racially offensive term“negro” not once but twice. In the first incident Morley appeared to refer to American soul singer Alexander O’ Neal as a, “big fat negro” and then on the second occasion he made a jibe about former professional boxer Frank Bruno whom he had previously starred together in panto. Describing how Bruno had liked to play loud music in his dressing room, Morley told the boxer to: “Turn those negro rhythms down.” Being issued with a formal warning from Big Brother officials before wasn’t enough to see the shamed star change his ways and be saved from the chop. According to media regulator Ofcom 233 people complained about the actor.
This is not the first time Celebrity Big Brother has found itself in hot water with Ofcom. The shows most infamous point came in 2007 when 40,000 members of the outraged public complained about the racially abusive language bestowed upon Bollywood superstar Shilpa Shetty at the hands of the late Jade Goody. The controversy surrounding the bullying even crossed over into the world of politics when Gordan Brown, who was Chancellor at the time addressed the topic in India after protesters took to the streets and burned effigies of Jade Goody as well as the show’s producers. Mr Brown was pressured into defending Britain’s global image after the Big Brother incident had left the country’s reputation in shatters.
Based on the explosive events and inappropriate behaviour from celebrity house mates this series as well as the shows predecessors, one cannot help questioning whether Channel 5 bosses are solely or even partly to blame for the inappropriate behaviour that occurs within the house whilst under their supervision. Especially, considering they knew full well of Jeremy Jackson’s previous history of alcohol addiction and still insisted on supplying the house with alcoholic beverages. Could it be that the cataclysmic events surrounding the controversy are actually in fact a staged marketing tool for Big Brother to boost ratings and increase the show’s popularity in spite of knowing full well of the risks involved to contestants? They say bad publicity is better than no publicity at all and it seems Big Brother is reaping the benefits of the widespread attention events on the show have garnered since the series opened earlier this January. Perhaps Celebrity Big Brother host Emma Willis was prophesying what was to come when she declared on the opening night of the show: “The house mates are ready to start the first chapter. But will they live happily ever after. Fat Chance!”
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