So, you’re a disgraced British politician, looking for a way to reinsert yourself into public consciousness or hoping to line your pockets – to the tune of £1.5million – with a bit of extra cash. Well then, time to venture into the jungle to join the lineup for ITV’s I’m a Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here!
Last year, we had former health secretary/partygoer/adulterer Matt Hancock thrust upon us, and somehow it didn’t seem like ITV could stoop lower in their attempts to entice viewers and create punchy, drama-fuelled reality television. But as it was announced this week that Nigel Farage would be the next divisive political figure to join Ant and Dec and eleven fellow contestants on the hit show, it became evident that they can, and will.
It is clear what they’re doing – for all the outcry that this casting has prompted, it is a savvy move. Good television needs a villain, and Farage certainly fits that description. And let’s face it, many who despise him and all he stands for will likely tune in if only to revel in watching the Brexiteer eat a bull’s penis or something similarly disgusting.
But like Matt Hancock, Nigel Farage is not a pantomime villain to be paraded across our screens for an entertaining watch. He is a politician, one of the leading figures behind the Brexit campaign, the effects of which we are still facing today. He has previously called for immigrants with HIV to be barred from the UK, as well as defending the use of slurs against Chinese people. For ITV to give a platform to someone many consider to be xenophobic and bigoted who champions hatred towards immigrants is cynical.
In light of Hancock’s appearance on I’m a Celebrity last year, should we be worried that this is to become an alarming new avenue for hated politicians to redeem, or at least “fun-wash” their public image?
It’s a cheap bid to boost ratings, though if #BoycottImACeleb trending online is anything to go by, it may just backfire on ITV. The general outrage at the production company for rewarding hateful rhetoric suggests an error of judgment in this case – though similar disgust was expressed in response to Hancock’s appearance, and he made it to the top three.
I’m a Celebrity is reality television, and of course it would be naïve to suggest that they would select a cast of exclusively unproblematic, likeable personalities. But the blurring of lines between powerful politicians and divisive pop culture figures is troubling, not to mention a slap in the face to audiences – and other contestants – whose lives have been inextricably altered by the policies of these individuals and their parties.
There is accountability here, and it falls on the producers of I’m a Celebrity who will seemingly cast anyone if it gets people talking about their show. We know Farage is morally desolate – so the blame falls on ITV for giving him a platform. Hancock, Farage, who next? Maybe we’ll see Suella Braverman in a bushtucker trial this time next year.
“Nigel Farage” by Michael Vadon is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.
Related
Nigel Farage is not a celebrity: get him out of here
So, you’re a disgraced British politician, looking for a way to reinsert yourself into public consciousness or hoping to line your pockets – to the tune of £1.5million – with a bit of extra cash. Well then, time to venture into the jungle to join the lineup for ITV’s I’m a Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here!
Last year, we had former health secretary/partygoer/adulterer Matt Hancock thrust upon us, and somehow it didn’t seem like ITV could stoop lower in their attempts to entice viewers and create punchy, drama-fuelled reality television. But as it was announced this week that Nigel Farage would be the next divisive political figure to join Ant and Dec and eleven fellow contestants on the hit show, it became evident that they can, and will.
It is clear what they’re doing – for all the outcry that this casting has prompted, it is a savvy move. Good television needs a villain, and Farage certainly fits that description. And let’s face it, many who despise him and all he stands for will likely tune in if only to revel in watching the Brexiteer eat a bull’s penis or something similarly disgusting.
But like Matt Hancock, Nigel Farage is not a pantomime villain to be paraded across our screens for an entertaining watch. He is a politician, one of the leading figures behind the Brexit campaign, the effects of which we are still facing today. He has previously called for immigrants with HIV to be barred from the UK, as well as defending the use of slurs against Chinese people. For ITV to give a platform to someone many consider to be xenophobic and bigoted who champions hatred towards immigrants is cynical.
In light of Hancock’s appearance on I’m a Celebrity last year, should we be worried that this is to become an alarming new avenue for hated politicians to redeem, or at least “fun-wash” their public image?
It’s a cheap bid to boost ratings, though if #BoycottImACeleb trending online is anything to go by, it may just backfire on ITV. The general outrage at the production company for rewarding hateful rhetoric suggests an error of judgment in this case – though similar disgust was expressed in response to Hancock’s appearance, and he made it to the top three.
I’m a Celebrity is reality television, and of course it would be naïve to suggest that they would select a cast of exclusively unproblematic, likeable personalities. But the blurring of lines between powerful politicians and divisive pop culture figures is troubling, not to mention a slap in the face to audiences – and other contestants – whose lives have been inextricably altered by the policies of these individuals and their parties.
There is accountability here, and it falls on the producers of I’m a Celebrity who will seemingly cast anyone if it gets people talking about their show. We know Farage is morally desolate – so the blame falls on ITV for giving him a platform. Hancock, Farage, who next? Maybe we’ll see Suella Braverman in a bushtucker trial this time next year.
“Nigel Farage” by Michael Vadon is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.
Share this:
Like this:
Related