BBC responds after editing out slogan on Strictly Come Dancing star Bethany Antonia's t-shirt
The BBC have responded after they edited out a message saying 'Protect The Dolls' on the shirt of Strictly Come Dancing contestant Bethany Antonia.
The House of the Dragon star is competing in the dancing show with professional partner Nancy Xu, and in footage of them rehearsing the dance for American Smooth she was wearing a t-shirt with the message on it.
'Protect The Dolls' is a slogan used by those wishing to signal allyship to the transgender community, with 'dolls' being a positive slang term for a trans woman that has its origins in the 1980s.
T-shirts with the message on it have raised over $600,000 for Trans Lifeline, the first transgender crisis hotline in the US where all of the operators are trans themselves.
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They've been worn by the likes of Pedro Pascal, Troye Sivan, Addison Rae, Tilda Swinton and Charli XCX, and were created by fashion designer Connor Ives.
Rehearsal footage from the side showed the shirt Antonia was wearing, but a front view of the actor had the message on her clothes appeared to have been blurred out.
It was noticed by viewers, many of whom took to social media to boost the 'Protect The Dolls' message, and the BBC has since issued a statement regarding the decision to blur it out.
They said: "As is standard practice on any entertainment show on the BBC and in line with our editorial guidelines, appropriate steps are taken to reduce the inclusion of any overt branding or slogans that may be present, regardless of the wording or statement in question."
Strictly fans have complained that blurring out the slogan 'doesn't seem very impartial' and that it was 'just pathetic' to remove it.
Someone else said that the 'overlap is massive' between people who would support the 'Protect The Dolls' message and fans of a show about ballroom dancing, as another told them 'you know the audience for this show'.
There were viewers saying that if 'poppies are ok' then messages showing support for a charity should be too.
Lots of viewers heaped praise on Bethany Antonia, saying it was 'even more reason' to appreciate her.
Someone else arguing the opposite position claimed that if the BBC started letting celebrities 'include political statements in light entertainment shows' then it would grow until there was 'a big fight' over what was allowed and what wasn't.
Others said they remembered when Kaiser Chiefs frontman Ricky Wilson appeared on Michael McIntyre's Big Show wearing a shirt that said 'Trans Rights Are Human Rights' which was blurred out when he was on camera.
In the aftermath of that the BBC released the same statement they put out regarding Bethany Antonia's shirt on Strictly Come Dancing.
Topics: Strictly Come Dancing, Celebrity, LGBTQ, BBC
Joe Harker