Channel 4 hit with huge blow after controversial Bonnie Blue documentary
Channel 4 has found itself at the centre of the storm after airing a controversial documentary about adult content creator Bonnie Blue, having been dealt a further blow amid continuing backlash from viewers.
Aired last week on the channel, the one-hour documentary chronicles adult star Bonnie Blue's (real name Tia Billinger) rise to fame, as well as her shocking sex stunts which included sleeping with 1,057 men in 12 hours.
The documentary, titled 1000 Men and Me: The Bonnie Blue Story, was jokingly promoted as being 'for all ages' by Bonnie herself, who added 'the only restriction is your bedtime' in an Instagram post ahead of its release.
But the backlash has shown no signs of slowing down since the programme aired, with certain advertisers seemingly less than impressed with the documentary.
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So much so, that The Times reported that advertisers including Visa and Smirnoff had asked to pull their ads from the commercial breaks on the doc due to the programme not aligning with their advertising guidelines.
Visa confirmed to LADbible it has indeed had its ad pulled from the programme. Smirnoff did not respond to our request for comment.
Meanwhile, Channel 4 has said it carefully selected the ads to be shown during the doc to ensure they were 'suitable'.
"We take great care to ensure that advertising is appropriately placed across all programming, particularly where content may be sensitive or potentially contentious," a spokesperson for Channel 4 told LADbible.
"In the case of 1000 Men and Me: The Bonnie Blue Story, the programme was reviewed in advance of transmission to ensure advertising was suitable. Several brands and categories were excluded to avoid inappropriate juxtapositions."
The broadcaster added: "Channel 4 is a commercially funded public service broadcaster. We use commercial revenues such as advertising to make programmes that deliver our remit to create change through entertainment across a wide range of issues. Our programming is created independently from our commercial operation."
The documentary has sparked quite the backlash among others too, with Children's commissioner Dam Rachel de Souza saying the programme 'risks taking us a step back by glamorising' and 'even normalising' content that can be 'frightening, confusing and damaging' to young people and their relationships.
Elsewhere, Home Office minister Katie Lam has said weighed in on the age restrictions in place on Channel 4's own platform, saying that they can be easily skirted by someone pretending to be over the age of 16 when creating an account.
"It seems bizarre to me," Lam said on Times Radio. "There is clearly a consistency problem both in terms of content and in terms of platform."
Channel 4's Commissioning Editor Tim Hancock defended the documentary ahead of its release, saying that it's the network's 'job' to tell these rough, real-life stories.
"I believe it is Channel 4's job to tell stories like this, trying to get behind the truth of the headlines. We film real stories in real time. We are very proud to do films like this."
For her part, Bonnie Blue has called out the double standards when it comes to utilise one's body and pushing it to its limits.
"If I was an athlete and did loads of marathons, no one would care because they're like, 'Oh, but you're doing something amazing'," she said in the doc. "But because I'm trying to push my body in a sex perspective, everyone's like, 'Woah, you've gone too far. That is disgusting'."
1000 Men and Me: The Bonnie Blue Story is streaming on Channel 4 now.
Topics: Bonnie Blue, Channel 4, Documentaries
Stefania Sarrubba