Following Bridgerton actress Adjoa Andoh‘s remarks regarding the Royal Family during its coverage of the crowning, ITV is the subject of an Ofcom investigation, according to the watchdog, which received 4,000 complaints.
The Bridgerton actor, 60, made the following remarks on ITV1 commentary on May 6: “Looking at all those young people, there is a bit of me that has gone from the rich diversity of the Abbey to the terribly white balcony, I’m very struck by that.”
The media watchdog said that it had received the highest complaints thus far in 2023.
A spokesperson for Ofcom said: ‘We are assessing the complaints against our broadcasting rules, before deciding whether or not to investigate.’
British actress Adjoa Andoh and star of the movie “Bridgerton,” has gotten into trouble after referring to the Buckingham Palace balcony as being “terribly White” during King Charles III’s coronation ceremony on Saturday.
“We have gone from the rich diversity of the Abbey to a terribly White balcony,” she said to British journalists Tom Bradby and Julie Etchingham during TV’s live coverage of the historic ceremony that crowned King Charles III the United Kingdom’s 62nd monarch.
“I am very struck by that,” she continued of the balcony. “I am also looking at those younger generations and thinking: ‘What are the nuances that they will inhabit when they grow?”
Twitter users accused the 60-year-old actress of spreading “racist woke garbage” and “race-baiting” while others rushed to her defense.
One critic wrote, “I am appalled at the comment made by Adjoa Andoh. It is race-baiting and racist towards white people. Racism in any form is not acceptable. I hope @itv and @Ofcom will investigate this.”
Another chimed in on the issue, writing, “I will not be watching Bridgerton again due to #AdjoaAndoh remarks,” and a third said, “This isn’t a Disney movie #AdjoaAndoh It’s a family. Can’t add people in for #representation. Can’t put everything in the race bracket and get away with it.”
Others criticizing her choice of words demanded she apologize or called on Ofcom (a U.K. broadcasting authority that regulates television, radio and more) to look into the incident.
Dr. Shola Mos-Shogbamimu, an activist who commonly appears on ITV, was among those rushing to Andoh’s defense, writing, “#AdjoaAndoh told no lies in factual observation of ‘terribly White’ (literal & symbolic) Buckingham palace balcony at #Coronation in contrast to tokenism of race diversity at Westminster Abbey & got branded ‘racist’ White people false equivalence of racism is laughable.”
Responding to the slew of social media outrage, Andoh insisted she “didn’t mean to upset anyone” with the remark.
“I think I upset a few people yesterday,” she said Sunday on BBC Radio.
“I was talking about the day and how marvellous it was and then looking at the balcony at the end and suddenly going: ‘Oh it’s so White!’ because the day had been so mixed and I didn’t mean to upset anybody,” she added.
Adjoa Andoh, star of Bridgerton, was one of the ITV commentators covering the King’s Coronation. During the show, he referred to the balcony of Buckingham Palace as being “terribly white.”
King Charles and Queen Camilla were formally crowned on Saturday, May 6, at Westminster Abbey, where celebrities like Katy Perry, Dame Emma Thompson, Ant McPartlin, and Declan Donnelly were present.
Adjoa, 60, rose to fame in recent years for her portrayal of revered doyenne Lady Agatha Danbury in the television series Bridgerton. She recently reprised the character for the prequel spin-off series Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story, which is set in London during the Regency era.
As the world watched the grand, royal proceedings, the actress was commentating on the day alongside several other presenters, including I’m A Celebrity… South Africa star Myleene Klass, 45.
At one point, the Doctor Who and Casualty star compared the sight of the royal family waving at the crowds from the famous balcony at the Palace to the guests who were in attendance at Westminster Abbey.
‘There is a bit of me that we’ve gone from the rich diversity of the Abbey to a terribly white balcony. I was very struck by that,’ she said.
Adjoa expressed her excitement on Instagram over being a part of the presenting team (Picture: ITV)King Charles and Queen Camilla wore their crowns as they waved at the crowds from the Buckingham Palace balcony (Picture: Samir Hussein/WireImage)
Adjoa continued: ‘I am also looking at those younger generations and thinking, “What are the nuances that they will inhabit as they grow?” Nuances that Charles has exhibited, from a teenager into early 20s young man.’
On Instagram, Adjoa celebrated being a part of the presenting team for ITV at the Coronation, sharing selfies of herself with Sathnam Sanghera and Sir Trevor McDonald.
Adjoa reprises her role as Lady Danbury in Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story (Picture: Nick Wall/Netflix)
‘@sathnamsanghera, Sir Trevor MacDonald & me – hanging out as part of the ITV Coronation commentary team.. how the world turns..,’ she wrote in the caption.
She later posted a photo of herself with Myleene, stating: ‘What a privilege to be witness to such an historic event at such close quarters – very moving ♥️.’
Coronation of King Charles III latest
On the day of the Coronation, Strictly Come Dancing presenter Claudia Winkleman was heard saying on live radio that the event was like ‘Tory Christmas’, after comedian Jack Whitehall said it was like ‘Tory Glastonbury’.
Another celebrity to share his observations of the Coronation in a different form was Great British Bake Off presenter Noel Fielding, who created a painting of Prince Harry at the spectacle, dubbing him the ‘lonely prince’.
