Why Did the BBC Censor a “Trans Rights” T-Shirt?
The BBC censored a pro-trans shirt worn by Kaiser Chiefs frontman Ricky Wilson when he appeared on Michael McIntyre’s Big Show on Friday, February 3.
The t-shirt reads “Trans Rights Are Human Rights,” but you wouldn’t know it from a glance over clips of the TV show, because it appears that the BBC blurred out the slogan. While it was visible under Wilson’s jacket in some shots, in others, it very much appeared to have been deliberately blurred.
Users of X, (formerly Twitter), were the first to draw attention to the censorship. Trans activist India Willoughby included a photo of the blurred-out shirt with her post.
Wilson’s show of allyship brought out the usual transphobia from the TERFS of Twitter—one attempted and drastically failed to get a #BoycottKaiserChiefs hashtag going; good luck with that—but also lots of praise from people happy to see a mainstream musician take a stand.
So that makes it all the more disappointing that the BBC tried to censor it. At first, people were willing to give them the benefit of the doubt, saying it was probably just low-quality cameras causing the image to blur, but the BBC themselves have stated otherwise.
The BBC’s weak excuse
British newspaper Metro contacted the BBC for comment about the issue and received the following message: “As is standard practice on any entertainment show and in line with the BBC’s 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.”
“Reduce” and “inclusion” are the key words there, it would seem.
This whole incident is doubly outrageous considering the timing. Wilson wore his pro-trans shirt on TV just one day after the killers of trans schoolgirl Brianna Ghey were sentenced, when her name and the horrible injustice of her fate was all over social media. Those at the BBC would certainly have known that—would have known that transphobia was a factor in her killing—and yet, they still chose to censor the “overt branding” of the simple words “Trans rights are human rights.”
It’s not for nothing that Britain is called “TERF Island.” To quote one of the Kaiser Chiefs’ best songs, I predict a riot.
(featured image: Carla Speight/Getty Images)
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