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An argument broke out on BBC Woman’s Hour after a booked guest refused to appear after hearing comments about her made by her host. Actor Kelechi Okafor has canceled the scheduled discussion on the MeToo movement, describing his treatment on Twitter as “absolutely degrading and vile,” after host Emma Barnett inadvertently left her mic on during a conversation with her producers where she questioned the anti-Semitic comments attributed to Okafor in 2017.
Other guests of Woman’s Hour, including Sarah Brown of the End Violence Against Women coalition, were also on the Zoom call. Citing Okafor’s statement on Twitter, where she said that if the program had “a real concern” they should have dealt with it directly with her, Brown said Woman’s Hour should apologize for her appalling treatment of Okafor. “It was really unfair and then led to a #Me too black woman speechless discussion.
The controversy Barnett was referring to erupted in 2017, when, according to the Jewish Chronicle, Okafor responded to comments from BBC presenter Reggie Yates claiming that the grime stars had often been run by “a fat North Jew. West London ”. She reportedly said on her podcast, “Aren’t these Jewish managers from North West London?” I want to know where the error is. “
Later, on the same podcast, she reportedly added, “What is happening now is people are demanding their pound of flesh and I’m very specific on the reference I just made. If you know the Shakespearean play, you’ll know where I’m going ”- a reference to the anti-Semitic portrayal of Shylock in Merchant of Venice. The podcast episode has since been deleted from SoundCloud.
In a live Instagram video posted after Wednesday’s events, Okafor said the concerns raised by Barnett were “the same stupid rumor or fury that started a few years ago that I have since addressed.” She did not respond to a request for comment from the Guardian.
Barnett released a statement Wednesday afternoon saying that Okafor had overheard a discussion “with my producers in light of his allegedly anti-Semitic remarks.”
She said she then raised the matter directly with Okafor, “taking my questions into account, and said she could put her answer into the program.” Okafor then denied the allegations and hung up on the call, Barnett said.
She said she would have been happy to have Okafor on the show, “but it’s also my job to ask people what qualifies them as a leading voice in a space. And about any previous issue that might influence their opinions ”.
A BBC spokesperson said: “During a live conversation before the show, Emma Barnett and the production team spoke about a guest’s role in the discussion and how to reflect certain of the guest’s alleged earlier comments and the issue of anti-Semitism as part of the Woman’s Hour discussion on the role of minority voices in the MeToo movement. This was also brought up directly with the guest before going on air.
This is Barnett’s first week at Woman’s Hour after taking over from Jane Garvey and Dame Jenni Murray as host. She took on her new role after being the host of Radio 5’s live mid-morning show.
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