Horrified Brits viewers slam ITV with Ofcom complaints as they hit out at host Jack Whitehall’s jokes & edited speeches
THE Brit Awards have always been known for controversial moments and risky jokes – especially when you have Jack Whitehall as host.
But it seems this year’s glitzy bash may have gone too far as horrified viewers slammed ITV with complaints to Ofcom following Saturday’s ceremony.
At the weekend, the Brits was broadcast on ITV with a slight time delay from Manchester‘s Co-Op Arena.
However, viewers were left disgruntled by a series of static sounds that were heard throughout the broadcast, which were used to censor the show.
This came about whenever ITV deemed a joke or a comment too risky to air, and instead edited out what had been said before it went out live.
But viewers weren’t happy that the show had been censored so much, and took to Ofcom to complain.
They were also unhappy about some of host Jack‘s jokes, which included his swipe at the Bafta Film Awards following its N-word controversy during last weekend’s ceremony, which aired on the BBC.
Ofcom have confirmed to The Sun there were almost 150 complaints in total and the majority related to elements of the show being edited out, including acceptance speeches.
While other complaints related to jokes made by presenter Jack.
The comedian, who has hosted the Brits for five years now, is known for his close to the mark humour.
Earlier in the show, Jack had one of his links bleeped after he spoke to a table of politicians including Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham and Lisa Nandy.
After commenting on the table, he was bleeped as declared: “So many politicians! I thought I saw Peter Mandelson on the list.
“Oh no sorry, that was another list, my bad.”
Meanwhile, fans were also unhappy that big moments on the show were being edited out by ITV, and replaced by the static noise.
This came when I’m A Celeb winner Angry Ginge took to the stage alongside darts champ Luke Littler to present an award.
Salford native Ginge – real name Morgan Burtwistle – told the audience that he was glad that “people are realising that London is a s**thole”, which was also muted from the air.
After that, any insulting or risky language or jokes were taken out of the broadcast.
When Geese picked up their award for International Group, the New Yorker also suffered the static noise when the band’s drummer Max Bessin took to the stage, thanked the crowd before the award, before declaring: “Free Palestine, F**k ICE”.
Shaun Ryder and Bez also got in trouble when talking to Jack about their famously-hedonistic and drug-fuelled youth, some of which was also cut from broadcast.
Noel Gallagher also got muzzed towards the end of his appearance on stage as he was awarded Songwriter of the Year for his 35-year career with Oasis and the music that has influenced the generations since.
The comment clearly divided the audience, with cheers and boos alike, but we can confirm it was actually “Up The Blues” as a nod to football team, Manchester City.
Meanwhile the big winner of the night was Olivia Dean, who won three of the five awards she was nominated for.
These included Album of the Year and Artist of the Year.
She also performed on the evening, as did Raye, Harry Styles and Mark Ronson.
The Brit Awards are available to watch now on ITVX.