Woman's Hour: What happened this morning?

[NonCisWoman]

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9117995/Actress-refuses-appear-Womans-Hour-accusing-host-Emma-Barnett-degrading-comments.html

An actress refused to appear on Woman's Hour this morning after accusing host Emma Barnett of making 'degrading and vile' comments about her.

Kelechi Okafor was set to talk on the BBC Radio 4 show to discuss the #MeToo movement with new presenter Emma Barnett.

But as the programme was live on air, the Nigerian-British actress revealed she had come off the show, writing: 'Because what I've just had to witness is absolutely degrading and vile.'

Posting a video to Instagram, she said: 'I won't be going on Woman's Hour now. The host didn't realise her mic was on as she was talking s* about me to the producers.'

Hmm ... I was listening with half an ear - and did pause to wonder exactly why they were running an article about #MeToo - started by a black woman - without including a single black woman on the item.

Now we know.

No one seems to come out of it well.

Shows like this usually give the panellists the questions beforehand so that they can prepare nuanced, articulate, answers. Panelists are often given the opportunity to reject questions too.

It seems that the anti-Semitism question was unexpectedly given to KO, which is poor form. It also didn't have anything to do with the topic of the show (The Me Too movement).

I don't see what Weinstein being Jewish has to do with anything really?

@Lllama

The guest from EVAWG Coalition was an impartial observer and backs up Kelechi's version of events. So they ended up losing a black voice, and having a programme presented by a pimp's daughter who refers to her dad's 'whores' interviewing people who say that MeToo and BLM are bad because they've upset predatory men and racists.

This is a bit harsh. She didn't know her father ran massage parlours until she was in her twenties and she is not culpable for what he did

Kelechi made some absolutely disgusting remarks about white women after Clemmie Hooper made racist remarks about Candice Brathwaite. Really base and vile remarks, not measured or intelligent, just nasty. She got banned from Insta over it. Why is she a voice for any movement?

I'd give Emma a chance. At least she's caused a bit of a stir good woman. Why shouldn't she have some men on? Shouldn't EB at least have a go at a shake up format.

I know nothing of the guest but it strikes me there's a fit of pique there. A storm off is not a good look. I want women who can face up. If she made anti-Semitic remarks then she should be asked about it. Or are we still in be 'bloody' kind territory.

Would like to hear to real story first

Also, why was KO being asked about Reggie Yates' comments? Surely the best person to ask about Reggie Yates' comments is Reggie Yates himself?

Women aren't responsible for the mistakes of men. Ever.

I wasn't going to comment on this because I think Emma Barnett is just the most hopeless presenter. All about playing to the crowd. She was so out of her depth on newsnight.

But having seen her explanation as posted above, in fact it makes it worse.

What sort of a professional organisation would not have checked whether a guest had made controversial remarks particularly if said to be anti semitic. And Emma Barnett herself didn't know?

Just makes you think that Woman's Hour doesn't warrant professional production, and EB is just there as a poster girl for a feminism is just all those boring old women talking about liberation.

There is now a whole generation of presenters and supposed reporters who aren't interesting in doing their job but only interested in engratiating themselves with glitzy but empty media posturing.

The Manchester Evening News reports on his trial are quite eye opening. Massage parlour is quite a euphemism.

Sorry, that was meant to be responding to LimitIsUp

@Lllama

"isnn't this a bit inflammatory?"

Not if it's true.

Of course she's not responsible for her father's crimes. But she is responsible for her own misogyny and misogynoir.

twitter.com/somesayparsley/status/1346825344762974210?s=19
The anti semitic comments.

No links as all deleted, although they are on Tattle if you want to check them out. Along the lines of white women are dirty, they smell, no white woman should be a midwife, they are murderers etc. Started off defending CB, then just seemed to lose it.

It read like EB was just badmouthing KO. However, if EB was only factually referencing KO's support of Yates' statement on 'random fat, jewish guy', it is not quite how KO made it appear. KO could have stayed and said she didn't want to answer about comments she supported in the past. She could also have said that Shriver was allowed a free rein and made points about that.

Is KO now saying that she wouldn't be cheerleading on Yates' comment about 'random, fat jewish guy' because it was vile and degrading. EB didn't make it up.

People who had never heard of her before now just associate her with being happy to cheerlead a comment like that.

It is a pity.

So EB is Jewish and KO has made anti-Semitic comments. From the available reports it's not possible to know exactly what was said at this stage or why it was relevant, but the conversation should definitely not have happened while the guest was lined up to go on air. Any briefing should have happened some time before that and the relevance or not discussed with time to prepare.

Seems to me that if you make comments supporting antisemitism, as Kelechi has, you should be prepared to account for yourself, instead of flouncing off and painting yourself as a victim. Pathetic.

I'm not at all sure why the crimes of Emma Barnett's father are relevant, either in this discussion or in her job.

and the comments about Lionel Shriver are sheer whattaboutery,
Some posters seriously seem to think you can do no wrong if you're black

No, it should not have happened like that. I wonder if it was an accident or intentional. There will be a crew, won't there?

Mind you, the phrase about not attributing something to malice rather than ineptitude springs to mind.

It will almost certainly be an accident/error. Can't imagine the production team would have set this up, nor can I imagine EB wanting this sort of publicity in her first week. This sort of conversation should have happened amongst EB and the production team well before a guests were lined up to go on air. From the scant info you wouldn't be surprised at a Jewish presenter expressing some concern off air about anti-Semitic remarks, nor a potential guest being horrified that they were being discussed. Seems like the response was defensiveness over a cock up. But seriously who knows at this stage.

If her real intention was to ask Kelechi why she was qualified to be a voice in this space, I am puzzled why she did not challenge the very much not black Lionel Shriver what makes her a qualified voice on Black Lives Matter when she said that movement makes race relations worse

The discussion was about #MeToo. It was Lionel Shriver who brought BLM into it, in a big derail. The guest who commented after her returned to address Shriver's BLM point, but EB asked (with only a few minutes left of the programme) that the focus remained on #MeToo. If she'd challenged Shriver on what makes her qualified to comment on BLM it would have taken the discussion down a totally unrelated path. Whatever else EB is guilty of I don't think failing to take Shriver to task about this is amongst the charges. Keeping a discussion on topic and preventing derailment is one of the most important tasks of a presenter and interviewer.