Big Brother winner Ali Bromley says 'someone tried to punish me severely' over Palestine shirt
Big Brother star Ali Bromley has clarified her support for Palestine on the show, claiming she was silenced at the time. During her time on the reality contest last year, she wore a t-shirt depicting watermelon imagery - a symbol of Palestine solidarity - and after that, the episode was removed from the ITV hub.
Watermelon imagery is often used to communicate solidarity with the Palestinians thanks to the fruit's colours matching the Palestinian flag. After the Arab-Israeli war in 1967, it became illegal to publicly display the Palestinian flag in Israel.
Ali, a forensic psychologist, has now commented on the situation after previous confirmation the episode had been pulled "due to compliance reasons." Originally, after leaving the house, she said she was "glad ITV apologised" for airing her wearing the shirt.
Now, Ali says: "Almost a year ago, I wore a Palestine t-shirt on TV as an act of peaceful solidarity. Behind the scenes (unrelated to itv or big brother), someone in a position of significant power tried to punish me severely for it, attempting to turn a simple expression of support into something far more serious.
"At first, I was scared and had no idea how to navigate it. I was effectively, gagged. But as the weeks went on, I continued to show my support anyway, resolving that whatever the consequence I'd rather persevere than be quietened."
She continued: "That's what we should all do when we believe in justice. While I can't share too much about what happened (I'll take some advice and see if I can), I can say that after a long and difficult process - the case finally thrown out and I won. Again.
"Moving forwards I will continue to show my support for Palestine, proudly and without fear."
She followed up her Instagram Stories comment to say: "As in my statement, I emphasise again that this person is unrelated to big brother and in fact has no connections to television or broadcasting at all.
"When I figure out how and where to share - I will." She ended with a single red love heart emoji.
At the time, the Campaign Against Antisemitism said the graphic on the t-shirt "caused significant distress among the British Jewish community". They also revealed they had submitted a complaint to Ofcom, saying: "How did the show's staff allow this shirt to be worn, let alone broadcast it on national television? This incident represents a serious violation of broadcasting standards."
However, Ali was supported by viewers online. One user on Twitter /X wrote: "Ali should be applauded for these t-shirts btw, first a trans rights are human rights shirt and a Palestine one. Honestly queen s**t right there."
Another also praised the reality star, saying praised Ali, saying: "I love how she's brought in both pro-Palestine and pro-trans shirts, I just love this woman actually." One more said: "Ali wearing a Palestine-shaped watermelon tee. They could never make me hate her."
At the time, ITV didn't confirmed the exact reason why the show was removed. It was later e-edited and re-uploaded, with "compliance reasons" mentioned. However, in response to a viewer who asked where the episode had gone, ITV insisted it would be available again a few hours later.
The broadcaster later posted: "Thank you for reaching out to us today. Hope you are well. Regarding your question about last night's Big Brother show, we have some news, it will be available to view later this evening. We apologise for the inconvenience caused by this but the wait will be worth it."
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