Loose Women star Denise Welch took to X, the social media platform formally known as Twitter, this afternoon to throw her support behind journalist Ava Evans, before comparing her situation to that of Meghan Markle.
Her comments come after Laurence Fox sparked backlash with his comments about Evans, which resulted in over 7000 complaints to Ofcom.
As a result, Ofcom is now investigating Tuesday evening’s episode of Dan Wootton Tonight on GB News, which is when the shocking remarks were aired.
Welch told her 556,700 followers: “Much as I totally support what has happened over comments made about @AvaSantina it’s a shame the same actions weren’t taken over the disgusting, vile, misogynistic things said about Meghan Markle.”
The Duchess of Sussex, who married Prince Harry in 2018, has faced plenty of criticism in the past both on social media and from high-profile figures such as Piers Morgan.
Denise’s tweet comes after Fox’s comments about Evans on Wootton’s GB News show, which saw him ask what “self-respecting man” would “climb into bed” with her.
Wootton has since said in an apology that he should have intervened, while the channel described Fox’s remarks as totally unacceptable”, promising to conduct a full investigation.
Fox, who has also been suspended from his hosting role on the channel, has meanwhile insisted he stands “by every word of what I said”.
Ofcom is now investigating under Rule 2.3 of the Broadcasting Code, which states that in applying generally accepted standards broadcasters must ensure that material which may cause offence is justified by the context.
Dame Melanie Dawes, Ofcom Chief Executive, said: “Over the last few days there has been speculation and commentary about our role as the independent broadcast regulator. These are important issues and I wanted to be clear about our rules.
“Parliament sets objectives on how the broadcast sector should be regulated. We set and enforce rules to achieve these objectives.
“Contrary to some claims, these rules remain unchanged.
“They are designed to protect audiences from offensive and harmful material, and to uphold the integrity of broadcast news and current affairs programming, while always ensuring that freedom of expression is front and centre in every decision we take.
“This is highly valued by audiences and central to our democracy.
“The decisions we take, always based on facts and evidence once a programme has aired, are vital if we are to protect our vibrant media landscape. We continue to apply and enforce these rules without fear or favour.”
