Celebrity Big Brother racism controversy

The Celebrity Big Brother racism controversy was a series of events related to incidents of racist behaviour by contestants on the British television series Celebrity Big Brother 5, shown on British television station Channel 4. The incidents centred on comments made by contestants on this reality television show, most notably Jade Goody, glamour model Danielle Lloyd, and singer Jo O'Meara, which were directed towards Indian actress Shilpa Shetty. The screening of these comments on UK television resulted in national and international media coverage, responses from the UK and Indian governments, and the show's suspension during the 2008 season.

Many agencies and corporations cancelled their contracts with the housemates accused of racism, citing the allegations as the reason for the terminations. Also, many sponsors of the Big Brother series cancelled or suspended their sponsorship of the show. After the show, Goody stated that she understood her comments appeared as racist and apologised for any offence caused. Shetty later told the media that she forgave Goody. After conducting an investigation, Ofcom ruled that Channel 4 had breached the Ofcom code of conduct, and statutory sanctions were placed on the network.

The fifth series of Celebrity Big Brother began on 3 January 2007. On Day 1, eleven celebrity housemates entered the Big Brother house, including model Danielle Lloyd, singer Jo O'Meara and Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty. Then, on Day 3, former Big Brother housemate Jade Goody entered the house, accompanied by her boyfriend Jack Tweed and her mother Jackiey Budden.

During Budden's relatively short stay in the house, she and Shetty clashed on numerous occasions. Budden claimed that she was unable to pronounce "Shilpa", and referred to Shetty as "Princess" and "the Indian". Budden insisted that it was "not her fault" if she were to say Shilpa and it were to come out wrong. During her eviction interview, after Budden used the term "the Indian", presenter Davina McCall coerced Budden into saying "Shilpa" and Jackiey pronounced it properly.

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