Charlene White has defended herself against trolls who accused her of playing the 'race card'. The journalist appeared on yesterday's Loose Women show (March 1), which opened with the four panellists discussing the things that hit home the most for them about the war in Ukraine.
For Charlene, one thing that has 'really stuck out' is the 'incessant racism' that Black people, amongst others, are facing in Ukraine, as they attempt to flee. Addressing her colleagues and viewers at home, Charlene, 41, said: "You've got thousands of Black, Asian, Syrian, Arab students and workers who have been also trying to get out of Ukraine and have been prevented from doing so due to the incessant racism they have experienced - they’ve not been allowed to go through borders.
"Quite a few of them have not been allowed to go through the border to Poland, for example. And there are British students as well, there’s a Black British student called Korrine Sky who has been tweeting over the past week of her desperate travels... and has been fought back by Ukrainian troops, has been pushed back by Ukrainian people who believe that the Black people need to be at the back of the bus."
Whilst expressing her concerns about the situation unfolding in Ukraine, Janet Street-Porter cut Charlene off. Giving her two pence, 75-year-old Janet said: "I hear what you’re saying and I completely understand it... but I also think that Poland for example has exceeded all expectations in accepting 150,000 refugees."
Charlene held her head in her hands, and many viewers took to social media to express their fury with Janet's seemingly dismissive comment. Last night, Charlene responded to internet trolls who suggested she was playing 'the race card'.
Posting on Twitter last night, Charlene told her 60,000 followers: "For those throwing the phrase, "playing the race card" at me today re @loosewomen... let me be VERY clear. "You feeling uncomfortable hearing someone talking about race is not my concern, when the concern ought to be directed towards the victims who are subjected to it."
Janet was missing from today's show (March 2), with a different selection of panellists penned in. Katie Piper, Linda Robson, Christine Lampard and Nadia Sawalha were on the show instead. Charlene has been a permanent member of the Loose Women panel since January 2021, after Andrea McLean departed the show. Prior to this, she made her debut as a guest presenter on the show in August 2020.
Alongside being a panellist on the ITV chat show, Charlene presents ITV News. In 2014, she became the first black woman to present ITV News at Ten.
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