Charlene White has hit out at media commentator Dan Wootton after he made comments about “diversity” on a picture of four Black hosts presenting Loose Women.
The 44-year-old veteran broadcaster shared a picture of herself alongside her fellow presenters, which included regular hosts Brenda Edwards, comedian Judi Love, and Kéllé Bryan.
She captioned the image, “See you in ten mins” along with a peace gesture emoji.
However, she was soon subjected to an onslaught of criticism, including by former GMB presenter Wootton who wrote “How Woke ITV does diversity” on Thursday (24 October).
“Bitterness is a very lonely colour Dan,” White hit back shortly after.
“Black women face some of the worst abuse on social media,” she continued.
“That is a fact. So this man - with a following of almost half a million - decides to target four black women for … having successful careers.”
Many rallied to her support as they wrote, “I notice how he never mentions the lack of diversity when it’s an all white panel, as has been the case numerous times.”
Another said, “Well done for calling him out.”
It is not the first time that White and her Black co-hosts have faced social media attacks.
In February last year, she presented the show with the same panel of Black women. She responded to criticism saying “We’re still award-winning so...”
In 2020, ITV presented the show with the same panel which was praised for its diversity at the time.
Many fans pointed out that the moment was particularly poignant as it happened during Black History Month that year.
“So refreshing to turn my telly on and see four beautiful black women running the show,” one viewer tweeted. “Things have a long way to go but this is a great start, never in my life have I seen this happen on a major network.”
White made history as the first Black newsreader for ITV in 2014.
“Sometimes your face just doesn’t fit in terms of what someone views as being acceptable for journalism,” White told The Independent last year.
“That’s twofold. As a woman and also as a Black woman. Or my accent.” She referenced a “pivotal moment” in her time at the BBC where she was asked to change the way she spoke.
“I fought against that and refused to change. I made a conscious decision not to change the way I spoke. I drop my Ts sometimes, and use colloquial language, but who cares? I may not speak in RP, but people can understand me so why should I change who I am?”
