Richard Osman is definitely not here for people taking issue with how the winners of this year’s Celebrity Traitors chose to donate their prize pot.
During the latest episode of the podcast The Rest Is Entertainment, he and his co-host Marina Hyde weighed in on what she described as the “Traitors culture wars”.
For those not up to speed, Celebrity Traitors winners Romesh Ranganathan and Sebastian Croft both opted to donate their winnings to two different charities helping refugees, which, naturally, the usual suspects among the right-wing have taken issue with.
BBC/Studio Lambert/Paul Chappells
When Marina said that critics have accused the final of being a “stitch-up” or an example of “some form of BBC bias”, Richard opined: “It turns out a lot of those people are idiots. Or it’s possible that they’re very clever and they have an agenda, because they ain’t right.”
“To accuse the BBC of bias in this shows, first of all, a fundamental misunderstanding of how you make a television programme,” he said, pointing out that every contestant chose a different charity they’d be supporting before the game began, and it was a coincidence that the two winners both backed similar causes.
“Even in a conspiracist culture, this is one too far,” Marina then claimed, to which Richard agreed: “It’s pathetic. Do you know what? I’m done with it. It’s genuinely so pathetic.”
Pointing out that “15 million people watched” the latest season, while only around “a thousand people are being twats about it”, he claimed: “That’s like being in a championship football game with 15,000 people [where] 14,999 [are] cheering, and [there’s] just one idiot who’s not happy.”
To the show’s detractors, Richard urged them: “Be incredibly popular and successful, then go on a hugely successful game show and then be the smartest player on that entire show, and show empathy and gameplay and intelligence. Then you can give money to whoever it is that you want to.
“And you don’t have to be telling other people who to give money to. You don’t know who Romesh and [Sebastian] give money to all year round. Look at the benefits Romesh has done all year – look at all the different people he’s done benefits for. If he wants to give money to the Refugee Council, that’s what he does.
“Don’t jump on the back of a show that’s been made by incredibly talented people that has been a hit – something you’ve not been able to do in your lifetime.
“And the second you do [have a hit], you will find that things change for you, and you’ll find that you, then, can demand things, and you [will] find that you can change culture in the way you want to do it. Until that moment, you know what? Just let other more talented people do the thing that they want to do.
“Let people be free, let people think freely – because that’s what you’re supposed to think about – and I’m really sorry that two people who wanted to give money to refugees won this show, but that’s the world that you are living in. Different people think different things to you.”
“Stop wetting your pants!” Marina then interjected, with Richard agreeing: “Stop wetting your pants about everything. Stop saying, ‘it all comes out of licence fee money’ – you cannot be that stupid.
“You cannot be that stupid to not know that The Traitors makes a fortune for the BBC. It’s giving huge amounts of money back to the BBC, this show, this is not something that’s a drain on licence fee payers.
“You know that, you’re not an idiot. You work in the media. OK, you might work at the Daily Mail, but you know that, you understand that.”
He concluded: “This is the thing I’m tired of… 15 million people [watched Celebrity Traitors] and because of the absurdity of our media now and our culture, we have to listen to these people. It becomes a story because four people say it.”
The chief executive of the Refugee Council said after Romesh’s victory: “We have loved every minute of watching Romesh and cheering him along from the sidelines. To see him win is the icing on the cake!
“Romesh continues to be a brilliant champion for our cause. His support will help us continue to provide vital frontline services to refugees and people in the asylum system who come to Britain in search of safety and the chance to rebuild their lives.”
Choose Love’s acting chief executive also said in a statement: “We are absolutely thrilled and deeply grateful to Bash for choosing Choose Love as his designated charity following his incredible win on Celebrity Traitors.
“Bash has been a long-time friend and dedicated supporter of our work, and we could not be prouder of him. This vital funding will quite literally change and save lives.
“It allows us to extend critical support to refugees and displaced people, especially LGBTQ+ individuals who face displacement, violence and persecution simply for who they are.”
“We can’t thank Bash enough, it means the world,” they added.
