Richard Osman has criticised the response to the Celebrity Traitors finale, in which Romesh Ranganathan and Sebastian Croft won for the Faithful. The Thursday Murder Club author, a self-professed megafan of the BBC parlour game show, addressed the right-wing backlash to the pair's chosen charities, both of which aid refugees.
During Friday night's finale, the Heartstopper star said he had selected Choose Love, which supports refugees and displaced people, particularly those in the LGBTQ+ community, while the comedian chose the Refugee Council, which supports those who have been forced to flee their home and are seeking safety in the UK.
Osman's Reaction to the Criticism
Osman took a chunk of the latest episode of The Rest is Entertainment podcast to call out those who dubbed the result 'BBC bias' and a 'stitch-up'. His co-host Marina Hyde said: 'Even in a conspiracist culture, this is one too far,' to which the author cut in and instead labelled it 'pathetic'.
He continued: 'I'm done with it. It's genuinely so pathetic. 15million people watched that. Let's say 1,000 people are being t***s about it. That's like being in a Championship football game, 15,000 people watching, 14,999 cheering, and just one idiot who's not happy.'
Defending the Winners
He added: 'I tell you what, be incredibly popular and successful and then go on a hugely successful game show and then be the smartest player on that entire show and show empathy and show gameplay and show intelligence. Then you can give money to whoever it is that you want to.'
Hyde had a similar opinion, chipping in to ask: 'I would say to the people, what have you done?' Osman agreed, then adding: 'Don't jump on the back of a show that's made by incredibly talented people, that has been a hit, which is not something you've been able to do in your lifetime.'
Addressing the Licence Fee Argument
He went on to dispel the suggestion that the winnings should not be coming out of licence fee money if they are going to such causes, adding: 'You cannot be that stupid to not know that Traitors makes a fortune for the BBC.' Osman added: 'This is giving huge amounts of money back to the BBC. This is not something that's a drain on licence fee payers.'
He noted that the 'absurdity' of culture means that 'we have to listen to these people', before pointing out that the vast majority of BBC viewers will not have had the outraged reaction that came from certain quarters.
Closing Remarks
'Stop co-opting the fact that other people have done extraordinary things and made something and made a series of correct decisions about what people want and have done it brilliantly,' said Osman. 'And suddenly it's a hit. And all you can do is go,' he then trailed off into a childish impersonation.
He concluded the lengthy speech by saying: 'I mean, f*** off. You know? But really, f*** off.' His former Guardian columnist co-host was clearly shocked by his passionate delivery and jokingly replied: 'I am so pleased to find you off your fence this Monday morning. I love it here.'
Celebrity Traitors is available to stream on BBC iPlayer.
