After an especially fraught week in politics, emotions were running high on the latest edition of Question Time, hosted by Fiona Bruce.
Led by 61-year-old Fiona, the panel included Piers Morgan, Scotland secretary Douglas Alexander, shadow housing secretary James Cleverly, and author Bonnie Greer.
The question put to the panel by one audience member was simple: “Should we take lectures on free speech from the US?”
What happened on Question Time last night?
The question was doubtless inspired by the recent suspension of US chat show host Jimmy Kimmel. He was taken off air after accusing the “MAGA gang” of “desperately trying to characterise this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them, and doing everything they can to score political points”.
He also criticised President Trump’s reaction to the news, noting that it’s “not how an adult grieves the murder of someone he called a friend”.
Since his suspension, there’s been a huge outcry, with many high-profile figures and organisations accusing the network ABC of censorship and violating Kimmel’s right to free speech.
The audience member tried to explain to Fiona why he asked the question in the first place. He said: “The main thing that prompted it – and it is relatively trivial with all things considered – was waking up this morning and seeing that the Jimmy Kimmel show had been cancelled”.
However, the host interrupted and said: “Let me just say for people at home who don’t know. Jimmy Kimmel is a very well-known chat show host in America. He is a household name. The show has been cancelled and taken off the air because of comments he made about Charlie Kirk and claims he made about the person who is a suspect in killing Charlie Kirk.
“This is felt by Donald Trump and certainly many others to be very offensive.”
‘Let him make his point!’
As the debate continued, tensions flared.
The audience member added: “See, the comments weren’t about Charlie Kirk, they were about the people who already, almost leathally, were weaponising his death for their agenda.”
This led to an impassioned Piers repeating: “That’s not true!”
As the voices started to overlap, Fiona could be heart to shout: “Piers! Piers! Piers!” She then told him: “I’m thrilled to have you on the panel but you’ve just got to let him make his point.”
Not one to be silenced, Piers countered: “These views have to be challenged. This is an untrue statement.”
Fiona faces online backlash
However, Fiona’s explanation of what happened with Jimmy Kimmel didn’t go down well on X, as many claimed that it was unnecessary.
“Rather than a help on BBC Question Time, Fiona Bruce is a hindrance,” one user wrote. “Unnecessary interrupting and patronising explanations of everything.”
“Why does Fiona Bruce feel she needs to interject with her explanations?” another asked. “If people don’t know, they can go and research. We don’t need her interpretation of events each time.”
“I’m sorry, but Fiona Bruce needs to go,” a third opined. “She completely ruins it.” “I would love to be on the show when #FionaBruce is no longer hosting it,” said another. Another urged: “#FionaBruce get your facts straight.”
Elsewhere, X users called out the audience member for his views, with one writing: “The audience member is objectively wrong. It was absolutely about Charlie Kirk. Kimmel explicitly stated that a right-winger was responsible for Kirk’s shooting, which is flat-out incorrect. He spread misinformation, and got fired for it. Simple as.”
This isn’t the first time Fiona has found herself in trouble on Question Time. Previously, she was slammed for her “disgusting” treatment of an audience member.
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