TV star Rylan Clark’s controversial views about immigration on This Morning last week have resulted in the ITV show being flooded with Ofcom complaints.
Rylan faced major backlash and later issued a statement urging his followers to stop putting people in boxes and to have conversations with each other about the small boats crisis instead of shouting on Twitter.
His opinion has continued to be a topic of discussion. On GMB yesterday (September 2), reporter Kevin Maguire slammed the former X Factor star for spreading “terrible myths”. However, host Susanna Reid came to his defence.
Rylan Clark receives Ofcom complaints following immigration debate
Now it’s been revealed that, following Rylan’s debate on August 26, This Morning has been hit with a whopping 576 complaints.
During the segment, Rylan explained that Nigel Farage is pledging to deport 600,000 migrants in his first term, if Reform gets into government. Voicing his own opinion, the 36-year-old presenter didn’t hold back.
“I find it absolutely insane that all these people are, one, risking their lives to come across the Channel. And, two, when they get here, it does seem like: ‘Welcome. Come on in.’ This is the narrative we are being fed,” he said.
‘I believe that something major needs to be done about this’
Rylan continued: “‘Here’s the hotel, here’s the phones, here’s the iPads, here’s the NHS in the reception of your hotel, here’s three meals a day, here’s a games room in the hotel. Have a lovely time, welcome.’
“And then there’s people who have lived here all their lives. They are struggling. They are homeless. Let’s not even discuss our homeless. There are people living on the streets. Now this isn’t me getting on my soapbox. Let’s be honest, everyone is going to have an opinion, you’re going to upset someone. But I believe that something major needs to be done about this.”
Rylan added: “If I turn up at Heathrow Airport as a British citizen and I’ve left my passport in Spain, I’ve got to stand at that airport and won’t be let in. But if I arrive on a boat in Calais, I get taken to a four-star hotel.”
Despite a lot of criticism, many famous faces have backed him. However, due to the ongoing conversation, Rylan has turned off the comments on his latest Instagram posts.
ED! has reached out to Ofcom, ITV and Rylan Clark’s reps for comment.
Read more: Rylan Clark slammed by Love Island star Amber Gill over his ‘weird’ comments about migrants
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