Loose Women viewers rage ‘get her off the air!’ over Charlene White’s ‘disrespectful’ refusal to wear a poppy on ITV show
Loose Women viewers were left in a difficult situation after Charlene White refused to wear a poppy on the ITV show ahead of Remembrance Day.
The TV presenter, who is also a regular on ITV News, was joined by Oti Mabuse, Judi Love and Kelle Bryan on the live show last week, where she appeared poppy-free.
While the panel was discussing headlines including Lily Allen’s split from actor David Harbor and the Royal’s latest developments with King Charles, viewers were distracted by noticing that 45-year-old Charlene looked different compared to her co-stars.
While 35-year-old Oti, 45-year-old Judi and 50-year-old Kelle wore poppy pins on their clothes, Charlene chose not to wear them on her pink jacket.
The poppy is often worn in the weeks leading up to Remembrance Day on 11 November to commemorate armed forces who died in conflict.
Fans have been furious with X, formerly known as Twitter, calling for Charlene to be removed from the ITV daytime soap for ‘showing no respect’.
Loose Women viewers were left in a bind after Charlene White refused to wear a poppy on the ITV show ahead of Remembrance Day
While 35-year-old Oti, 45-year-old Judi and 50-year-old Kelle wore poppy pins on their clothes, Charlene chose not to wear them on her pink jacket.
After noticing the poppy was missing, one fan angrily wrote: ‘Charlene shouldn’t be presenting because she doesn’t want to wear a poppy. ‘There’s no respect.’
‘I think it’s disrespectful for Charlene not to wear a poppy. “I know it’s talked about every year,” agreed a second.
A third continued: ‘Charlene why do you refuse to wear Poppy? ‘Everyone in the audience on the panel is wearing one, so why shouldn’t you?’
A fourth wrote: ‘Does Charlene not care that many men lost their lives fighting for our country? ‘Not wearing a poppy is disrespectful.’
A fifth added: ‘Why isn’t Charlene White wearing a poppy?! So is everyone else on the Loose Women panel. “It’s a shame,” said a sixth, while a sixth said: “A complete disgrace to the memory of those who gave their lives for our future.”
Others stepped up to defend Charlene, with one fan writing: ‘In a democracy you should be free to have your own views and opinions, not what the poppy police say you should do.’
Another mocked angry viewers: ‘Oops, the poppy police are at it again.’
Although Charlene did not address her decision not to wear a poppy on the ITV show, she has previously admitted she had chosen not to wear one.
In an article he wrote for ITV last year, the TV presenter explained that his decision was solely due to impartiality rules set for his other charitable work.
Fans took to X to complain about Charlene not wearing a poppy
In an article he wrote for ITV last year, the TV presenter explained that his decision was solely due to impartiality rules set for his other charitable work.
She wrote that this was ‘never an easy decision due to the racist and sexist abuse’ she received on social media, and admitted she knew it ’caused a lot of anger’.
But he explained that broadcast rules mean ITV is not allowed to visually support charities while presenting its news programme.
Listing a number of charities of which he is patron but not allowed to be mentioned on-screen, he concluded that it ‘made him feel uncomfortable supporting just one charity above all others, namely The Royal British Legion’.
Charlene revealed that she “fully supports colleagues who choose to wear the poppy” and that in her private life it is “very different” for the star, who donates to the British Legion every year and wears the poppy on Armistice Day.
He also wrote that he had a ‘ceramic poppy from the Tower of London on his mantelpiece’, while urging viewers not to think that he did not support the work of service staff.
He added: ‘Please don’t think I don’t understand the sacrifices men and women made 100 years ago. Yes.
‘It is always important to remember what my family, your family and millions of people across generations have fought for: the right to choose and the right to freedom of speech and expression.’
Other Loose Women stars (pictured: Kaye Adams) wear poppies ahead of Remembrance Day on November 11
Charlene has previously revealed the abuse she received from ITV viewers; This includes a campaign loosely titled ‘Sack the S**g’.
Speaking to Love Sunday magazine in 2021, Charlene said she believed many trolls thought she was “fair game” because she was “a black woman in the public eye”.
He said: ‘I have been subjected to some terrible abuse. But there’s a weird dynamic that I’ve gotten so used to because it happens so often; Which I shouldn’t be. I am a black woman in the public eye, so I am fair game to a lot of people.
‘It all came to a head when he became an EDL member [English Defence League] ‘I heard there was a black girl on ITV who didn’t wear a poppy,’ she said, and told her followers to harass me in any way they could find me.’
Charlene said she had received thousands of comments along with a petition to have her sacked from ITV, describing the harassment as ‘overwhelming’.
He said: ‘As long as it’s not this bad it’s manageable. But this made me very sad. It takes a lot to make me cry but it got to the point where it was really overwhelming and it actually made me cry.
‘It has never reached such a special level since.’
Loose Women airs weekdays at 12.30pm on ITV1 and can be watched on ITVX.
