Furious Viewers Complain en Masse About New UK TV Show With Adult Men Stripping Naked for Kids
Authored by Thomas Brooke via Remix News
A British television show aiming to promote body positivity showed adult men stripping naked in front of children. The program was the subject of hundreds of complaints to the U.K.’s communications watchdog following the airing of its first episode last Tuesday. “Naked Education,” which is broadcast on Channel 4, features adults who take their clothes off in front of underage teenagers who are then required to give feedback on the body parts they see in front of them.
“I’ve never seen, like, a full, naked man before,” one teenager told producers during the first episode.
“It’s just a lot to process. Naked men in real life. We’ve never really seen it,” added another young girl after four adult men stood before the group of children and dropped their bathrobes to bare all.
Its host, Anna Richardson, said ahead of the first episode last week, “If you’re curious about your body, and your life’s journey (whatever that may be), then tune in.” She described the program as “educational, emotional, joyous.”
However, a total of 930 complaints from members of the public were received by Britain’s broadcasting watchdog, Ofcom, after the first episode, far more than the 66 complaints received for the second most offending program last week.
It was revealed that an episode of the identical show produced in Denmark recently had to be pulled because one of the participants was found to be a convicted paedophile.
Broadcaster Channel 4 has vigorously defended the show and its intentions. Its chief content officer, Ian Katz, wrote in response to criticism: “Anyone who suggests that the Channel 4 show Naked Education promotes paedophilia or is abusive of children almost certainly hasn’t watched it.
“We are assessing the complaints against our broadcasting rules before deciding whether or not to investigate,” an Ofcom spokesperson said in response.
