Do you know what the most complained about moment on British television was this year? It wasn’t a gratuitous rape scene, or swearing or nudity before watershed. It wasn’t even a couple of Z-list celebrities frolicking in a hot tub on Celebrity Big Brother. It was a low-cut Julien Macdonald dress worn by Amanda Holden on Britain’s Got Talent.
Ofcom has revealed that Holden’s £11,250 dress, which she wore in June during the semi-final of the talent show, has received the most complaints of the year so far, prompting 663 complaints since it aired. A third of these were within 48 hours of it airing.
But what is it about this dress that has everyone so up in arms? So angry, so upset, so offended, that they are willing to go through the process of complaining about it to Ofcom?
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The main line of argument seems to be that Holden’s low-cut dress was inappropriate for a family show. These viewers felt that as such Holden should be dressed in a more conservative manner, with the low-cut of her dress being too sexy for the subject matter.
The problem with this of course is that it’s incredibly sexist. Telling a woman to cover up because it might offend your 10-year-old or granddad just isn’t acceptable. Shaming women about their bodies – their clothed bodies, no less – sets a worrying precedent. A similar thing happened earlier this year when Oscar-winning actress Brie Larson appeared on The One Show with her cleavage on show. That was wrong and so is this.
Following much the same format as fellow Syco-owned series The X Factor, which has had Cheryl Cole, Nicole Scherzinger and Mel B as its judges, there’s an expectation that Holden and colleague Alesha Dixon will look glamorous. That’s essentially what they are hired for. Audiences tune in to see what they’re wearing and admire it – there’s a fantasy element to it, much like red carpet dressing. But what these complaints say is that they’re only allowed to look good in a certain way. A sparkly, full-length dress? Yes. A low-cut one? No. They’re not allowed to be sexy – just pretty.
Indeed, some people on Twitter have gone so far as to deem the dress ‘unclassy’, which brings about its own problems. From Kim Kardashian to Emily Ratajkowski, women who embrace their bodies and flaunt it are dubbed cheap – but why should they be? Why is it that women who cover up are seen as being somehow more sophisticated than those who don’t? Shouldn’t it be our own choice? Plus, with the £11,250 price tag of the dress, by an established designer beloved by the A-list, it’s hardly something you’d see someone wearing at your local Wetherspoons.
Sadly, it’s not the first time the TV presenter has been called out for her clothing choices on the show. She received complaints about her dresses – as did fellow judge Alesha Dixon – on last year’s show, too. But Holden, for the record, doesn’t mind the public’s ire at all. After the semi-final episode aired earlier this year and she saw the reactions to her outfit choice on Twitter, she was quoted telling The Sun, ‘Will people be complaining to Ofcom? I hope so, I really do. I haven’t done my job if they aren’t.’
For what it’s worth, Ofcom are on her side, saying that they would not be investigating the episode further and that Holden’s dress ‘would not have exceeded most viewers’ expectations.’ We can only hope that next year something as simple as beautiful dress that shows off a bit of cleavage won’t draw so much anger.
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