BBC viewers defend Big Brother star accused of making ‘inappropriate’ Ann Widdecombe remarks

Former Big Brother housemate Daze Aghaji has ignited social media debate this week after a thorny conversation on Politics Live about murdered politician Ann Widdecombe’s legacy.

The Reform politician, 78, was found dead at her home in Haytor on Dartmoor on Thursday morning, after sustaining serious injuries. Counter-terrorism police are now leading the murder investigation, amid new evidence.

Environmental activist Aghaji appeared in the BBC studio on Monday alongside Labour MP Jess Asato and Tory MP Nigel Huddleston.

Vicki Young helmed the discussion on the BBC programme, which saw Aghaji raise Widdecombe’s anti-LGBTQ+ and anti-abortion track record over the course of her long political career. 

Aghaji said: ‘It’s awful that she was murdered, especially being 78 as well. I think that’s quite a sad way to go out. But I think there is a lot of controversy around how she lived her political life.

‘I’m a real believer that the values that we hold are the politics that we practice, and I feel like it would be amiss to not mention the fact that she pushed against LGBTQ+ rights throughout all of her career. 

‘She also said a lot of things about the victims of Harvey Weinstein during Me Too. She said they chose it upon themselves, and she was vehemently anti-abortion.

‘So I feel like, even though what’s happened is absolutely awful, there are a lot of people who won’t be grieving this.’

Indeed, Widdecombe was highly critical of gay marriage and opposed same-sex couples on Strictly Come Dancing. She said of boxer Nicola Adams’s pairing with a female dancer: ‘I don’t think it is what viewers of Strictly, especially families, are looking for.’

During a stint on Celebrity Big Brother in 2018, Widdecombe was also accused of victim-blaming after saying of Weinstein’s many victims: ‘It’s down to them; they had a choice.’

Several tuning in to the BBC political programme agreed with Aghaji’s point that Widdicombe’s problematic views should not be glossed over, but the MPs in the studio were clearly outraged by her comments. 

Huddleston labelled them ‘completely inappropriate’, adding: ‘I think you will regret what you just said there.’

When Aghaji pushed back, he claimed that Widdecombe had ‘lots of gay friends’ and added that her conservative views were ‘grounded in her faith, her beliefs, which are shared’.

Aghaji noted that she too is a Christian and does not share such views, to which Huddleston said she should ‘respect her views’ regardless. He then said he was ‘uncomfortable’ sitting next to the Big Brother alum following her comments. 

She replied: ‘I hear that. But as someone who is queer, my rights have been affected by her speeches. 

‘She has been a part of Reform, which, as someone who had to live through the race riots of last year, her actions have contributed to a lot of my community having very difficult lives.’

Rounding out the conversation, she said: ‘I can say the legacy that she’s left has been a mixed bag for a lot of different people. That does not excuse the fact that she should never have been murdered.’

A clip of the moment was posted to X and has been viewed over 130,000 times, racking up many comments in support of Aghaji’s balanced take. 

Bob Johnson wrote that Huddleston ‘doesn’t seem to appreciate that many things can be true at the same time’, adding: ‘It is possible to be sad that a person has died, be horrified in the way she died but also be critical of how her political actions adversely affected others.’

Meanwhile, Bec was exasperated that Aghaji had been invited on a politics TV show only to be ‘berated’ for discussing Widdecombe’s politics.

‘As she rightly said, awful that she’s been murdered, but the reality is her “legacy” is not a very positive one for a lot of people. Two things can be true,’ she wrote. 

Elsewhere in the comments, Jas praised the reality star for not being ‘derogatory’ about Widdecombe, while Brad wrote: ‘Daze was totally right. As she said if we’re talking about legacy then that is hers. Solidarity with Daze speaking truth.’