Ant and Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway drag performance sparks Ofcom complaints
One person called the performance "degrading and disgusting".
Words: Alastair James; pictures: Instagram/@antanddec
Ant and Dec’s drag performance on Saturday Night Takeaway over the weekend was legendary, but sadly not everyone enjoyed it.
The media regulator Ofcom has had 59 complaints over the performance and has had some viewers criticise it and call it “misogynistic”.
Ant and Dec – or ‘Lady Antoinette’ and ‘Donna Lee’ – were joined on stage on Saturday (19 February) by RuPaul’s Drag Race UK winners The Vivienne, Lawrence Chaney and Krystal Versace for a performance of the new charity single ‘We Werk Together’.
“Degrading and disgusting”
One person called the performance “degrading and disgusting” on Twitter taking issue with the male presenters dragging up as a “parody” of women.
It’s degrading and disgusting. We are not a parody or fetish
— Lisbeth Salander (@LisbethSal30478) February 22, 2022
Another user also accused Ant and Dec of a “pornified mockery of women”. A common theme among complaints online is the idea of using ‘woman face’, which according to the Urban Dictionary (not the most reliable of courses) is when men dress and act like women and is a form of misogyny.
Neither the Oxford nor Collins dictionary recognised the search terms for ‘woman face’.
As sad as it is to see such criticism of a clearly joyful and celebratory act, many did choose to see how the performance would make a positive impact in the world.
One mum posted a video message on Twitter after Saturday’s show expressing her thanks to the duo for showing people “it’s ok to just be who you want to be”.
She also says: “It’s going to be so influential that you dressed up in drag. My son has Tourettes and he’s got anxiety and he likes to be different, he likes to walk nicely, he likes to wear make-up. He’s 12-years-old and he’s been bullied all his life. And what you’ve done tonight is just… amazing.”
❤️ ❤️ https://t.co/irwwHeKH8j
— antanddec (@antanddec) February 20, 2022
The author Caitlin Moran also celebrated the performance saying that, “[I] thought of all the people who would be watching drag for the 1st time, on ITV prime-time, being done by two lads who would have been at school during Section 28, and it made me a bit tearful.”
‘We Werk Together’ will raise money for the UK food and hunger charity, The Trussell Trust, and is available now. Watch Ant and Dec’s full performance below:
Attitude’s new-look March/April issue is out now.
