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GB News Hit by Guest Boycott After Hosts Label LGBT+ People ‘Paedos’ and ‘Deviants’

There was a flurry of Ofcom complaints after a series of offensive remarks by presenters on the right-wing channel

Screengrab: Josh Howie on GB News.

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A prominent trans campaigner and GB News contributor has announced she will no longer appear on the channel after one of its presenters linked LGBT+ people to paedophilia, amid growing pressure on the channel’s advertisers to ditch the right-wing broadcaster. 

The controversy stems from comments made by presenter and ‘comedian’ Josh Howie on the channel’s ‘Headliners’ programme on 22nd January, as well as separate remarks by presenter Michelle Dewberry just two days later. 

During the paper review on GB News at 11:40pm on Wednesday 22nd, Howie referred to a speech from the Episcopalian Bishop of Washington, Mariann Budde, who had addressed President Trump in a sermon he attended earlier this month, calling for him to show compassion to marginalised groups, including LGBT+ people.

Howie quoted a statement from her church which backs the “full inclusion of LGBTQ+ persons”. He then added: “I just want to say that that includes paedos,” shouting the last word.

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In another discussion on trans issues on Friday 24th January (6:24pm), host Michelle Dewberry said: “Some of these fellas that go around dressed as women with their fake bits in their bras, they are deviants, quite frankly.” It was part of her ‘Dewbs and Co’ show.

Robin Moira White, who has appeared around a dozen times on GB News to provide her perspective on trans issues, said she had raised concerns about the broadcasts “at a senior level” with an executive but was ignored. 

She said of the GB News figure: “I can see on WhatsApp that they’ve received the message, but I’ve had no response. Therefore, I have to assume GB News are entirely happy with what’s happened.” 

Referring to Howie’s comment about ‘paedos’, White added: “I have always taken the view that I should be prepared to put a trans perspective even with broadcasters such as GB News. This clip changes that.”

In an interview, White told Byline Times that GB News had the opportunity to prevent the broadcast of Howie’s comments using their standard 20-second delay between filming and broadcast. “They clearly didn’t have to put it on their social media channel, which they’ve done, and by doing so, have endorsed the remarks,” she said.

Linking LGBTQ+ inclusion to paedophilia is a toxic and dangerous trope. Please take action to urge Sky to pull their ads from GB News: actionstorm.org/petitions/cu…

Stop Funding Hate (@stopfundinghate.bsky.social) 2025-01-30T14:07:35.051Z

Campaign group Stop Funding Hate has called the incident “toxic and dangerous” and is urging advertisers, including Sky, to withdraw their support from the channel. The group has launched a petition asking companies to review their advertising relationships with GB News. The group has also crowdfunded around £10,000 to step up efforts to monitor the broadcaster this year. 

White, who has previously appeared alongside presenters including Ann Widdecombe and Richard Tice, drew parallels between the channel’s rhetoric and historical persecution of minority groups. 

“We’ve just marked Holocaust Memorial Day. The Nazis didn’t start by putting Jews into camps – they started by demonising them and gradually excluding them from participating in society. That starts with a narrative that associates a particular group with criminality and unacceptable behaviour. And here we have that narrative,” White said. 

The broadcasting regulator Ofcom has faced criticism for its soft-touch handling of previous complaints about GB News. White described the watchdog as “a toothless tiger” despite its ruling on the channel’s “Ask Rishi Sunak” programme last year. The channel was fined £100,000 for breaking due impartiality rules over its February 2024 programme featuring the PM and limited critical voices. 

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A number of social media users have reported filing complaints with Ofcom over the recent anti-LGBT+ comments. 

White will be complaining to Ofcom herself. “There are many people who know us [LGBT+ people] to be principled, responsible members of society who shouldn’t be treated this way by a public broadcaster…

“I think a line is crossed when there is a game played between commentators who try to get ‘LGBT’ and words like ‘paedophile’ into the same sentence. They attempt to give the impression that significant numbers of LGBT folk are in troubling categories, which is simply untrue.” The same goes for Michelle Dewbry’s “deviant” comments, she added. 

GB News has previously defended its editorial stance as representing views they claim are excluded from mainstream media.

Richard Wilson, director of Stop Funding Hate, the group which monitors GB News and calls for an advertising boycott of the channel, believes that in recent weeks the channel has promoted a “rapid escalation of anti-LGBTQ rhetoric” – perhaps in light of Donald Trump’s return to power. Presenter Patrick Christys this week GB News celebrated the US Government’s new ban on Pride and BlackLivesMatter flags being flown on Government buildings, asking: “Isn’t it time we copied President Trump?”. 

“This matters, above all, because these toxic tropes can have a dangerous real-world impact, fuelling hostility and even violence against communities that already face discrimination,” Wilson told Byline Times.

“We know that there are also ways to push back. GB News presenters have repeatedly attacked #StopFunding Hate and complained about the reluctance of major advertisers to associate themselves with the channel. 

“By keeping up the pressure on companies such as Sky, Trivago and Imagine Cruising, who have continued to support GB News, we can help to ensure that pushing this kind of hate remains unprofitable.”

The group is challenging what it calls Ofcom’s “repeated refusal to act”, and the impact that the channel is having on our public discourse. 

“If Britain’s broadcasting regulator continues failing to enforce its own rules, then MPs need to step in and hold it to account,” he added. 

GB News has been approached for comment.

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