14 DAY TRIAL // Not all agree with Miss California Carrie Prejean’s opinions on marriage, but Tory MP Alan Duncan has crossed the thin line from not agreeing to making death threats on live television to show that he does not understand where she’s coming from with them. As panelist on BBC1’s program “Have I Got News for You,” the prominent politician indirectly threatened to murder Prejean, which has prompted viewers to phone in and complain to BBC, Britain’s watchdog Ofcom and even the police, the Daily Mail is reporting.
Ofcom and the police are investigating all the complaints and, as of now, they are not at liberty to say just how many of them they have received, or what measures they’re thinking of taking. However, the threat bothered many, especially in a context in which Duncan is planning to run for Home Secretary – that makes his comments, even if meant as a joke, a serious business, the British media says. According to reports, it all started because of Prejean’s statements on marriage, in response to a question on the Miss USA beauty pageant.
When Prejean answered blogger Perez Hilton’s question, she said she had been raised to believe marriage should only be between a man and a woman, a view that caused quite a controversy in the US. Over the weekend, Alan Duncan, one of the few British politicians to ever speak openly about his orientation, also took aim at this “homophobic” view, indirectly saying he could kill the beauty queen for believing this and stating it out loud on TV.
“I don’t agree with her at all.” Duncan said of Prejean, to whom he referred moments earlier as that “silly [expletive].” He then added, “If you read that Miss California has been murdered, you will know it was me won’t you?” Although all the other guests on the program were obviously shocked by the statement and reprimanded Duncan for it, viewers still saw them as inappropriate – like yelling “Bomb!” on a plane, they said. Consequently, the police and Ofcom are investigating the case to establish which course of action they should take, and whether any breach of the rules for television had been made.
In the meanwhile, both Duncan and BBC have publicly spoken on the issue, saying that it was simply a joke in very bad taste. “Of course it was in jest. It is a comedy show after all. I’m sure Miss Prejean’s very beautiful and that if we were to meet we would love each other. I have no plans to kill her. I’ll send her a box of chocolates – unpoisoned.” Duncan told the British media. “Alan Duncan’s comment was not meant to be taken seriously and it did not go unchallenged. Its absurdity and unacceptability was [sic] highlighted by the other panelists.” a spokesperson for BBC also said.