The BBC has issued a statement after Martine Croxall corrected the phrase ‘pregnant people’ to ‘women’ during a broadcast.
The veteran presenter was delivering a report on the UK heatwave during the June 21 broadcast, reading from a teleprompter.
She appeared to roll her eyes as she defiantly amended the script, saying: “London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine has released research which says that nearly 600 heat-related deaths are expected in the UK.
“Malcom Mistry, who was involved in the research, says that the aged, pregnant people… women… and those with pre-existing health conditions need to take precautions.”
People quickly took to social media to voice their support, applauding Croxall for making the bold decision to correct the wording, including Harry Potter author JK Rowling, who is very vocal about her gender-critical views.
Rowling, reposted the video writing: “I have a new favourite BBC presenter.”
Therapist and gender-critical campaigner James Esses also commented: “The BBC is so utterly enthralled to gender ideology that it took a brave newsreader to correct the teleprompter instruction to say ‘pregnant people’ by instead saying ‘women’ afterwards. Let’s hope she isn’t cancelled for her rebellion!”
However, the correction sparked complaints from some viewers, prompting the broadcaster to issue a statement on July 1.
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The BBC wrote: “During a sequence about heatwaves, Martine Croxall was reading a script that directly quoted a report from The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
“As the language wasn’t clearly attributed, she used her editorial judgement to make a live adjustment.
“We’re happy that this was duly accurate and impartial in line with the BBC’s Editorial guidelines.”
The BBC was previously understood to have thrown support behind Croxall, with a source saying the broadcaster responded in an “intensely relaxed” manner.
The source told The Times: “It’s a real cultural moment,” before detailing the support from co-stars for the use of “honest language.”
Following the attention, Croxall herself acknowledged the moment with her own post, sharing on X: “A huge thank you to everyone who has chosen to follow me today for whatever reason. It’s been quite a ride…”
This marks another incident in a string of controversies for the BBC, the most recent being its decision not to cut the livestream of Bob Vylan’s Glastonbury performance, during which frontman Pascal Robinson-Foster chanted “death to the IDF.”
The incident triggered widespread backlash and has intensified pressure on BBC chief Tim Davie over his leadership.