'Attack by the woke': GMB viewers fume over 'cancelling panto' debate
Good Morning Britain viewers took to social media to share their outrage as the ITV show looked forward to pantomime season.
GMB guests debate the relevance of pantomime
On Friday's ITV show, many were left outraged though by the suggestion that traditional pantomimes should be altered or cancelled due to "cultural insensitivity". As the guests and presenters Ben Shephard and Charlotte Hawkins debated the controversial take, fans of the show became furious and argued the idea was "woke nonsense".
It comes as a pantomime production of Aladdin was cancelled after complaints were made.
Ben Ofoedu and Gifty Enright joined Ben and Charlotte, with Ben insisting pantomimes should remain a cherished tradition.
Gifty, on the other hand, believes they are no longer appropriate.
As the debate ensued, viewers took to social media in their droves, largely to agree with Ben.
"I'm all for tradition, really, but the danger with tradition is if it's not updated, it becomes a relic," Giffy stated.
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"It becomes obsolete and irrelevant. Now panto has been around for, you know, two centuries now.
"And when it started, let's not forget in the Victorian times, it was actually radical. It was disruptive. It was subversive.
"That was the whole point of it, to be able to have that medium of comedy to really be disruptive and now 200 years on, these things have become irrelevant, some of them.
"Attitudes have changed, we've moved on. And then there's a small problematic issue of the fairytales.
"If we're looking at women, if we're looking at gender stereotypes, I mean, most of the stories around heteronormative behaviour that - that is not the society we live in.
"When children are going to pantomime, yes, they want to be able to laugh, but a lot of the themes are now behind us I dare say
and we need to be looking forward."
"I really don't agree with anything you just said," Ofoedu laughed.
"I mean, that the heteronormative behaviour, I mean panto is the most fluid thing. The principal boy is usually a girl.
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"So like, Peter Pan is played by a girl and the dame is was paid by a bloke.
"So it's gender fluid in that kind of way. It's a make-believe thing. There's no real stereotype and it's just fun, it's all imagination.
"There's no race culture in there. There's no religion culture, my brother could be black, he could be white he could be Asian.
"You know, it's make-believe, it's pantomime.
"It's just fun, and especially after the pandemic, I think that we all need to sit down and have a laugh, and you'll see the theatres will be packed this year.
"And I think, as I say, it's the last of our traditions, and it's one of the things we should hold on to and I think in panto anything goes and you can be woke in panto."
Twitter user @CCountry_ fumed: "#GMB panto is fun, your life coach is so woke, for the sake of being woke. It's what's wrong with Britain today."
@Da8blue fumed: "Bring back Sinderella.. Bore off you woke killjoy #panto #gmb." (sic)
@RoadRunner1882 added: "#GMB Now pantomimes are under attack by the woke. Please make it stop."
"FFS why has a pantomime got to be woke? No wonder people aren’t going. I hate Woke nonsense #GMB," @ISt3wart posted.
@mrsdprimary_ argued: "Pantos are part of the British culture! Ridiculous part of the woke culture. It’s great laughs and festive! #GMB."
@RussCollibobs raged: "Well done @BigBenOfoedu for speaking sense on #GMB What an absolutely miserable fun sponge that woman is! Her kids must have such a strict woke upbringing."
Good Morning Britain airs weekdays from 6am on ITV.