Is the Real Housewives of ISIS Skit Really Sparking a Controversy?
Online outrage may not necessarily mean there's a controversy.
A skit released by the BBC to promote a new sketch show, Revolting, parodied ISIS and the Real Housewives reality TV franchise with a "Real Housewives of ISIS" skit that included the women comparing suicide vests and complaining about not having anything to wear to the next beheading.
You can watch the skit below:
"BBC 'Real Housewives of ISIS' Sketch Sparks Controversy," The Hollywood Reporter's headline read. Yet the controversy appears to be little more than the discussion generated online. The Hollywood Reporter reported that "perhaps predictably, the response from social media was less than enthusiastic," with viewers calling the skit "distasteful." The Daily Mail collected even more online outrage to describe the "backlash" over the skit.
For their part, Revolting co-creators Heydon Prowse and Jolyon Rubinstein defended their decision to satirize extremists in i. "It's important not to pull your punches in satire. You have to be fearless or it undermines your credibility. You can't go after David Cameron for five years like we did and not go after Islamic State," Prowse told i.
"The target is online grooming," Rubinstein said of the housewives skit. "It's about people who are vulnerable to these kind of approaches. We've had the 'White Widow' [British-born terror suspect Samantha Lewthwaite] so this is actually happening to women here."