Beautiful Virgin Islands

Wednesday, Jul 23, 2025

‘Woke rubbish’: Hundreds complain to UK media watchdog over Channel 4’s deepfake Queen on Christmas Day

British broadcaster Channel 4 has been hit with hundreds of complaints over its Christmas Day message starring a ‘deepfake’ Queen, who danced on a table and joked about Prince Harry and Meghan Markle ditching the royal family.
British broadcaster Channel 4 has been hit with hundreds of complaints over its Christmas Day message starring a ‘deepfake’ Queen, who danced on a table and joked about Prince Harry and Meghan Markle ditching the royal family.

Ofcom said it had received at least 214 complaints over the broadcast of the digitally-altered monarch, which Channel 4 described as intended to provide a “stark warning” about the use of technology for “fake news in a digital age.”

The four-minute film starred English actress and impressionist Debra Stephenson, whose image was enhanced using ‘deepfake’ technology from Oscar-winning VFX studio Framestore, in order to generate an uncanny resemblance to Queen Elizabeth II.

In this alternative to the BBC’s official Christmas speech, the Queen also pokes fun at Boris Johnson’s sex life, her son Prince Andrew’s legal woes, and at one point even jumps up on her desk to perform a TikTok dance challenge. Channel 4’s head of programming said the clip served as a “powerful reminder that we can no longer trust our own eyes.”

But not everyone saw the funny side of trifling with Britain’s head of state, with some online commenters saying Channel 4 should show the monarch some “respect,” while others claimed the broadcast was “illegal” and even “treasonous.”

One Twitter user wrote: “I would rather go to the kitchen and hold my hands down on the hot plate for 10 minutes than watch this ‘woke’ rubbish.”

“How dare they,” was Brexit backer Nigel Farage’s response to the Channel 4 sketch, while a review by the Telegraph gave it just two out of five stars, describing it as “dismal” and “toothless satire.”

Amid the backlash, a Channel 4 spokesperson defended the skit, saying it was “affectionate and comedic in tone,” while carrying an important message. “It is very clear in the four-minute film that it is a parody of the Christmas Day address and viewers were left in no doubt that it was not real,” they added.

After the 214 complaints, Ofcom said it would consult the Broadcasting Code and decide whether to launch an investigation.

The number of complaints is relatively low compared to other UK television controversies in 2020, such as when the BBC used the N-word in a news item, drawing 18,600 complaints, or when ITV was hit with 1,900 objections after Britain’s Got Talent judge Alesha Dixon sported a BLM necklace on the show.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
Hong Kong Advances Digital Asset Strategy to Address Economic Challenges
Australia Rules Out Pre‑commitment of Troops, Reinforces Defence Posture Amid US‑China Tensions
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
U.S. Resumes Deportations to Third Countries After Supreme Court Ruling
Excavation Begins at Site of Mass Grave for Children at Former Irish Institution
×