The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) has issued a warning to presenter and former reality TV contestant Chris Hughes for calling an Australian cricketer a “little Barbie” in a sideline interview during the women’s cricket tournament The Hundred.
Hughes, a former contestant on Love Island, was speaking to Australian all-rounder Maitlan Brown who has been playing for the Southern Brave team in the 100-ball cricket tournament in the UK.
Brown, in answering Hughes’ question on how the team was “settling in”, explained how the Southern Brave team has bonded in the lead up to the tournament.
“We watched Barbie the other night all together and it was really good team bonding and the group is gelling really well together,” Brown said.
In response, Hughes said: “You’re a little Barbie yourself, aren’t you, with your blue eyes.”
Brown laughed it off, to which Hughes added: “She’s blushing now.”
Hughes received significant backlash online for his sideline interview with Brown.
“This is a huge let down and shows how much work there is still to do for women to gain respect,” wrote one person on Twitter.
“At the very best it’s completely unprofessional,” said another.
“Imagine telling Ben Stokes he looks like Ken!?” said a third.
The BBC responded to the incident and said Hughes’ comments were “not appropriate”.
Sexism in sports interviews with female athletes is far too common. Just last week, during the FIFA Women’s World Cup, a BBC reporter came under fire for asking an “inappropriate” question to the captain of the Morocco national team, Ghizlane Chebbak.
“In Morocco, it’s illegal to have a gay relationship. Do you have any gay players in your squad and what’s life like for them in Morocco?” the reporter asked.
The press conference moderator shut down the question and said to “stick to questions relating to football”.
The BBC later told CNN they had “no intention to cause any harm or distress”, recognising the question was “inappropriate”.
In 2016, the campaign #CoverTheAthlete brought to light the unequal coverage of female athletes in sports media, with journalists asking questions that have little or nothing to do with their athleticism and sports performance.
After winning the Australian Open in 2014, a journalist asked Romanian tennis player Simona Halep: “As your profile rises, people find out more about you. Your breast reduction surgery was three or four years ago. Does that play any part in your success?”
In 2013, BBC presenter John Inverdale was commentating not on French tennis player Marion Bartoli’s performance during the Wimbledon final, but instead on her appearance: “Do you think Bartoli’s dad told her when she was little: ‘You’re never going to be a looker, you’ll never be a Sharapova, so you have to be scrappy and fight’?”
Upon winning the Australian open in 2015, Eugenie Bouchard was asked by Channel 7 commentator Ian Cohen to “give us a twirl”.