Marina Hyde Defends Katherine Ryan's Victoria Beckham Slur, Calls Apology 'Brilliant'

Journalist Marina Hyde has defended comedian Katherine Ryan following an on-air slur directed at Victoria Beckham, asserting that the incident is "not that big of a deal." Hyde, co-hosting "The Rest Is Entertainment" podcast with writer Richard Osman, also praised Ryan's subsequent public apology as "brilliant."

Ryan, 43, made the comment, which was perceived by some viewers as a reference to a derogatory term for women, during a November 2025 episode of the BBC panel show "Have I Got News For You." The BBC's Executive Complaints Unit (ECU) upheld two complaints, ruling that while a fellow panelist's use of a similar term was justified by its context, Ryan's comment lacked such justification.

In a video posted on Friday, Ryan apologized to Beckham, explaining that she was "suffering from a condition called matrescence" and had given birth just ten days before filming the show. She expressed regret for calling another woman a slur, acknowledging that celebrities are not her friends and that such a remark might be offensive in a way it wouldn't be if directed at a male comedian like Jimmy Carr. Ryan also shared a message she sent to Beckham to clarify that the comment was "a stupid joke and I didn't mean any harm towards you at all."

Hyde, speaking on the podcast, suggested that the BBC should not have investigated the complaints, noting that "you can find two people who find anything gratuitously offensive." She argued that the show is sometimes criticized for not being edgy enough, and that "when they do something like this, this happens."

Osman commented on the BBC's mandate to investigate complaints, suggesting that "if you investigate that joke and you see it in black and white and you take it slightly out of context, I guess it's hard to say anything other than 'yeah, I suppose it is sort of offensive.'"

Both Hyde and Osman agreed that humor can be difficult to interpret when read out of context. Osman added that Ryan's apology was a demonstration of "how to own something," calling her "so smart."

"I'm certain [Victoria Beckham] doesn't care," Osman stated. "Does Katherine Ryan come out well out of it? Yes, she does."

The discussion on "Have I Got News For You" had touched upon David Beckham's alleged use of a similar slur in an email to his publicist in 2013, where he reportedly described the honors committee as "a bunch of cs." The ECU ruling noted that the justification for the panelist's comment was its reference to Sir David's own alleged use of the term, but found no editorial justification for Ryan's subsequent joke about his wife.