Comedian Katherine Ryan has spoken about her efforts to "make it right" with Victoria Beckham after the BBC upheld complaints regarding an offensive remark made on the satirical news quiz "Have I Got News For You."
Ryan, 43, who was promoting her memoir "Firstborn Daughter" at a book tour event in Manchester, addressed the controversy surrounding a comment she made about Beckham. The British comedian stated that she had tried to communicate her regret to Beckham, emphasizing that her intention was not to cause harm.
"I adore her, and I don't care what people think, but equally I do have accountability for hurting people's feelings," Ryan told The Times. "Even if they're a massive celebrity, I do feel bad about that. I try to make it right."
The incident occurred during an episode where the show's panellist Maisie Adam reportedly used an offensive term in reference to Sir David Beckham's alleged use of the word in an email. The BBC's Executive Complaints Unit (ECU) ruled that Adam's usage was justified as it related to Sir David's purported comment. However, the ECU found no editorial justification for Ryan's subsequent joke, which linked Victoria Beckham to the offensive term.
Ryan, who hosted that segment, was quoted as saying on the program, "I don't know that we are allowed to broadcast the c-word, but you did reference Victoria Beckham earlier and we'll allow that." The ECU's ruling stated, "There was no such justification for a comment which presented Victoria Beckham as equivalent to a particularly offensive word."
An internal investigation was launched after two viewers complained that the remark was "gratuitously offensive." Following the ruling, Ryan posted a video on social media, attributing her lapse in judgment to experiencing "matrescence" as a new mother. She was caring for a ten-day-old baby at the time of the recording.
"This is gonna be a tough one for the feminists because I was a woman going to work but I did call another woman a c," Ryan explained. "Sometimes I forget that celebrities are not my friends. If I had called Jimmy Carr a c, he wouldn't have minded."
She added that the BBC described the comment as a slur, and that if viewers had watched it live, it was clearly intended as a joke, followed by audience gasps and her own immediate retraction, "Woah, I love her."
Ryan also shared a screenshot of a message sent to Victoria Beckham, stating, "to make it clear it was a stupid joke and I didn't mean any harm towards you at all."
Elsewhere in the interview, Ryan commented on how she handles online criticism, saying, "If I can offer entertainment, even in the form of everyone slagging me off, I don't mind. They're having fun. I don't give a st. I'm a millionaire with healthy children. Why give a st?"