This Morning host Cat Deeley has apologised after facing a backlash for making an insensitive joke about seizures.
The TV presenter, 47, came under fire after quipping that she was “having a seizure” while dancing to Meghan Trainor's song All About That Bass, during Monday’s episode.
Addressing the issue during the opening moments of the ITV show the following day, Deeley said she was sorry and insisted that no malice had been intended.
Holding her hands up, she said: “I just wanted to apologise to anyone who was offended yesterday when I made a light-hearted comment about my dancing style.
“It really wasn't supposed to cause any upset to anybody, but I can see why that might have been the case.”
Seizures are no laughing matter for people with #epilepsy @catdeeley.
— Epilepsy Society (@epilepsysociety) June 17, 2024
Please do better and educated yourselves about this difficult and poorly understood condition, @thismorning 💜 pic.twitter.com/txEOo0zeyC
Co-presenter Ben Shephard, 49, agreed and backed up Deeley’s version of events.
It came after angry social media users had taken to their various platforms to berate Deeley and inform her that seizures were “no laughing matter” for those who have epilepsy or similar conditions.
The Epilepsy Society also condemned the comments, posting on X, formerly known as Twitter: “Seizures are no laughing matter for people with #epilepsy @catdeeley.
“Please do better and educate yourselves about this difficult and poorly understood condition, @thismorning.”
Some however did defend Deeley and praised her for her “genuine” apology.
“She was making fun of herself and not people that have seizures. Sometimes we need to be less critical. It was clearly a joke on herself,” wrote one person.
“'I thought the apology from @catdeeley on @thismorning regarding her seizure comment yesterday was truly genuine. I do hope now that it will stop the mob from constantly attacking her character. Jury by social media can go too far and we've seen that in the past,” agreed another.
The latest controversy comes after recent reports that the show is in “crisis” with viewing figures plummeting by half”, since Deeley and Shephard took over for previous hosts Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield in May.
