Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly have been forced to remove a social media post of themselves hanging from a washing line to plug their new podcast after they were accused of being insensitive to suicide.
The television duo shared a video of them suspended from the line with the opening image – a shot of shoes and trouser legs dangling above the ground -with their 5.9million followers to boast of their new project, named Hanging Out with Ant and Dec.
Alongside the beginning of the clip, they wrote: ‘Our brand-new podcast Hanging Out With Ant and Dec is launching on Thursday 22nd January,’ followed by an old fashioned microphone and starry eyed emojis.
However, they prompted upset and outrage from their followers who insisted that their clip was ‘in poor taste’ and ‘triggering.’
The video was posted on Friday evening but by 11am on Saturday morning had been removed. Representatives for Ant and Dec, both 50, have been contacted.
But before it was taken down, the duo, who were outspoken on mental health as part of ITV’s 2021 campaign Britain Get Talking, were lambasted on the social media platform.
The podcast promotion posted on Ant and Dec’s X account that was later removed following backlash
The Geordie duo announced their new venture, Hanging Out With Ant and Dec, on Friday
Former The X Factor contestant Katie Waissel was among those to publicly condemn the video
One said: ‘As someone who has lost a close friend to suicide, I get why this can be seen as triggering and insensitive,’ wrote one user.
Another said: ‘Who in their right mind would think showing legs dangling as a start of an advertisement is a good idea? It’s been triggering.’
Mental health advocate and former The X Factor contestant Katie Waissel was among those to publicly condemn the video on the platform, calling the imagery ‘entirely foreseeable harm.’
She wrote: ‘I’m going to be blunt because this ‘creative direction’ is genuinely sickening and deeply disappointing.
‘This opening visual of feet suspended above the ground is not a harmless “play on words”, it immediately reads as someone hanging, and the suicide imagery is impossible to ignore.
‘Whoever signed this off as a marketing concept either didn’t think for a second about the real-world impact, or simply didn’t care.’
Waissel, 39, added that, with a platform of such scale, the presenting duo had a ‘clear duty to act responsibly.’
‘It’s triggering, insensitive, and frankly reckless to push out as “entertainment” when so many families have been devastated by suicide and self-harm,’ she added. ‘You can promote a show without normalising imagery that could genuinely distress people.’
Others echoed her concern.
‘I thought this too, its cinematography to show someone has hanged themselves, without showing the rope,’ wrote one user.
‘Not saying it was on purpose, just saying this was a very ignorant direction from people who should have known a lot better.’
Another added: ‘I must admit that was the first thing I thought of when I saw the feet dangling.’
Following the backlash, the clip was removed from all official social media channels. Neither Ant nor Dec has publicly commented.
Just weeks ago, the pair secured their future at ITV with a reported £30million deal that will ensure they remain the broadcaster’s golden boys.
The Geordie duo, are two of British TV’s best-known faces and have fronted the likes of I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!, Britain’s Got Talent and their own gameshow Limitless Win.
Having first found fame as teenagers on Byker Grove, the duo will remain at the helm of ITV’s presenting department until at least 2028.
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