A new scandal has erupted in the Big Brother house after PR professional Caroline protested about consuming halal food following an incident where she accidentally splashed beer on Farida, a Muslim contestant.
The controversy unfolded during Thursday night's programme when participants were challenged to complete a mock airline experience aboard 'British Eyeways'.
Whilst playfully tossing beer with fellow contestant Tate, some liquid landed on Farida, prompting concern from housemate Zelah, who witnessed the incident.
The situation escalated when Zelah later questioned Caroline about her actions, leading to her remarks about halal dietary requirements.
ITV Big Brother: Caroline
|ITV
During the shopping challenge, contestants were required to endure a five-hour simulated flight experience. Caroline and Tate's horseplay with beer resulted in liquid hitting Farida's face, whose faith prohibits alcohol consumption.
When Zelah approached Caroline that evening about the incident, she dabbed her own face with her finger and licked it before responding flippantly: "Did she drink it?"
"No, she didn't, Caroline," Zelah replied as he let out a slight chuckle. Caroline then went on the defensive: "It's not my fault her face was there."
She went further: "I can't live my life not being able to play because someone doesn't like it."
Zelah interjected to point out that Farida was actually "fine" with the incident, and it was he who was concerned. "I like to check in with people," he added.
Caroline hit back, telling Zelah to keep his thoughts to himself before protesting: "I had to eat, today, halal meat. Halal meat. That was all. Why is that fair?"
Zelah challenged this comparison, stating: "No one said you had to eat it."
Caroline reacted: "Well, no one said she had to have her face in the way when I was throwing a bit of alcohol."
LATEST ENTERTAINMENT NEWS:
ITV Big Brother: Zelah
|ITV
As Zelah disputed the idea that the two scenarios were comparable, Caroline continued to challenge him, urging him to stay out of the situation because if Farida had a problem, "she would just come to me".
"And maybe by checking, you've brought out a whole thing that wouldn't have been there," she said.
"I was just being mindful," Zelah protested, but Caroline remained undeterred. "Because this is a Christian country, I can't not live the way I live because it might upset someone."
Later in the show, Farida entered the discussion, insisting she was "fine" with what happened.
She then explained that after having alcohol spilled on her, she would be required by her faith to wash before she would be able to pray again.
Farida acknowledged that the beer wasn't aimed at her, and so she was able to dismiss the incident.
Turning to Zelah, Caroline pointed out: "See, sometimes being mindful can actually make things worse. Sometimes I think what's happened in England is people are apologising for people who can do it for themselves."
The incident sparked quite the debate among social media users at home, with some claiming Caroline's actions were offensive to Farida's faith.
ITV Big Brother: Farida
|ITV Big Brother: Farida
However, Caroline also received plenty of support from ITV viewers who felt she was right to stand her ground.
"I love Caroline - haters can hate!" one Instagram user said, followed by a second who echoed: "Caroline is the best housemate, not a sensitive mess."
"She did make a good point about being too mindful at times, and it causing bigger problems than are necessary. Some of them are complete fun sponges in there with all the uber seriousness," a third added
And a fourth also hit out: "Zelah interfered unnecessarily again. Caroline is right, we can’t do anything these days and apologise excessively."
However, one of Caroline's critics said: "I normally like Caroline, but this was too much! Just no respect for other people’s cultures. Farida handled that well, bless her heart."
"I think checking is the right thing to do. Caroline should have just said 'god I didn’t even know, let me check with her'. That’s it done," a second weighed in.
Elsewhere, another user weighed in: "I'm not the most liberal of people and whilst I kind of agree that England has always been a Christian country, Caroline should have still have had the common decency to have some respect for Farida's religious views. It's irrelevant if you ate Halal meat or not, as Zelah said, she didn't need to eat it, she had a choice, Farida had alcohol spilt on her without a choice, and then had to sit there unable to wash it off. Just a little bit of mindfulness and respect goes a long way, and Caroline is an adult and should know better."
"I'm not Farida's biggest fan by any means, but Caroline was bang out of order," a fourth complained. (sic)