“I DON’T CARE” – BBC Breakfast’s Naga Munchetty HITS BACK live on air at Public Pressure and Criticism!
The news presenter, 50, recently featured on Emily Dean’s podcast Walking The Dog With Emily Dean.
She opened up about medical misogyny and how she handles criticism while being in the public eye.
Emily asked Naga how being known by so many people from her work on the BBC impacts her personally.
She said: ‘Firstly this is not a woe is me conversation but what happens is you are mindful of your behaviour in public more so than I think most people who aren’t on air. Not that I want to go and, I don’t know, take a dump in public or something like that.
‘But look, when you work for the BBC or work for any organisation, you are representing them because people recognise you.
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BBC Breakfast’s Naga Munchetty (pictured) has defiantly stood her ground at trolls who have approached her in person and taken vile swipes at her looks and hosting skills
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The news presenter, 50, recently featured on Emily Dean’s podcast Walking The Dog With Emily Dean. Pictured: Naga, right, with co-host Charlie Stayt, left
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She opened up about medical misogyny and how she handles criticism in the public eye
‘And if you’re seen as the face of the BBC, you unconsciously, but necessarily uphold certain values.’
She added: ‘When you watch Breakfast, you feel like you’ve got some trusted friends who are getting you through the day and through the news.
‘There would be a slight disappointment, I think if you saw me, rip roaring drunk, rolling around the floor and shouting profanities.’
The broadcaster admitted she does ‘watch’ herself because of that.
Later on in the conversation, Naga revealed that she felt having a public profile ‘amplified’ things ‘really quickly’.
‘Things can be amplified really quickly when you have a public profile and being criticised, people don’t think really,’ she explained.
‘People believe they can say whatever they want to say and hurt and not think if they’re hurting someone’s feelings and not think if what they’re doing is actually productive or just saying things for the sake of things.’
Naga revealed she has even had members of the public approach her and make comments about her.
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Later on in the conversation, Naga revealed that she felt having a public profile ‘amplified’ things ‘really quickly’
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Naga revealed she has even had members of the public approach her and make comments about her
She said: ‘I’ve had people come up to me saying, ‘I don’t like you on telly. Your radio show’s, all right, it’s quite interesting, but I don’t like you on telly. I never watch you’.’
Though Naga has changed the way she responds to such situations.
‘I kind of don’t even rise to it now. I don’t engage in it. Whereas before, I think when I was younger, I’d have said, ‘what don’t you like?’ I don’t care,’ Naga said.
‘You think your opinion is so important that you get to tell me you don’t like me? Some stranger, I’m a stranger to you. Or people who just say, ‘I don’t like what you’re wearing today.’ Alright, I’m not wearing it for you, I’m just wearing clothes … They’ve chosen to say something about me and it’s affecting me. I can’t be comparing myself to everyone else.’
Naga revealed other things people have said to her including, ‘The best thing people say is, ‘Oh, you’re not as fat as you look on telly.’
She went on to recall how a woman recognised her in public once and commented ‘on the television you look so wide, so wide on the television’ and asked her ‘What size are you?’.
Naga added: ‘Now I would not blink at having that conversation. I probably even told her my size … and I was so polite, whereas now I’d say, ‘I don’t think I need to tell you what size clothes I wear, do I?’.
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She went on to recall how a woman recognised her in public once and commented ‘on the television you look so wide, so wide on the television’ and asked her ‘What size are you?’
‘And I’d say it in a nice-ish way with a bit of a smile, irony. But I have a lot more confidence about that now.’
It comes as BBC Breakfast staff defended their ‘overwhelmingly loved’ boss under fire from Naga – and claimed ‘he’s not a bully at all and the truth will come out’.
It was revealed last week that editor Richard Frediani has reportedly taken an extended period of leave, after an internal review of bullying and misconduct allegations was opened into the show.
It was previously claimed that the show’s staff are feeling increasingly ‘uneasy’ around Frediani, and just last week it was claimed that Naga and other presenters no longer speak to their ‘loathed’ boss.
But now some have rushed to defend Frediani.
One of those members of staff told The Mirror: ‘He is not a bully at all and the truth will come out.
‘He’s a great boss and was – and is still – overwhelmingly loved by the team, who respect his drive, expertise, and journalistic ambition.
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It comes as BBC Breakfast staff defended their ‘overwhelmingly loved’ boss under fire from Naga – and claimed ‘he’s not a bully at all and the truth will come out’
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It was revealed last week that under-fire editor Richard Frediani (pictured) has reportedly taken an extended period of leave, after an internal review of bullying and misconduct allegations was opened into the show
‘He has delivered great audiences and the first ever Bafta for Breakfast.
‘He can be brash and opinionated but works so hard for his team and allows people to flourish.’
Another said: ‘Yes, he is old-school and can rub people up the wrong way but it’s always in the pursuit of great television.
‘It’s the best-rating breakfast show in the country – it’s not supposed to be a walk in the park.
‘Some – Naga included – need to understand this. It feels like it’s a case of presenter power turfing out a brilliant journalist.’
A BBC spokesperson said: ‘While we do not comment on individual cases, we take all complaints about conduct at work extremely seriously.’
Last week the BBC have reportedly launched a bullying probe into BBC Breakfast, which has been branded ‘toxic’ behind the scenes in the latest crisis for the corporation.
Back in April, MailOnline exclusively revealed some staff had expressed unhappiness with the show’s editor Richard Frediani, accusing him of being on occasion ‘aggressive’ and ‘belittling’ towards his underlings.
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BBC Breakfast star Naga Munchetty, pictured with her co-host Charlie Stayt, who present the show Monday to Wednesday
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BBC Breakfast rocked by ‘bullying probe’ in latest crisis for corporation
Now, tensions are said to be ‘rife’ between hosts and Charlie Stayt and Naga, who has already expressed her uneasiness about Frediani’s behaviour, with the probe said to have left the newsroom ‘divided’.
A source told The Sun at the time: ‘To the viewer BBC Breakfast is a warm, gentle programme, one that is flourishing in the ratings. But beyond the cosy red sofa it is a very different picture.
‘Several people — crew, production and even presenters — have been very unhappy’.
‘Tension between Charlie and Naga is rife.
‘Fredi is very old-school and has some slightly tyrannical tendencies.
‘He is very cerebral but also quite aggressive in his methods. Some people think a recent promotion has gone to his head’.
‘Meanwhile, Naga, who is passionate about speaking up if she believes something is wrong, has spoken to people who are unhappy.
Naga Munchetty discusses appropriate dress code at workplace
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‘Formal complaints have been lodged, so the BBC has to be seen to act.
‘The probe has really divided the newsroom’.
More recently BBC Breakfast staff have reportedly compared the studio to ‘the Hunger Games’ after an internal review of bullying and misconduct allegations was opened into the show.
BBC Breakfast has been on our screens since 2000 and Fredani joined the show in 2019.
