Vanessa Feltz responds to backlash for This Morning comments about coeliac disease
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This Morning regular Vanessa Feltz has responded to the backlash she received over her comments about coeliac disease.
During a pre-Christmas advice segment on Monday's (December 18) instalment of the ITV talk show, Feltz responded to a caller who said that she and her "fussy" teenager were "being forced to have a gluten-free Christmas" due to a family member being coeliac.
Feltz was criticised by viewers for her response, in which she described the situation as "absolutely ridiculous" and "completely unreasonable", while charity Coeliac UK took to X (formerly known as Twitter) to express its disappointment, calling Feltz's comments "damaging" and "inaccurate".
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Addressing the backlash on her TalkTV show yesterday (December 19), Feltz said: "I said [to the caller], 'I think you should eat the gluten free meal that your mother-in-law is kindly preparing and, you know, if your son refuses to eat a gluten-free meal, I’m not sure why he should, then give him a picnic on the way there or the way home in the car.
"I did not, nor would I for a second, suggest they should put the coeliac guest at risk in any way.
"Nor did I suggest they bring their own food and shove it in their mother-in-law’s oven or put it on the table, I would not dream of that."
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She continued: "Nor did I, in any shape or form, intend to disrespect or misunderstand how unpleasant it can be leading your life as a coeliac. Some of my best friends are coeliacs.
"And I spend a lot of time in Ireland, where a huge proportion of the population are coeliacs and suffering from coeliac disease. So I know how horrible it is if you should mistakenly find yourself eating something with gluten in it.
"So I am astounded by the reaction. I am horrified that anyone is upset. I would never want to upset anyone and I don’t actually think I said anything that was wrong.
"I checked before the show, I checked with Dr Phillipa Kaye after the show, I don’t think I said anything wrong. But if anyone misunderstood or felt that I did, I am very sorry."
This Morning airs weekday mornings on ITV from 10am and streams on ITVX, with Rylan and Emma presenting all week from Monday, December 4.
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