Britain’s TV diversity boss defends social media activity after ‘anti-Semitism’ row over Stephen Fry speech

EXCLUSIVEThe CEO of one of the UK’s leading diversity organizations has denied liking alleged anti-Semitic LinkedIn posts about Stephen Fry’s Christmas speech.

Deborah Williams, who runs the Creative Diversity Network, said she did not support former Channel 4 commissioner Tamara Abood’s messages about the festive season.

Williams’ denial comes amid other questions about her social media activity, including the re-publication of a petition by controversial politician Chris Williamson calling for the expulsion of Israel’s ambassador to Britain.

Abood was accused of anti-Semitism by leading Jewish producers after she wrote that Fry’s slogans against increasing discrimination were “disingenuous” and showed “where the power lies in the British media”. Fry’s six-minute speech was produced by Fulwell 73 for Channel 4.

Screenshots seen by Deadline show Williams appears to have “liked” a post from Abood in which she said: “Unlike Fulwell Fry’s inappropriate version, this is a Christmas message I can support.”

Abood links to a Google search by Alexei Sayle. Sayle, a Jewish comedian who has been outspoken about his support for Palestine, recorded his own Christmas speech in which he accused other Jews of “inflating themselves” over the Gaza conflict and following the narrative of the “ruling class establishment”. to talk He also accused Israel of “genocide”.

Williams denied that he liked Abood’s message. In a statement, Williams said she does not follow Abood on LinkedIn and instead endorsed a post from an industry contact that referenced Abood’s original post about Sayle.

Williams also made it clear that she did not like Abood’s other posts in which she made claims about “where the power lies” on British television and argued that anti-Semitism “doesn’t happen in a vacuum”.

A spokesperson for the Creative Diversity Network said: “Deborah ‘liked’ a post from an industry contact in a series of posts relating to Alexei Sayle’s alternative Christmas message, as she is a fan of the comedian is.”

“She immediately disliked Tamara Abood’s post about the Christmas message itself, as she does not follow Tamara Abood and therefore did not know her other posts and their content, especially the post where the power lies.

“Deborah has fought racism and inequality in all its forms throughout her career, including the last seven years as head of the Creative Diversity Network, where she worked to make the television industry more inclusive for all.”

Williams’ statement caused a stir, especially in relation to her other social media activities. In recent days, she posted on Twitter (now

Last month she retweeted a message from former Labor MP Chris Williamson urging people to sign a petition calling for the expulsion of Israel’s ambassador to Britain. Williamson was expelled from the Labor Party in 2019 over an anti-Semitism row and is being investigated by the police for a possible hate crime against Israel.

A source close to Williams said she retweeted Williamson without properly addressing the content of his message.

Leo Pearlman, managing partner at Fulwell 73, was critical of Abood’s LinkedIn posts, commenting on the alleged discrimination against Jewish people since Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7.

Regarding Williams’ social media activity, he told Deadline: “Are we really supposed to believe this nonsense from the CDN that Ms. Williams has succeeded in discrediting the vile views of Chris Williamson, Tamara Abood, Alexei Sayle, etc. to support and without ever having to reinforce?” read a message?one of her posts or maybe without knowledge of her many public positions?

“Ms. Williams plays an essential role in our industry. You and the CDN claim to represent the interests of all minorities. Well, this should be a wake-up call to you, the organization and the industry that fighting racism and inequality in all its forms, but expressly excluding Jews from this claim, does not make you a hero of diversity, but a hero of diversity. Definition of an antisemite and not fit for purpose.”

Williams led the Creative Diversity Network for seven years. It is funded by the major British broadcasters and monitors diversity in television programmes. Paul Moore, ITV’s director of corporate affairs and communications, chairs the organisation.

Abood, who now works as a psychotherapist but has ties to the television industry, has deleted her LinkedIn account, meaning her posts are no longer in the public domain. She has been contacted for comment.