When I sat down to watch the 2026 Brit Awards this evening, I didn’t expect to spend every five seconds texting my friends, ‘What did Geese just say?’ or ‘What did Angry Ginge just say?’ or ‘What joke did Jack Whitehall just make?’ I’m not the only one who’s noticed ITV’s heavy-handed approach to bleeping and censoring the awards ceremony.
All over social media, viewers have been voicing their discontent, with one X user summarising things pretty accurately, saying: “Pretty sure that the Brit Awards in the ’90s would be constantly muted with this lot in charge. What a shambles!!”
A shambles indeed. And look, given the controversy over the Bafta Film Awards last weekend, in which the BBC broadcast a racial slur being involuntarily shouted by Tourette’s campaigner John Davidson, we can sort of understand ITV’s caution. While the Baftas were broadcast following a two-hour delay – theoretically giving the BBC plenty of time to edit – the Brits is broadcast live, meaning producers have to make snap decisions.
But in this case, the bleeping has only driven viewers’ curiosity, with plenty of you searching to see what Geese/Angry Ginge/Noel Gallagher, etc., actually said.
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What did Geese say at the 2026 Brit Awards?
Various footage taken from those in the audience suggests that Geese said, “Free Palestine, Fuck ICE, Go Geese” ITV has yet to release a statement explaining why this was deemed unsuitable for broadcast.
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The Brits take place after the watershed – the time when TV programmes which might be unsuitable for children can be broadcast – but in recent years, ITV has made more of an effort to clamp down on swearing.
Oh, and Angry Ginge called London a “shit hole”. You’re welcome.
For more from Glamour UK‘s Lucy Morgan, follow her on Instagram @lucyalexxandra or on TikTok at @lucyalexxandra.