04 February 2024 , 12:23
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James Whale was embroiled in a heated argument with former RMT union boss Steve Hedley, on his TalkTV show, before trying to remove him from the studio as the situation threatened to get physical.
Hedley was originally booked to discuss the effects of train strikes but he launched into a passionate defence of the Palestinian people and accused Israel and Britain of being "terrorist states" and refusing to condemn the attacks by Hamas. The situation on James Whale Unleashed threatened to boil over as co-host Ash Gould continued to argue with Hedley while Whale ordered him from the studio, asking producers to intervene and eject him from the show.
With rail strike talk seemingly being put to one side, Hedley began his passionate defence of Palestine and accused Israel of "genocide" in a prolonged argument about the war in Gaza. Hedley said: "The Israeli government is being brought before the world because everyone has realised there is a genocide going on." Whale was indignant with his response, telling Hedley: "You're talking rubbish."
James Whale and Ash Gould argue with Steve Hedley (Twitter)Gould then joined the war of words with Whale raising his voice over the arguing pair to ask for Hedley to be removed from the studio before telling his guest directly to get out, but to no avail. Hedley argued: "I'm not talking rubbish. The Palestinian people are occupied people and they have a right to defend themselves."
Hedley continued to say that Hamas "did not exist" when conflict in Gaza began in the 1940s, as they were founded in 1987, and claimed that Palestine was being "occupied". He then addressed Gould directly as tempers began to fray and said: "Britain is a terrorist state isn't it Ash? That's the reality. Britain's a terrorist state, America is a terrorist state and Israel is a terrorist state."
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Whale then decided to make an intervention himself after a producer was unable to persuade Hedley to move from his chair and mic. He is seen on camera approaching Hedley and shouting "out, come on" to which Hedley responded by claiming that the the TV host was "trying to assault" him. Whale snapped back at him, saying: "I'm not trying to assault you, I'm an old man with cancer."
James Whale attempts to remove Steve Hedley from the studio (Twitter)Hedley called Whale a "silly little man" and said that he was "making a statement" which is why he would not leaved the studio and said that Whale's intervention made him a "genocide enabler". Whale then grabbed Hedley's microphone and moved it out of the way. Hedley hit back by saying: "you talk cr**, all you can spout is that cr**, genocide enabler". As he left the studio, Hedley continued to shout "free Palestine".