Yahoo News University Challenge's Amol Rajan jokes about 'controversial' mascot
The team from Christ Church Oxford had been targeted over their choice of mascot earlier in the series.
What did you miss?
University Challenge host Amol Rajan has acknowledged the controversy over one team's mascot with a joke about its replacement.
Earlier in the series, Conservative peer Jacqueline Foster had accused one of the members of the Christ Church, Oxford team of choosing an antisemitic mascot, and has since paid the student "substantial damages" for the "false and unfounded" claim.
The team had replaced their cuddly mascot ahead of Monday night's quarter final, something that Rajan commented on as the team bowed out of the competition.
What, how and why?
The University Challenge team from Christ Church, Oxford found themselves at the centre of an unexpected controversy over their cuddly toy mascot when they entered the current series of the BBC Two quiz show.
Baroness Jacqueline Foster, a Conservative peer and former MEP, was apologised and paid damages to astrophysics doctoral student Melika Gorgianeh over a since-deleted post on X that claimed the quizzer had used an antisemitic symbol of a blue octopus soft toy as her team's mascot.
Christ Church exited the contest on Monday night after narrowly losing to Manchester, but as host Rajan bid them farewell he commented on their replacement mascot – a pair of cuddly avocados.
Rajan told the team: "I'm so sorry to say, that means it's goodbye, guys. We've had a wonderful time seeing your various mascots develop and being invited into your incredible brains."
In November, Foster had made the accusations on social media over a pre-recorded episode and had even called for her to be expelled from university and arrested, something that Gorgianeh said had caused "a profound and deeply damaging impact on my life" and that she had even received death threats.
Foster publicly shared her apology, posting on X: "Following my public apology on X on 30 November 2023 and my private apology by personal letter on 1 December 2023, I wish to apologise to Ms Gorgianeh for my part in posts made about her on X on the 20 November 2023 following the airing of @BBC’s University Challenge programme.
"I wrongly alleged that Ms Gorgianeh chose one of the most disgusting antisemitic symbols, a blue octopus, as her team’s mascot which I held her responsible for. I accept that these allegations were completely false and unfounded. I made a grave mistake in making those posts and I should not have done so.
"I again deeply apologise to Ms Gorgianeh for these allegations and any distress caused to her. We have since reached an amicable resolution. I do hope this goes some way in mitigating what has been a most distressing time for her. I have agreed to pay her substantial damages and costs."
A statement from Gorgianeh at the time said: "Baroness Foster’s posts, and the posts of others who are yet to be held to account, affected both myself and my family. I felt unsafe to even leave my house. Nobody should ever have to feel how I felt or go through what I went through. Words have consequences. And now, through her apology, Baroness Foster’s words begin to have the consequence of healing the very real damage that had been done to me."
Gorgianeh had also been targeted by other posters on X who claimed the student, who wears a headscarf, had chosen a jacket in colours similar to the Palestinian flag.
The episode was recorded in March before the current Gaza conflict had begun and the team had explained that they had all chosen the octopus toy together as it was one of their favourite animals.
What else has been happening on University Challenge?
Rajan, who recently took over from Jeremy Paxman as the quiz's host, spoke earlier this year about how much he loved seeing memes based on one moment from the series.
In one episode, Rajan asked the University of Aberdeen to identify the music genre that developed in the 1990s out of the rave scene and reggae sound system culture.
Aberdeen captain Emily Osborne gave drum and bass as her answer, to which Rajan replied: “I can’t accept drum and bass. We need jungle, I’m afraid," which led to memes of the broadcaster repeating the phrase over clips of pounding music.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today podcast, Rajan said: "It just went bonkers. It was viral for about three days and it was wonderful. It reminded me of the positive power of social media, the original vision of social media, which was a lot more social and a lot less media."
University Challenge airs on BBC Two at 8.30pm on Mondays.
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