The Apprentice candidate accused co-star Mark of ‘racial abuse’ in bullying scandal

The Apprentice candidate Shazia Hussain reportedly accused her fellow candidate Mark Moseley of racial abuse, as more details about an alleged bullying incident in the current season have come to light. Last week it was revealed Shazia had made complaints about a fellow candidate, but now the Daily Mail has reported the claims were against 39-year-old Mark.

The Apprentice is said to have launched an investigation following allegations made by Shazia against Mark, in which she says she was left feeling “unsafe” in the house the candidates shared, following a “distressing incident”.

The incident was apparently caught on camera, but the BBC has chosen not to air the footage on the show. A TV source told MailOnline: “Shazia was really upset by the way she was treated and at times didn’t feel safe living in The Apprentice house. She can’t believe in this day and age she would be subjected to racially motivated bullying.

“Candidates were shocked that Mark was able to carry on filming the show despite animosity building behind the scenes. The show casts candidates of different ethnicities and backgrounds and the expectation is for each person to respect each other, which wasn’t the case during filming of the current series.”

via BBC

A spokesperson from The Apprentice told MailOnline: “The Apprentice has a zero tolerance on racist bullying.  The duty of care and welfare of all candidates is of utmost importance and when action is required, we take it. All candidates sign up to strict code of conduct and if there was evidence of racist bullying candidates would be immediately removed from the process. We take all complaints very seriously.”

Last week it was revealed Shazia reported other members of her task team during The Apprentice for bullying, after a “disturbing” incident off-camera. She said she was “attacked” by her fellow candidates, during the task which saw them create a cartoon for children. In a TikTok video, which has since been deleted, Shazia explained the alleged incident, which she reported to the show.

During the task, Shazia came up with the name Yogita for a giraffe cartoon, which her other candidates didn’t think would be a good idea. We saw them disagree with her name suggestion, but Shazia has claimed this escalated “severely” beyond what was shown on the episode.

via BBC

“I was actually really attacked for the name Yogita, which I can confirm happened really severely off camera,” she said in the video. “But the footage that they did capture on camera didn’t make it into the edit because I think that the viewers would have found it really disturbing, because at the end of the day we’re just trying to make a little cartoon character about an Indian giraffe.

“In all seriousness, in all of my career, I’ve never ever felt as bad as I felt when they removed me off that pitch because my experience in reality would have been an asset on that pitch and because I was so passionate about Yogita.

“Also, I’m an Asian female and we’re talking about representation and after that task I did actually have to report it (the bullying was logged) in all seriousness, I actually felt unsafe in that house living with that level of animosity that was directed at me.”

via BBC

Following this, a BBC spokesperson confirmed her claims had been investigated, and a diversity and inclusion expert had visited the candidates in The Apprentice house to discuss what had happened.

“As soon as Shazia raised a concern an investigation was conducted and she received in-person support from senior members of the production team,” they said. “The Apprentice has a strict code of conduct, we take all complaints very seriously and investigate when needed. As a result, when action is required, we take it. We are committed to creating an inclusive environment. Duty of care to all our candidates is our highest priority.”

The Apprentice continues at 9pm on Thursday evenings on BBC One. Episodes will also be available on iPlayer. 

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