{"id":377889,"date":"2026-01-19T03:23:16","date_gmt":"2026-01-19T03:23:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/377889\/"},"modified":"2026-01-19T03:23:16","modified_gmt":"2026-01-19T03:23:16","slug":"deborah-meaden-admits-i-was-tunnel-visioned-over-cancel-culture-denial-as-bbc-dragons-den-star-makes-u-turn-in-free-speech-row","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/377889\/","title":{"rendered":"Deborah Meaden admits ‘I was tunnel-visioned’ over cancel culture denial as BBC Dragons’ Den star makes U-turn in free speech row"},"content":{"rendered":"

Deborah Meaden has conceded that her “eyes have been opened” to the dangers of cancel culture after initially appearing to question its existence earlier this week.<\/p>\n

The Dragons’ Den star found herself at the centre of a heated online debate when she questioned GB News regular Adam Brooks for “examples”<\/a> of when anyone has “cancelled, sacked or arrested” in Britain for their opinions. <\/p>\n

Ms Meaden’s request for evidence prompted an avalanche of responses from high-profile figures and ordinary citizens alike, each sharing their experiences of cancellation.<\/p>\n

The exchange, which took place earlier this week, has since been viewed by hundreds of thousands of users and sparked widespread criticism of the BBC star’s handling<\/a> of the numerous examples presented to her.<\/p>\n

\"DeborahDeborah Meaden questioned whether cancel culture existed in today’s Britain | PA<\/p>\n

Among those who responded was Father Ted co-creator Graham Linehan, who recounted how he lost his career and a musical adaptation of the beloved sitcom after speaking out against transgender ideology in defence of women’s rights.<\/p>\n

Pool player Lynne Pinches, GB News regular Connie Shaw, former Green Party deputy leader Sharar Ali, and many others also provided Ms Meaden with accounts of their experiences.<\/p>\n

Ms Meaden had previously “thanked” X users for their examples and firsthand accounts, calling the entire debate a “helpful” exercise.<\/p>\n

And returning to the social media platform on Sunday, Ms Meaden conceded she framed her initial enquiry “poorly” and that she was “tunnel-visioned” on her belief that some solely used the concept of free speech as an excuse to express hate speech.<\/p>\n

\"Deborah<\/p>\n

Deborah Meaden admitted her ‘eyes had been opened’ to cancel culture’s threat <\/p>\n

| <\/p>\n

X<\/p>\n

In one of a series of X posts, Ms Meaden clarified: “I\u2019m still going through the many replies and can see there are some horror stories!! This started as a question about free speech because I often see the argument used to allow free hate speech\u2026 which I absolutely can\u2019t agree with, but the examples contain some very damning information.” (sic)<\/p>\n

Swimmer Sharron Davies, who’s no stranger to cancel culture herself, praised Ms Meaden for acknowledging the newfound information she’d received. “Thank you for taking the time,” Ms Davies began.<\/p>\n

“For many, including myself, it turned my world upside down simply fighting for the sporting rights of our girls, in an activity totally affected by biology.”<\/p>\n

Ms Meaden sympathised with Ms Davies: “I know Sharon\u2026 I read your book. I made a poor post, of course, I should clarify\u2026 I get a lot on my timeline defending awful things and justifying it as freedom of speech, and I was tunnel visioned on that. <\/p>\n

\"Sharron<\/p>\n

Former Olympian Sharron Davies thanked Meaden for educating herself<\/p>\n

| PA<\/p>\n

“And\u2026 I genuinely am glad it opened the door.. there\u2019s much I knew and much I didn\u2019t.. am I hope that is true of many following this. Have a lovely Sunday\u2026 I\u2019m off to walk the dogs and feed the animals x.” (sic)<\/p>\n

She also explained to another user why she asked the question in the first place, insisting it wasn’t from a place of malice.<\/p>\n

The 66-year-old said: “I was asking for examples\u2026 and anyone who follows me knows, whilst I could have asked better. I do often ask for substantiation. It helps me understand where someone is coming from, and I can also fact-check.<\/p>\n

“I didn\u2019t argue (cancel culture) didn\u2019t exist, but I would argue that freedom of speech should neither be used to silence real issues nor cause harm to society.”<\/p>\n

\"DeborahDeborah Meaden is a star of Dragons’ Den | BBC<\/p>\n

Ms Meaden’s decision to take full accountability for her admittedly “tunnel visioned” and misguided stance on the issue gained praise from several other X users, as well as Ms Davies.<\/p>\n

This included Mr Brooks, who similarly returned to the social media platform on Sunday to bury the hatchet with the businesswoman.<\/p>\n

\"Adam<\/p>\n

Adam Brooks was the first to clash with Meaden over the issue <\/p>\n

| <\/p>\n

GB NEWS<\/p>\n

“Myself & @DeborahMeaden have drawn a line under our online spat. We both agree it\u2019s a good thing that such an important issue has been highlighted and seen by so many,” Mr Brooks penned.<\/p>\n

“Free speech must be protected, and people must be able to discuss these topics without fear of losing their jobs or even their freedom.” (sic)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Deborah Meaden has conceded that her “eyes have been opened” to the dangers of cancel culture after initially…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":377890,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[243,830,96,391,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-377889","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tv","8":"tag-bbc","9":"tag-celebrity","10":"tag-entertainment","11":"tag-tv","12":"tag-uk","13":"tag-united-kingdom","14":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/377889","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=377889"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/377889\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/377890"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=377889"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=377889"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=377889"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}