Richard Madeley has been widely condemned after asking Keir Starmer if Angela Rayner was still his “best girl”.
During Monday’s episode (25 October) of Good Morning Britain, the presenter sat down with the Labour leader to ask him to respond to reports he was “sidelining” shadow chancellor Rayner after she referred to Conservatives as “Tory scum”.
Starmer denied the claims, saying that they were “not true”.
“So she’s still your best girl, is she?” Madeley asked, with Starmer responding that her absence from politics had been due to a personal bereavement rather than anything else.
However, social media users shared their disdain at Madeley referring to Rayner as a “girl”, calling the comment “misogynistic” and “patronising”.
“Anyone defending Richard Madeley’s use of ‘best girl’ about Angela Rayner… Do you think there’s a penguin’s chance in hell he would have said ‘best boy’ and not something like ‘best man’ or ‘top guy’ if the deputy leader had been male?” tweeted activist Femi Oluwole.
“Did Richard Madeley really just ask @KeirStarmer if @AngelaRayner was his ‘best girl’? political commentator Paul Waugh added.
Another tweet read: “Welcome to the world of women. A prime example of the subtle, yet pervasive misogynistic language that exists in society. Richard Madeley belittling the role of Angela Rayner. Who the hell says ‘best girl’?”
“Richard Madeley asking if Angela Rayner ‘is still your best girl’ is giving me the ick,” one commenter added.
“Dear @GMB - why do you keep asking patronising dinosaur Richard Madeley back to present your show,” another Twitter user said. “Couldn’t get much more patronising than referring to the Deputy Leader of the opposition as ‘best girl’!!”
The Independent has contacted Madeley’s representatives and ITV for comment.
