Writer Candice Brathwaite released a clarification after she was reportedly “dropped” from the role of host in a documentary about the high mortality rate of black women during pregnancy and childbirth in the UK.
On Saturday February 6, Brathwaite, prof Sunday times Best-selling writer, journalist and TV presenter shared a post on Instagram saying she was “crushed” to learn that she would not be presenting the show shortly after Rochelle Humez announced that she was hosting a documentary on the same topic.
After some confusion over whether Humes had replaced Brathwaite, the author now clarifies that they were in fact working on two different programs, with Humes commissioned by Channel 4.
In a statement on Instagram, Pratwitt said she was “never in a run” for the presentation that Hume’s now appearing in.
“I was informed that the show with Rochelle is also being developed at the same time that I was participating in the discussions [with a different production company] It is clear that he has been assigned. ”
She added that her agent had asked the producers if she could co-host with Humes but was told that this would not be possible.
“At the end of the day, I cannot overstate the importance of talking about this issue so that we can save more black women,” she said.
“Personally, I learned a lot while contemplating my future on television.”
“Hey gang … I am currently preparing an investigative documentary, looking behind the shocking statistics that black women in the UK are dying during pregnancy and childbirth and soon after – more than four times the rate of white women,” Humez wrote in the post announcing her documentary .
“I want to find out why that is, and I have met some incredibly brave women as part of my investigation into what is happening. This is a very difficult and sensitive issue, but I think in order to make a change, it is really important to give a voice to families who have lost loved ones with this nature.”
“I hope in making this movie, it leads to tangible changes and strong commitments to reduce these rates … This is my goal,” she concluded.
In an IGTV video shared last weekPratwitt revealed that she had lost a job to a “light-skinned black woman” and that this wasn’t the first time this had happened. It was not clear if she was referring to Humez in this case.
The Independent Contact representatives of Brathwaite and Humes for comment.
This article was updated at 5.37 PM on Sunday, February 7 after Brathwaite clarified that she had not “swapped” Humes for the documentary, and that Humes was in fact working with a different production company on a show with the same theme.