‘So You Think You Can Dance’ Host Cat Deeley Apologizes For Seizure Joke On UK’s ‘This Morning’

Jake Kanter
·2-min read

Cat Deeley, the presenter of Fox competition series So You Think You Can Dance, has apologized for making a seizure joke during hosting duties on UK show This Morning.

Deeley, who was installed as This Morning’s main presenter in March, began dancing during Monday’s episode of the ITV show. Asked by her co-host Ben Shephard if she was ok, Deeley responded: “I’m fine, I’m just having a seizure.”

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The exchange was denounced on Twitter (now X) by epilepsy charities, with The Epilepsy Society posting: “Seizures are no laughing matter for people with #epilepsy @catdeeley. Please do better and educate yourselves about this difficult and poorly understood condition, @thismorning.”

Young Epilepsy said it was “extremely disappointed” by Deeley’s remark, adding that there are 100,000 children in the UK living with the condition. “Seizures significantly impact their life – they are not something to be ridiculed or joked about,” the organization said.

At the start of Tuesday’s This Morning, Deeley addressed the matter directly. She said: “I just wanted to apologize to anyone who was offended yesterday when I made a light-hearted comment about my dancing style. It really wasn’t supposed to cause any upset to anybody. But I can see why that might have been the case. So I do apologize and am very sorry for the upset.”

Shephard added: “It would never have been our intention.”

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