Jade Goody - “I am not racist”

Jade Goody faced the British public for the first time on Tuesday on Five's daily topical debate show The Wright Stuff. Goody was questioned by the show's studio audience, viewers phoning in as well as studio guests and host, journalist Matthew Wright. She revealed that she was planning to visit India and that she had returned to her home for the first time that morning and that her windows had been smashed.

Goody said: "I haven't been staying at home because as you can imagine things haven't been great. I went home to get a change of clothes, in the early hours of this morning, and my house windows had been smashed.

"I haven't seen my children as of yet and the reason for that isn't just because of my house windows being smashed and the police sitting outside my house or anything it is because I haven't actually been mentally ready to see my kids.

"I have been thinking of the future of my kids because that's who is at harm here, my children, because of me. What if me and my kids were in my house last night and my window got smashed?

"How am I going to feel as a parent that because of my actions my two year-old and my three year-old have got to go through that?

"My kids don't understand what's going on, so to see their mum upset and not herself they won't understand it so I wanted to get myself in that right frame of mind before I see my kids for the first time."

Goody was taken to task by viewers phoning in to question her and comment on her actions in the Big Brother house.

Jessica from Norwich told Goody: "I would have expected her (Goody) to be better than that. I used to enjoy watching her making a good life for herself and now I feel let down by that."

Joanne from Nottingham phoned in to say: "You say that you are not a racist but the words that you said about Shilpa - anyone would have known that was a racist comment."

Goody said: "It hasn't been easy and I'm not saying that I am a victim and what I did is correct because no it isn't but I have been the first to put my hands up and say what I did is wrong.

"I am not racist but yes the comments that I made, I can see that they can be looked upon as racism. I wasn't aware of that but I have learnt that, who am I to judge, what I don't think is racist actually can be?

"And people are criticising me for doing things like this and I'm not doing it because I want to see how many bottles of perfume I can get back on the shelf or stuff like that, that doesn't matter to me, my career doesn't matter to me.

"It would have been easier for me to have just gone and sat in a nice hotel for a few weeks and let it die down. It isn't easy coming out and doing this because I am genuinely scared. This is the first audience I've faced other than BBLB and I am nervous. I went to the garage yesterday and I was nervous to go into a shop and the response that I got wasn't one I was expecting it wasn't horrible.

"It was a black girl and she was like 'Jade I really love you and you've been traumatised for stuff that is not actually your fault."

Goody also revealed that she had been invited to visit India, a country she said she has previously visited as her perfume is produced there.

She said: "I am thinking about going over there, I have been invited to go over there as well. I've also been told by people that are over there that it's completely blown out of proportion. And that's from people who are over there."

This claim was swiftly denied on the show by Yasmin Alibhai-Brown who has recently returned from India herself and said it was a big story there. Alibhai-Brown added: "If you were my daughter I would advise you, you're a bright person I would use the next three years to do a degree, to get an education, to do something different with your life."

She later commented: "I don't think this programme should completely exonerate Jade, she has to take more responsibility. You can't say just because someone has apologised it's over, it's not."

When asked by a member of the studio audience if she thought she was representative of young people in Britain Goody replied: "I hope not because if I am it's disgusting. I hope there are people out there with a lot more morals and a lot more respect than I have shown."

The Wright Stuff is made by Princess Productions and is shown every weekday between 9.00am and 10.30am on Five.