BBC release footage of the moment Brendan Rodgers called their reporter a ‘good girl’, as Celtic manager gets set to face the music today after being urged to apologise for ‘casual sexism’
Footage of Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers calling a reporter a ‘good girl’ has been revealed for the first time.
Rodgers has come under fire for the comment made to BBC Scotland journalist Jane Lewis after a 3-1 win at Motherwell’s Fir Park on Sunday.
Campaigners from the organization For Women Scotland accused the Celtic boss of ‘casual sexism’.
The brief altercation was initially broadcast on radio program Sportsound, but the BBC News TikTok channel has now posted the footage.
In the video, Rodgers appears to pat Lewis after his “good girl” comment before walking away to abruptly end the interview.
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers was accused of ‘casual sexism’ after saying ‘good girl’ to BBC reporter Jane Lewis at the end of a brief radio interview after his team’s win at Motherwell
Lewis had asked Rodgers to elaborate on a cryptic comment about the title race
Lewis, 53, had asked Rodgers to explain himself after telling her that, in terms of the title race, “the story has already been written about this group, but we will write our own story.”
When she asked him to explain this, he seemed unhappy with the way the questions were asked and said, “No, no, you know exactly what I mean.”
Lewis again pressed Rodgers to explain, but he appeared to wrap up the interview, saying, “Done, good girl, well done.”
Celtic host Dundee in the Scottish Premier League on Wednesday evening and Rodgers will no doubt face questions about the controversy ahead of the match.
Lewis, a broadcasting professional with decades of experience, has not commented on the matter and is believed to be unaffected.
However, a spokeswoman for the Scottish Feminist Network said: ‘Jane Lewis was just doing her job and trying to give Brendan Rodgers an explanation for his cryptic comment.
‘The fact that the attitude was condescending is very enlightening, but in 2024 it is really very depressing. We thought the dinosaurs were extinct.”
Campaigners from For Women Scotland called on Rodgers to apologise.
A spokeswoman said: ‘It is depressing that casual sexism is still embedded in the sport. Women’s achievements are underestimated and dismissed, and their professional status is undermined. Rodgers owes the reporter an apology.”
Veteran broadcaster Lewis pictured with Partick Thistle’s unusual mascot Kingsley
Lewis has covered Scottish club and international football for many years, as well as events such as the Olympics and Commonwealth Games
Meanwhile, former Hibs player Tam McManus described Rodgers’ comments as ‘completely embarrassing’ on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Celtic declined to comment when contacted by Mail Sport on Sunday evening.
Legendary presenter Jeff Stelling was left stunned by the Celtic manager’s ‘good girl’ comment.
Speaking on TalkSPORT he said: ‘Good girl, good girl? My goodness, Brendan. What does he mean?’
Rodgers is under pressure during a tight title race with arch-rivals Rangers in the Scottish Premier League.
Rangers beat Hearts 5-0 on Saturday to move five points clear of Celtic at the top, but their late goals at Motherwell closed the gap back to two points.
Celtic returned to victory after battling back to beat Motherwell 3-1 in the Premier League
Celtic manager Rodgers celebrated his side coming from behind to beat Motherwell
Veteran broadcaster Lewis, who previously worked for Sky News, Sky Sports, Eurosport and STV’s Scotland Today programme, was targeted by social media trolls after Sunday’s exchange.
Lewis has covered major sporting events such as the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro and the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and Australia’s Gold Coast.
She covers the European and World Cup qualifiers with the Scotland national football team, as well as Scottish domestic football and European matches involving the clubs.
She responded to one post – now deleted – by saying: ‘This is simply NOT true!!!’
One Celtic account accused her of being a Motherwell fan who ‘broke up’ after Celtic won late, while another claimed Lewis had a ‘long-running agenda with Celtic’.
Many others on social media supported Lewis. One post wrote: ‘It’s just patronizing to say ‘good girl’. Saying a good man is something completely different. If he said ‘good boy’ after this interview, it would be just as patronizing.”
Another said: ‘Get a grip. Treating a female commentator in this way is unacceptable. No one is asking for a point deduction, but an apology can be nice. Maybe also less sexist abuse, which seems to be the only thing people like you are capable of.”
Lewis previously defended himself against criticism from Celtic supporters. In December 2021, she presented Sportsound on BBC Radio Scotland as Celtic won in the 97th minute at Ross County.
Legendary broadcaster Jeff Stelling questioned Rodgers’ comments on his TalkSPORT show
There was a lot of support for Lewis on social media following Rodgers’ comment, with fans calling it ‘unacceptable’
It led to a mass pitch invasion by Celtic fans, with those on social media believing Lewis was angry at the crucial late winner and the reaction.
Lewis tweeted at the time: “I’m somewhat baffled that some people seem to get more joy out of my ‘apparent pain’ than their team winning a football match.”
“For the record, I’m not ‘ratty’, ‘hurtful’, ‘bitter’ or ‘deflated’…”