Richard Osman hits out at 'idiots' being 'pathetic' about the Celebrity Traitors final in an impassioned rant

Richard Osman has hit out at 'idiots' being 'pathetic' about the Celebrity Traitors final in an impassioned rant on Wednesday. The hit BBC show came to an end last week with faithfuls Romesh Ranganathan and Sebastian 'Bash' Croft being crowned the winners, scooping £41,500 each for their chosen charities – Choose Love and the Refugee Council.Now Richard's Rest Is Entertainment co-host Marina Hyde said that critics have accused the final of being a 'stitch-up' or an example of 'some form of BBC bias'.Richard replied: 'It turns out a lot of those people are idiots. Or it's possible that they're very clever and they have an agenda, because they ain't right.'To accuse the BBC of bias in this shows, first of all, a fundamental misunderstanding of how you make a television programme. Even in a conspiracist culture, this is one too far.'It's pathetic. Do you know what? I'm done with it. It's genuinely so pathetic.' Richard Osman has hit out at 'idiots' being 'pathetic' about the Celebrity Traitors final in an impassioned rant on Wednesday Faithfuls Romesh Ranganathan and Sebastian 'Bash' Croft were crowned the winners, scooping £41,500 each for their chosen charities – Choose Love and the Refugee CouncilThe Thursday Murder Club author went on to point out that '15 million people watched' the latest season, while only around 'a thousand people are being t***s about it'.He claimed: 'That's like being in a championship football game with 15,000 people [where] 14,999 [are] cheering, and [there's] just one idiot who's not happy.'Richard continued: 'Be incredibly popular and successful, then go on a hugely successful game show and then be the smartest player on that entire show, and show empathy and gameplay and intelligence. Then you can give money to whoever it is that you want to.'And you don't have to be telling other people who to give money to. You don't know who Romesh and [Sebastian] give money to all year round.'Look at the benefits Romesh has done all year – look at all the different people he's done benefits for. If he wants to give money to the Refugee Council, that's what he does.'Don't jump on the back of a show that's been made by incredibly talented people that has been a hit – something you've not been able to do in your lifetime.'And the second you do [have a hit], you will find that things change for you, and you'll find that you, then, can demand things, and you [will] find that you can change culture in the way you want to do it. Until that moment, you know what? Just let other more talented people do the thing that they want to do.'Let people be free, let people think freely – because that's what you're supposed to think about – and I'm really sorry that two people who wanted to give money to refugees won this show, but that's the world that you are living in. Different people think different things to you.'Richard added: 'Stop wetting your pants about everything. Stop saying, "it all comes out of licence fee money" – you cannot be that stupid.'You cannot be that stupid to not know that The Traitors makes a fortune for the BBC. It's giving huge amounts of money back to the BBC, this show, this is not something that's a drain on licence fee payers, you're not an idiot.' The Celebrity Traitors has boosted ratings for the BBC and is bound by strict impartiality guidelines, enshrined in its charter. Fellow finalists' chosen charities included Leigh-Anne Pinnock playing for British Red Cross Society, James Blunt was supporting Blue Marine Foundation and King Kenny was playing for Rethink Mental Illness. Other celebrities were playing for the likes of Unicef, Astriid, Alzheimer's Society, Matt Palmer Trust, The Kings Trust, Longfield Community Hospice and many more. Discussing critics debating whether the final was a 'stitch up', Richard said: 'It turns out a lot of those people are idiots. To accuse the BBC of bias in this shows, first of all, a fundamental misunderstanding of how you make a television programme' The Thursday Murder Club author went on to point out that '15 million people watched' the latest season, while only around 'a thousand people are being t***s about it'Winner Romesh opted for the Refugee Council, which supports refugees who have been forced to flee their homes and are seeking safety in the UK.Meanwhile Bash chose Choose Love, which supports refugees and displaced people, particularly those in the LGBTQ+ community.It comes as the charity Choose Love accused Israel of 'genocide' in its war on Hamas in Gaza.The charity, Choose Love, will receive half of actor Croft's £83,000 prize, despite claiming on its website that Palestinians 'are still experiencing a genocide'.In an open letter signed by celebrities such as Gary Lineker, it petitioned the Government last year to ban the sale of arms to Israel and 'end Gaza complicity'.Croft said of Choose Love: 'It's an organisation that I used to volunteer at. The money will be going to refugees and displaced people, but predominantly queer refugees and displaced people, and they are just the best organisation.'Tory MP Jack Rankin said: 'When activists nakedly misuse charitable designation to peddle their extremist agenda, it should concern us all.'It is doubly shocking that our licence fee, which we have no choice but to pay, is shovelled in directions opposite to the national interest.'The BBC are supposed to be impartial and should not be handing money to political activists.'If they had any backbone, they would refuse to let public funds bankroll pro–migrant crusades.'Choose Love also bankrolled a legal challenge to the then-Tory government's immigration policy of deporting asylum seekers to Rwanda to make their claims.Choose Love admitted meeting the 'staff costs' of charity Asylum Aid, which led – and lost – a High Court fight against the Tory scheme, which was ruled lawful.Elsewhere after the Celebrity Traitors, though Traitor Maya Jama didn't win, she stayed true to her chosen charity by donating £83,500 out of her own pocket.The Love Island host, 32, was banished at the final hour after being betrayed by fellow Traitor King Kenny. But after failing to win, the presenter kindly donated the money she would have won to her chosen charity, Action For Children, which funds a range of programmes that support young people.Taking to X, Maya responded to a post about her supporting the charity, writing: 'Just donated what I would have won for my chosen charity @actionforchildren amazing cause.'Action For Children then confirmed Maya's generosity on their Instagram page, penning: 'THANK YOU @mayajama. We are incredibly thankful that Maya has decided to donate what she would have won in The Traitors to Action for Children. For us, she was the star of the show!' Maya Jama has been hailed a 'class act' by fans after she donated £83,500 of her own money to charity after narrowly missing out on the Celebrity Traitors winner's prizeFans of the star were quick to praise her for her actions, as she raised not only money but awareness for the charity.They penned: 'That’s amazing and a good cause'; 'Class act'.'Amazing!!!! Thank you @mayajama for not only playing an incredible game, but donating to this charity x #womensupportingwomen #ThankYou x''Fantastic gesture - well done Maya, that's brilliant x''Raising awareness of the charity and donating a massive amount of money!''Hats off to you Maya, for doing such a lovely thing'; 'Classy lady. I really like this woman.''Great she donated to action for children AMAZING CAUSE. Well in Maya children really deserve this support.'After thanking Maya for her efforts, Action For Children went on to share how important donations are for those in need.They said: 'With four million children in the UK currently living in poverty, Maya’s own experiences of food insecurity growing up make this incredibly generous support even more meaningful.'As we head into the colder months, our frontline staff see every day the devastating impact of hardship on families, from parents fleeing domestic abuse to those facing impossible choices about how to put food on the table and trying to make every pound stretch that little bit further.'Donations like Maya's mean we can be there for children and young people when they need us most.'