Ant and Dec forced to remove 'upsetting' post after sparking uproar 'What on earth'
Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly's promotional image for their new podcast has been hit with a wave of backlash.
Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly's promotional image for their Hanging Out With Ant & Dec podcast has been removed from the X account after causing uproar. Within the now-unavailable post was a message from the Geordie duo which read: "Our brand-new podcast Hangin' Out With Ant & Dec is launching Thursday, January 22." Accompanying the words was a picture of a man's feet hanging mid-air in a garden, wearing jeans and New Balance trainers.
The suspended denim legs and shoes triggered outrage online, with mental health advocate and former X Factor star Katie Waissel urging for the "sickening" post to be taken down. Taking to X to comment on the image, another person wrote: "How'd they let this one slip through? They're normally so polished and PR perfect… who approved this? Surely someone saw what everyone else saw with that opening shot."
Someone did not think this marketing through. https://t.co/92c3kyWuje pic.twitter.com/U5VN8A1Bab
— Jono Read (@jonoread) January 17, 2026
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A second said: "I knew immediately what the problem with this was before I even looked at the comments. What on earth?"
A third baffled person penned on the social media site: "I'm genuinely surprised @antanddec or anyone else, for that matter, was happy with that. I don't easily offend, but I can see how this would be upsetting to some people."
Someone else added: "Wow! I'm not one of the 'professionally offended', and even I found that a bit dodgy!"
Despite the backlash to the image, one supporter wrote: "I've watched the whole video, and how are people offended at this? Literally, people will get upset at anything." A second backer said: "Nothing wrong with it."
The post was deleted across all platforms following the reaction, and Express.co.uk has contacted the British TV duo's representatives for comment.
Dec previously told the BBC about the podcast, adding: "We asked our audience if we did a podcast what would they like it be about, and they said 'we just want you guys to hang out'.
"So that's what we're doing - Ant & I don't get to hang out as much as we used to, so it's perfect for us."
If you have been affected by this story, you can contact the Samaritans, call 116 123, email jo@samaritans.org or visithttps://www.samaritans.org/.
