ITV bosses responded to the backlash from viewers on Twitter after they aired scenes where Liv Flaherty (who is played by Isobel Steele) was labelled a “s***k” at her birthday party.
Emmerdale fans branded the storyline “sexist” and accused the soap of being biased towards woman.
In the latest instalment of the show, Liv was publicly humiliated by her best friend Gabby Thomas (Rosie Bentham) after they shared a kiss.
During the episode, Gabby came to the mistaken conclusion that Liv had secretly got with her ex-boyfriend Jacob Gallagher (Joe-Warren Plant).
However, this was not the case, in fact, the teenager had only confessed to Jacob that she is asexual and does not find anyone attractive.
Obvious to the truth, Gabby sought revenge and put a henna tattoo on Liv’s back which read “s***k” rather than “16” in an attempt to expose her during her birthday party.
After the humiliating ordeal, Aaron Dingle (Danny Miller) noticed Liv had been missing school to avoid seeing Gabby.
Worried about his sister, Aaron sat Liv down for a talk to try and get to the bottom of what is troubling her.
After a confused Liv admitted to her brother that she “doesn’t know who she is.”
Aaron replied: “From now on, whatever you go through, I go through. It’s you and me, deal?”
The harrowing scenes left some viewers angry, with one even claiming the soap was “misogynistic”.
One person wrote on Twitter: “@emmerdale women are not s***ks and tarts. F off with the sexist, hypocritical double standards towards women. Sexist, hypocritical, misogynistic pigs! Should be ashamed of yourselves.”
Emmerdale responded directly to the user and pointed out that they were not condoning Gabby’s behaviour or calling Liv a “s***k.”
“You’re right, women aren’t s***ks, that’s why what Gabby did to Liv is wrong. #Emmerdale,” they posted.
Meanwhile, other fans of the show waded in on the episode, with one fuming: “Gabby’s calling Liv a s***k!”
Another added: “S***k! OH MY GOD! Gabby, that was uncalled for. How awful. Poor Liv.”
