A BBC presenter named Danny Baker has been fired after sharing a racist tweet directed at Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s royal baby.
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The Radio 5 Live host came under fire for posting the below image and writing: “Royal baby leaves hospital.”
After noticing the backlash from the tweet, the 61-year-old deleted it from Twitter and apologised in subsequent tweets.
“Sorry my gag pic of the little fella in the posh outfit has whipped some up,” he wrote in another now-deleted tweet. “Never occurred to me because, well, mind not diseased. Soon as those good enough to point out it’s possible connotations got in touch, down it came. And that’s it.”
“Now stand by for sweary football tweets.”
In another tweet, he writes: “Sincere apologies for the stupid unthinking gag pic earlier. Was supposed to be joke about Royals vs circus animals in posh clothes but interpreted as about monkeys & race, so rightly deleted. Royal watching not my forte. Also, guessing it was my turn in the barrel.”
Once again. Sincere apologies for the stupid unthinking gag pic earlier. Was supposed to be joke about Royals vs circus animals in posh clothes but interpreted as about monkeys & race, so rightly deleted. Royal watching not my forte.
Also, guessing it was my turn in the barrel. pic.twitter.com/86cQGbAhDc— Danny Baker (@prodnose) May 8, 2019
He goes on to tell an anecdote about a journo arriving at his door and probing him about the incident.
“Here we go. Opened door, grinning Mail hack. ‘Do you think black people look like monkeys?’,” he recounts. “Any other time you’d knock someone right on their arse for saying that. No mate. Gag pic. Posh baby chimp. Alerted to circs. Appalled. Deleted. Apologised. He asks again! #MailonRacism“
Here we go.
Opened door, grinning Mail hack.
“Do you think black people look like monkeys?”
Any other time you’d knock someone right on their arse for saying that.
No mate. Gag pic. Posh baby chimp. Alerted to circs. Appalled. Deleted. Apologised.
He asks again! #MailonRacism— Danny Baker (@prodnose) May 9, 2019
The BBC has since released a statement confirming that Baker has been fired as his tweet “goes against the values we as a station aim to embody”.
It added: “Danny’s a brilliant broadcaster but will no longer be presenting a weekly show with us.”
Following his firing, Baker went on a Twitter tirade, writing: “Just got fired from BBC Live. For the record – it was red sauce. Always.”
Just got fired from @bbc5live.
For the record – it was red sauce. Always.— Danny Baker (@prodnose) May 9, 2019
“The call to fire me from BBC Live was a masterclass of pompous faux-gravity,” he added. “Took a tone that said I actually meant that ridiculous tweet and the BBC must uphold blah blah blah. Literally threw me under the bus. Could hear the suits knees knocking. #Fuckem.”
The call to fire me from @bbc5live was a masterclass of pompous faux-gravity. Took a tone that said I actually meant that ridiculous tweet and the BBC must uphold blah blah blah. Literally threw me under the bus. Could hear the suits knees knocking. #Fuckem
— Danny Baker (@prodnose) May 9, 2019
Speaking to The Sun, Baker says his firing is part of “a Twitter storm.”
“You see these sorts of things happening to other people and you kill yourself laughing,” he told the publication.
“It’s a Twitter storm. The point is they (the BBC) have given credence to the vampires by claiming I meant it. It’s rotten.”
Describing the moment he was told he’d lost his Saturday morning radio show, he said: “The BBC said they found it abhorrent. I told them ‘fuck you, and fuck off’.
“That’s exactly what I said to them. It wasn’t a very long call.”
The Royal family has not commented on the matter.
