Danny Baker fired by BBC over ‘racist’ Royal baby tweet
The tweet, which has since been deleted, promoted backlash on social media yesterday with people accusing it of being ‘racist’.
It showed showed an image of a couple holding hands with a chimpanzee dressed in clothes with the caption: ‘Royal Baby leaves hospital’.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdBaker had apologised for the tweet and has insisted that it was just meant as a joke but he has now been fired by the BBC.
In a series of tweets, he wrote: ‘Just got fired from @bbc5live. For the record - it was red sauce. Always.
‘Would have used same stupid pic for any other Royal birth or Boris Johnson kid or even one of my own. It's a funny image. (Though not of course in that context.)
‘Enormous mistake, for sure. Grotesque. Anyway, here's to ya Archie, Sorry mate.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide Ad‘Sorry my gag pic of the little fella in the posh outfit has whipped some up. 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.’
The BBC have confirmed that Baker will no longer be presenting his Saturday show on BBC 5 Live.
BBC News reports that a spokesperson for the broadcaster said: ‘This was a serious error of judgement and goes against the values we as a station aim to embody.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide Ad‘Danny's a brilliant broadcaster but will no longer be presenting a weekly show with us.’
Baker began his radio career with BBC GLR in 1989 and has previously worked for Radio 1, Radio 5 and BBC London.
He was fired by 5Live in 1997 when station bosses alleged he had incident threatening behaviour during an outburst about a referee.
Baker returned to 5 Live in May 2008 and has presented the Saturday morning show since September 2009.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle revealed their son to the world yesterday and announced that he is called Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor.