The BBC fired a radio personality this week after he
posted a racist tweet targeting Prince Harry, Duchess Meghan and their newborn
baby, Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor.
The New York Times reported that the host, Danny
Baker, was fired from the news agency on Thursday, days after he tweeted a
photo showing a couple holding hands with a chimpanzee in a suit. The tweet was
captioned: “Royal baby leaves hospital.”
Baker had reportedly posted that tweet, which has
since been deleted, on Wednesday, shortly after Archie made his debut to the
public.
The BBC’s Radio 5 Live, where Baker used to host a
weekend broadcast, confirmed Baker’s firing in a statement to the Times that
was released on Friday.
In the statement, the platform condemned Baker’s
tweet as something that “goes against the values we as a station aim to
embody.”
“Danny’s a brilliant broadcaster but will no longer
be presenting a weekly show with us,” it added.
Baker also confirmed his firing in a tweet on Friday
and appeared to express some kind of apology for the racist post in another
tweet the night before.
“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,” he said in the post. “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.”
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. Now stand by for sweary football tweets
— Danny Baker (@prodnose) May 8, 2019
Baker also attacked his former employer's move to
fire him in another tweet as "a masterclass of pompous faux-gravity."
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
Since the royal couple introduced Archie to the
public this week, several media outlets have also come under fire for posts
critics labelled as racist.
CNN also faced criticism earlier this week for a
publishing a piece touching on racial issues and stereotypes surrounding
Archie’s birth that included the subhead, “How black will the royal baby
be?"
My God @CNN just legitimately asked “How black will
the royal baby be?”
**and 100% un-ironically warned**
“commentators who reinforce dangerous racist
stereotypes are totally unaware of the damage”♂️ pic.twitter.com/TBd3Amgg7G
— Qasim Rashid, Esq. (@QasimRashid) May 7, 2019
“Guys. GUYS. Whether the royal baby is SUPER-DUPER
BLACK or whether it’s NORMAL, let’s all agree to not be racist because that’s
really really uncool, mmkay?”
- CNN pic.twitter.com/bUZ1VQohLK
— Eric Haywood (@EricHaywood) May 7, 2019
The Los Angeles Times also faced heat from social
media users earlier this week after it shared an opinion piece shortly after
Archie's birth, titled: "Will Meghan Markle and Prince Harry raise their
baby to be black?"
I think it’s essential that the royal baby is raised
as black, so that he can fully understand his oppression and inherent lack of
privilege.https://t.co/H1tvILEkeL
— Titania McGrath (@TitaniaMcGrath) May 8, 2019
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