Danny Baker fired by BBC. [Poll]

Danny Baker is media savvy. He has had a long career in the public eye. He has seen this sort of thing happen so often to other people.
He definitely knew what he was doing.
The BBC was definitely correct in firing him (although why Sugar got another series and is still there is a mystery).
Danny Baker's 'apology' wasn't really an apology; he was more angry about the way the BBC did it. I think he was lucky to get a phone call rather than a hand delivered letter from the BBC's legal department.

I didn't vote as the above isn't covered by the options available.

I'm shocked that Danny Baker of all people would do such a thing.

He's the last person I would suspect of using Twitter.

Gunge said:

Christ ( I'll get slated as Islamaphobic for uttering that word ), what is it with everyone being offended by something all the time, these days? All jolly good fun I think. Bernard Manning needs resurrecting, ASAP.

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I dunno, maybe people being called apes and chimps and being hung, and persecuted and slaves and stuff.

He is an idiot who has spent his whole career saying idiot things, Every time is on I shout at the radio . Racist, certainly looks like that, how in earth did he think that is funny. It is clearly racist

ElvisIsBeer said:

I dunno, maybe people being called apes and chimps and being hung, and persecuted and slaves and stuff.

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And..... ?

Incredibly naive of him !
But don’t think he’s racist.
Massive over reaction.

This statement was released earlier -

“I chose the wrong photo to illustrate a joke. Disastrously so.

“In attempting to lampoon privilege and the news cycle I went to a file of goofy pictures and saw the chimp dressed as a Lord and thought, ‘That’s the one!’

“Had I kept searching I might have chosen General Tom Thumb or even a baby in a crown. But I didn’t. God knows I wish had.”

The statement added: “Minutes later I was alerted by followers that this royal baby was of course mixed race and waves of panic and revulsion washed over me.

“F**k, what had I done? I needed no lessons on the centuries slurs equating simians and people of colour. Racism at it’s basest.

“I am aware black people do not need a white man to tell them this. Deleting it immediately and apologising for the awful gaffe I even foolishly tried to make light of it. (My situation that is, not the racism involved.) Too late and here I am.

“I would like once and for all to apologise to every single person who, quite naturally, took the awful connection at face value. I understand that and all of the clamour and opprobrium I have faced since. I am not feeling sorry for myself. I f****d up. Badly.

“But it was a genuine, naive and catastrophic mistake ...

“I am now paying the price for this crass and regrettable blunder and rightly so. Probably even this final word from me will extend the mania. (‘Dog whistle’ anyone?) I would like to thank friends on here for their kinder words and once again – I am so, so sorry.”

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2...rmally-apologises-over-crass-royal-baby-tweet

Surely he jumped under the bus??

Its a funny old world one is an out of work comedy writer, journalist, radio DJ and screenwriter the other a lord!

As an ageing white guy in my early fifties, who had plenty of Black and Asian friends as a kid both in school and outside, I see what he did as playing into an old school form of institutionalised racist outlook. That outlook didn't mean any harm particularly, it was just a superiority thing. However it was never very far from a more unpleasant form. I clearly remember an incident when I was with my friends aged 11, where a pair of coppers stopped us and started asking us questions for no particular reason. The policeman speaking to me asked what I was doing with "those little monkeys" and, "did I want to be one of *them*"
We all have out little prejudices, as mentioned above, but usually we learn their wrong and even if they bubble up in our consciousness from time to time we have learnt to button it and not give in to petty outbursts. He says he was drunk, but to me that suggests his old-school racism wasn't that far below the surface.

When you're a public eye figure, and earning s*#it-tons of money (£300k+ a year apparently) then you should have learnt to shut your gob if you want to stay in the job. And if you do make a boo boo, then be appropriately sorry and not start getting gobby about it when people don't immediately fall back in love with you.

The 'apology' tweets quoted by Chippy also contained the following:
"But it was a genuine, naive and catastrophic mistake. There is of course little media/twitter traction in such a straight-forward explanation. The picture in context as presented was obviously shamefully racist. It was never intended so - seriously who on earth would 'go there'?"

Well, you went there, Danny. You did. And you know where you can shove your 'dog whistle' (which seems to have been the in-phrase in politics and media for the last couple of years)

I hope channel 5 don't follow suite as this is one of my favourite progs at the moment.

ElvisIsBeer said:

I dunno, maybe people being called apes and chimps and being hung

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Careful now, I was born in Hartlepool......