Danny Baker, a popular BBC radio personality drew the ire of the public and also got fired in the bargain when he posted a racist tweet about Archie, the Duke,and Duchess of Sussex’s newborn son. He tweeted with a black & white photograph of a woman and a man holding hands with a chimpanzee in a suit. The caption alongside it read “Royal Baby leaves hospital.”
The tweet, as expected, went viral within hours. Baker ultimately apologized for posting the picture and deleted it. However, BBC sacked him on Thursday morning which, interestingly drew Baker’s anger. He lashed out at the British Broadcasting Corporation over their handling of this particular incident.
The organization’s spokesperson stated that it was a serious error of judgment on Baker’s part and that the tweet and the racism it displayed went against BBC’s values. The spokesperson also said that although Danny is an outstanding broadcaster, he will no longer be with the station to present his weekly show with them.
Racism Or Not?
Prince Harry’s wife Meghan comes from African-Americanlineage (her mother is African-American). The royal couple announced on Wednesday that their son was named Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor. They presented their son at Windsor which is when Baker posted the tweet with the offensive image.
After the brouhaha that was raised over his racist tweet which caused him to delete it, he apologized for the gag pic of the baby. He also stated that since his mind wasn’t diseased, the alleged intent hadn’t occurred to him in the first place. As soon as some people got in touch with him and pointed out the possible connotations to him, he did not delay in deleting it.
He also added that the intent behind the post was to jest about the royal family and that racism wasn’t an aspect that came to mind when he uploaded the tweet. But herecognized his folly and realized that the photo could be interpreted as one about race and monkeys which is why he deleted it.
Baker Strikes Back
After being sacked by the BBC, Baker did not delay in attacking the corporation for how they had handled the decision,and he tagged it – “a masterclass of pompous faux-gravity.” Baker told James O’Brien in an LBC interview, after being fired that the image was meant to poke fun at class. The fact that the racial bias aspect showed up in it came out of his ignorance on the matter, he said.
It was little surprise that many prominent public personalities felt that the organization had made the right decision. Charlene White, who is an anchor at ITV News, is stated to have said that giving a half-hearted apology and light-heartedly claiming ignorance despite many people highlighting exactly how offensive the tweet was, wasn’t acceptable either. Those that are privileged need to be held accountable, said White.
Not A Very Clean History
Baker has been a popular and prominent presence on the BBC as well as elsewhere for decades.This isn’t the first time he has had run-ins with the station. In fact,he was sacked in 1997 after allegations that he had been the reason for inciting threatening behaviour when a referee at the FA cup awarded a controversial penalty in a tie.
His afternoon show on the British Broadcasting Channel was axed in 2012. Later, during an on-air tirade, he also called his bosses- “pinheaded weasels,”during the programme. Baker is a comedy writer and DJ who has been working on and off with the organization since way back in the 1880s.