Entertainment

Dara O’Briain criticises BBC over Danny Baker sacking after ‘racist’ Royal Baby tweet


Danny Baker has been axed from the BBC after a ‘racist’ tweet (Picture: Rex)

Danny Baker was sacked from the BBC after sharing a ‘racist’ tweet appearing to compare the Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s son to a monkey.

The 61-year-old caused outrage when he posted a now-deleted picture of a couple clutching onto a chimpanzee, alongside the caption: ‘Royal baby leaves hospital’.

And comedian Dara Ó Briain has waded into the debate surrounding his axe, admitting he was ‘genuinely amazed’ by the decision.

Taking to Twitter, the 47-year-old told his 2.51million followers: ‘What? Danny Baker got fired? But he immediately apologised and deleted the tweet!

‘I mean, literally, in the event of mistakenly causing offence, what else can you do? Genuinely amazed by that.’

However, his post didn’t go down too well with fans, who took his words to mean he was defending the picture Baker posted.

Clarifying the tweet, he later added: ‘Also amazed by how many thought that by posting this, I was excusing the original tweet. Of course I wasn’t.

Dara O Briain angered fans over his post (Picture: Getty)

‘The Irish had a century of that monkey s*** too, y’know. Ultimately, though, I’d like that to hope if/when I f*** up, you might accept an apology…’

Responding to a fan who suggested the now-axed star would have understood the racist connotations involved with posting a monkey picture, he added: ‘I just don’t think Danny is some racist who did that deliberately, no matter how it came out.

‘You say f*** him, I say forgive him, but we agree on way more. All the best, x.’

Dara waded into the row over Danny Baker’s sacking (Picture: Twitter)

Baker came under fire for the now deleted post, which was shared with his 501k followers yesterday, shortly after the Duke and Duchess of Sussex revealed their son’s name as Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor.

After taking the picture down, he said: ‘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 its possible connotations got in touch, down it came. And that’s it. Now stand by for sweary football tweets.’

He also insisted the post was not meant to be seen as racist, telling a confused follower: ‘Connection never occurred to me till people were good enough to enlighten.

LONDON, ENGLAND – JANUARY 25: Danny Baker attends the National Television Awards at The O2 Arena on January 25, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Mike Marsland/WireImage)

‘Little fella in posh suit. Anyway, deleted now.’

He issued a further apology yesterday, insisting he would have used the same picture for any Royal Baby, regardless of their ethnicity.

‘Would have used same stupid pic for any other Royal birth or Boris Johnson kid or even one of my own,’ he vowed.

‘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.’

Baker came under fire for the now deleted post (Picture: No Credit)

After many called for him to be sacked, the BBC said in a statement that he would no longer be working with them.

‘This was a serious error of judgment and goes against the values we as a station aim to embody,’ it read.

‘Danny’s a brilliant broadcaster but will no longer be presenting a weekly show with us.’

He later confirmed the news himself, tweeting: ‘Just got fired from @bbc5live. For the record – it was red sauce. Always’ – a reference to the Sausage Sandwich Game on his show.

Hitting out at his former employers, Baker continued: ‘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. #F***em.’



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