LONDON (CelebrityAccess) — The British Broadcasting Corporation has fired radio presenter Danny Baker, saying he made a serious “error of judgment” after making a social media post comparing the royal baby with a chimpanzee.
According to the BBC, Baker tweeted an image showing a couple holding hands with a chimpanzee dressed in clothes along with the caption “Royal Baby leaves hospital.”
The post prompted outrage and Baker was quickly accused of making a racial slur against the Duchess of Sussex’s heritage. The Duchess, who is more commonly known as Megan Markle, is a half black American actress who married Britain’s Prince Harry in 2017.
After the post drew attention, Baker quickly deleted it an apologized, characterizing it as a “stupid gag” and stating that he did not intend the image as a racial slur.
“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,” Baker said in the wake of the initial backlash to the post. “Soon as those good enough to point out its possible connotations got in touch, down it came. And that’s it.”
In a subsequent tweet, he added: “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.”
However, his apology appeared to be insufficient for the BBC, who released him from his radio gig, noting that Baker’s tweet “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,” the BBC said.
A former music journalist for publications such as Sniffin’ Glue and New Music Express, Baker has been a presenter in a variety of BBC programming dating back to the 1980s. Most recently, Baker was the co-host of BBC5’s The Danny Baker Show, which featured interviews, sports content and fan call-ins.
