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BBC host Danny Baker sacked over 'racist' royal baby tweet featuring chimp photo

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PICTURE:
Rex Features

BBC5 broadcaster and comedian Danny Baker has been fired after tweeting a "racist" joke about the royal baby, Archie.

In a now-deleted tweet, Baker posted a picture of a couple holding hands with a chimp in clothing, alongside the caption: "Royal Baby leaves hospital". This was shortly after Harry and Meghan, whose mother is African American, announced that their baby would be named Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor.

After a wave of backlash on social media and allegations of being a racist, the 61-year-old apologised for the joke.

But this was not before the tweet was condemned by BBC, which has come out to say that it was "a serious error of judgment" and that Baker would no longer be presenting his weekly show, despite being a "brilliant broadcaster".

Baker apologised again yesterday for his "unthinking gag pic", but then followed his tweet up by criticising the BBC for how they handled his sacking, calling his phone call with them a "masterclass of pompous faux-gravity".

HT The Guardian

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