Laurence Fox's attempt to troll Romesh Ranganathan went as well as expected

The Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has launched a new campaign with the help of Romesh Ranganathan to encourage men to call out misogyny.

The initiative aims to help men "confidently step in" when they see or hear any inappropriate language and behaviour towards women, by saying "maaate".

The "maaate" campaign is backed by comedian Ranganathan, who publicly shared his support during a live show.

"All I'm asking for you to do is if you see some sort of behaviour like that, you don't have to be big about it," he said. "Just have a word – and if that word is just 'mate', then that's all good."

It didn't take long for social media to chime in with their takes, with Laurence Fox sharing a snippet from the set and writing: "You are not a 'comedian' #Maaate".

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His tweet was soon flooded with polarised responses from fellow Twitter users.

"He’s much more of a comedian than you are a politician maaaate," one person hit back, while another added: "Romesh is a good pal, an incredibly decent man and a phenomenal comic. Using a heavily edited clip as part of your wee culture war is pathetic."

Meanwhile, one person tweeted: "Maaaaate, he literally is. This though was not, this was a piece of advice at the end of the show in support of women."

#Maaate: Romesh Ranganathan on tackling misogyny and violence against women and girlswww.youtube.com

Speaking about the initiative, Khan said: "My new campaign recognises that male violence against women and girls often starts with words. That’s why I’m determined to ensure that men and boys feel empowered to call out their mates when their behaviour crosses the line.

"'Maaate' is a simple and effective intervention that can help stop problematic language and behaviour in its tracks.

"Last year I urged men and boys to challenge sexist behaviour and misogynistic attitudes with my award-winning ‘Have A Word’ campaign. Now, we’re giving them the word to say."

"It is only by ensuring that women and girls are both protected and respected that we can continue to build a better, safer London for everyone."

Comedian Ranganathan added: "I’m backing this campaign because we can no longer allow sexism and misogyny to be dismissed as ‘banter.’

"By asking men and boys to say ‘maaate’ to a mate we can be better friends to each other and better allies to women and girls.

"As men, we have a responsibility to work together to stop sexist and misogynistic behaviour. Whether it’s in the classroom, the boardroom or onstage, everyone deserves to be treated with respect."

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