Dara O Briain slams BBC for Danny Baker sacking after ‘shamefully racist’ royal baby tweet

The comic voiced his shock at the BBC's decision
Amazed: Dara O Briain voiced his shock at the BBC's decision
Jeff Spicer/Getty Images
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Dara Ó Briain has criticised the BBC for the decision to sack radio host Danny Baker, after the presenter’s royal baby tweet sparked a racism row.

Baker tweeted, then deleted, a photo of a chimpanzee wearing a suit with the caption “Royal baby leaves hospital” earlier this week.

Shortly after, the BBC confirmed that the broadcaster had been dismissed by Radio 5 Live, describing the tweet as “a serious error of judgement” that “goes against the values we as a station aim to embody”.

Mock the Week host Ó Briain told Twitter followers that he was “genuinely amazed” by the BBC’s decision.

“What? Danny Baker got fired? But he immediately apologised and deleted the tweet!” he wrote.

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

The comedian was later forced to clarify his initial message after Twitter users thought he was “excusing” Baker’s original tweet.

Apology: Baker later said the tweet was a "naive and catastrophic mistake"
PA

“Also amazed by how many thought that by posting this, I was excusing the original tweet. Of course I wasn’t,” he wrote.

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

Baker issued a second “formal apology” for his “genuine, naïve and catastrophic mistake” in a series of tweets posted earlier today, having previously accused the BBC of “throwing him under the bus.”

“Following one of the worst days of my life I just want to formally apologise for the outrage I caused and explain how I got myself into this mess,” he wrote.

Baker said that he had intended “to lampoon privilege & the news cycle” with his post, but “chose the wrong photo to illustrate a joke. Disastrously so.”

He went on to state that the “picture in context as presented” was “obviously shamefully racist” but was “never intended so,” and claimed that he is now “paying the price for this crass and regrettable blunder.”

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