Danny Baker

RandallFlagg

fastonebaz said:

Love it when long standing twats finally get their comeuppance through a true self reveal. 

When does Phil Jupitus get his turn?

Cols

He knew precisely what he was doing.  His paper-thin excuse that it was meant to poke fun of the baby being paraded like a circus animal is evidently the best he could come up with at short notice.  He was just too conceited to realise that, outside of the ‘nasty racist down the pub’ social circuit, that particular scabby form of wit stopped being acceptable some considerable time ago.

Comparing anyone’s baby to a chimpanzee is grossly offensive, regardless of parentage.  When the baby is mixed race it adds an extra edge to the nastiness.

Regarding “is this where we are as a nation?” - what do you think would’ve happened in days gone by if someone publically compared a Prince to a chimpanzee?  It wouldn’t have been their job they lost, I’ll tell you that.

Philly_Q

tony99 said:

Also he said they "literally threw me under a bus"

https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/showbiz-tv/unrepentant-danny-baker-gives-first-16249600

I'll stake my trousers that's not true

The "threw me under a bus" comment suggests he feels he's been used by the BBC as some kind of scapegoat, but it's a situation entirely of his own making.

Emp_Fab

I think he meant it as he says.  He was a bit daft not stopping to consider other interpretations of his tweet, but how many of us always think twice before speaking ?

I think it's ridiculous that he's been sacked.

If there was any doubt that he really meant it as a racist comment then yes, he deserved it, but it's blatantly obvious he didn't because A: it would be career suicide and B: he's not a complete idiot.

It was meant as he said it - and what he said is correct...  The baby is just a performing monkey.

How can you sack someone for expressing dismay at how a child will be treated?

Everyone is so terrified of being seen to be racist, sexist, homophobic etc OR being associated with anyone with those traits, which is fair enough - but when people are chastised for imagined transgressions, it's fucking ridiculous.  

Strat_a_tat_tat

fob said:

What's worrying is the seven-degrees-of-separation reasoning that's going on: he likes football - there's racism in football - they used to throw bananas in games - chimps like bananas - he's racist QED. Maybe he is racist, only he knows how he really meant it. I don't know, nor do you. 

I'm not sure that's what's going on here.  That's not a thought process I recognise.

I don't know if he's racist or not. 

If he is... that's not good. Obviously.

If he isn't... then his tweet appears to have shown a total lack of sensitivity. That's still not good.

I think when people refer to his being a football fan... they're not saying all football fans are racists... instead, they're saying that - as a football fan - he should have been fairly aware of how the image he posted could have been linked with racism.

Caffeine_Vampire

The concern is surely either his ignorance of the times in which we live or the arrogance that suggested he was immune to them?

Blaendulais

Mark1960 said:

Wazmeister said:

It's a really really sad indication of where we are as a nation now...

We cannot remotely joke, suggest, or imply anything that slightly offends the PC brigade... or there will be righteous, absolute consequences.

Scary where it will all lead us in the future...

As a "mixed race" kid growing up in Britain in the 60s & 70s, I have been called all sorts of names, including the N word and likened to all sorts of African primates, been chased by racist skin head thugs, and been racially discriminated by the police. If you consider that it's Ok to joke or imply that I'm not quite as far up the evolutionary chain as the good white folks round here, then I feel pity for you.

It's only by challenging bad behavior can we attempt to educate people that there is a better way to live. To hide behind the "it's only a joke mate" or "overly PC" card is frankly very disapointing.  Whether he deserved to get fired or not is not really the issue for me, it's the fact that some people think it's OK and no big deal. Try walking 58 years and several thousand miles in my shoes!

Wise and measured.  Extremely wise in that you don't advocate slapping him in the face which is never the way to respond to wankers like him.

Heartfeltdawn

Emp_Fab said:

It was meant as he said it - and what he said is correct...  The baby is just a performing monkey.

How can you sack someone for expressing dismay at how a child will be treated?

Perhaps the same way that you can judge how a three-day old child will be treated over it's lifetime? 

prowla

I think he probably thought it was a bit edgy, rather than a direct insult.

But you have to be so careful about what you say these days because there is always someone who is looking to take offence.

As someone with years of broadcasting experience, however, he should've engaged brain first.

ICBM

If he'd made a genuine mistake and posted it without thinking of the racist connotations, *and then* had fully apologised for it, admitting he understood why it was taken the way it was and that he had to lose his job, I might have a small amount of sympathy for him and think that he *might* be allowed to stay working for the BBC after a full review by the governors.

But he didn't, and I don't. He's an arrogant prick and his attempts to gloss over it as 'PC gone mad' and 'preventing humour' have just made it even more reprehensible, regardless of the original intent. He doesn't deserve another penny of public money.

Bridgehouse

Interesting discussion. Sort of like the things we have to debate as a modmin team. 

At the end of the day opinions will be divided on any issue like this. But context is everything. 

If someone posted the same image on here and it was flagged I suspect it would be removed, warnings issued and possibly more, regardless of the intention behind it. 

In Mr Bakers case, he’s a broadcaster - in the public domain, and worthy or not, his opinions will hold some sway with his listeners, and the BBC quite rightly sacked him because of this. 

Kilgore

Emp_Fab said:

It was meant as he said it - and what he said is correct...  The baby is just a performing monkey.

How can you sack someone for expressing dismay at how a child will be treated?

Wtf?

They are who they are. They can't do a lot about the name but I'm sure his parents have his best interests at heart. They're the Windsors not the Wests.

Funkfingers

On this forum, the photograph that Baker posted would be captioned with a Drummist joke.

Philly_Q

Now, I just hope they don't fill his Saturday morning slot with two more hours of Colin fucking Murray.

Heartfeltdawn

Kilgore said:

Emp_Fab said:

It was meant as he said it - and what he said is correct...  The baby is just a performing monkey.

How can you sack someone for expressing dismay at how a child will be treated?

Wtf?

They are who they are. They can't do a lot about the name but I'm sure his parents have his best interests at heart. They're the Windsors not the Wests.

And the father of the child is well aware of the dangers of saturated media coverage, one would think. 

Jalapeno

Philly_Q said:

Now, I just hope they don't fill his Saturday morning slot with two more hours of Colin fucking Murray.

Steve Wright

ICBM

Jalapeno said:

Steve Wright

Does that mean Wright will do less in the afternoons?

Or preferably none...

Kilgore

Heartfeltdawn said:

Kilgore said:

Emp_Fab said:

It was meant as he said it - and what he said is correct...  The baby is just a performing monkey.

How can you sack someone for expressing dismay at how a child will be treated?

Wtf?

They are who they are. They can't do a lot about the name but I'm sure his parents have his best interests at heart. They're the Windsors not the Wests.

And the father of the child is well aware of the dangers of saturated media coverage, one would think. 

Yes, Diana had a deal with the press to allow strictly controlled media access to William and Harry as long as they respected their right to privacy. William is said to be very protective of his own children's privacy, and gives the media enough to keep them happy.

 The "performing monkey" claim simply isn't true.

mikeyrob73

It was a very misjudged tweet and he is a fucking idiot for not thinking about the connotations that could be read into it, I don’t think it was meant as a racist tweet, it was the performing monkey thing But he really should have thought about the way it could be read. 

but the bbc taking the moral high ground? “goes against the values we as a station aim to embody” the same bbc that has Farage in tonight? The same BBC that allowed the systematic raping of children by Saville and his cohorts and covered it up? 

thumpingrug

Hes a twat, and deserved to be sacked.  I doubt he will go hungry.