The BBC fired host Danny Baker after the broadcaster tweeted a picture of a chimpanzee Thursday and compared it to the royal baby.
The tweet sparked outrage with Twitter users, many of whom suggested the broadcaster’s tweet was racist, according to a report published by the New York Post. Baker tweeted out a photo of a chimp wearing a suit and wrote, “Royal baby leaves hospital.”
Once again. Sincere apologies for the stupid unthinking gag pic earlier. Was supposed to be joke about Royals vs circus animals in posh clothes but interpreted as about monkeys & race, so rightly deleted. Royal watching not my forte.
Also, guessing it was my turn in the barrel. pic.twitter.com/86cQGbAhDc— Danny Baker (@prodnose) May 8, 2019
The tweet has since been deleted. Baker, 61, defended his use of the picture calling it a “gag pic.”
“Sincere apologies for the stupid unthinking gag pic earlier. Was supposed to be [a] joke about Royals vs circus animals in posh clothes but interpreted as about monkeys [and] race, so rightly deleted,” Baker tweeted after deleting the pic. (RELATED: Royal Baby Name Revealed By Prince Harry And Meghan Markle)
“Would have used same stupid pic for any other Royal birth or Boris Johnson kid or even one of my own,” Baker defended himself. “It’s a funny image. (Though not of course in that context.) Enormous mistake, for sure. Grotesque.”
Now Sky at the door.
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.
Anyway, here’s to ya Archie, Sorry mate.#Occam #Razor— Danny Baker (@prodnose) May 9, 2019
“Never occurred to me because, well, [my] mind not diseased,” Baker added.
Later he tweeted that BBC had fired him.
“Danny’s a brilliant broadcaster but will no longer be presenting a weekly show with us,” a spokesperson for BBC told the New York Post. “This was a serious error of judgment.”