DAN AND OUT
Furious Danny Baker told BBC boss to ‘f*** off’ as he was sacked over ‘racist’ Meghan Markle baby tweet
DANNY Baker launched into a furious foul-mouthed rant at the BBC boss who today fired him over a "racist" royal baby picture, the Sun Online can reveal.
Baker, 61, told Radio 5 Live controller Jonathan Wall "f*** you and f*** off" as he was axed for sharing the pic of a chimp dressed in clothes with the caption: "Royal baby leaves hospital."
21
21
21
21
He later removed the tweet - posted to his 504,000 followers - and apologised saying: "Sorry my gag pic of the little fella in the posh outfit has whipped some up.
"Never occurred to me because, well, mind not diseased.
"Soon as those good enough to point out it’s possible connotations got in touch, down it came. And that’s it."
His tweet was posted hours after Meghan Markle and Prince Harry showed off little Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor.
Baker immediately received a backlash from Twitter users branding the post "racist" due to Meghan's heritage - the Duchess of Sussex's estranged dad Thomas Markle is white and mother Doria Ragland is black.
Despite his attempts to end the controversy, he was promptly sacked this morning.
Speaking today to the Sun Online on the doorstep of his £2million London home in pyjama bottoms, he said it's "not the first time and possibly not the last time" he will be sacked for controversy.
Blaming an exaggerated Twitter storm, unapologetic Baker said: "You see these sorts of things happening to other people and you kill yourself laughing.
"It's a Twitter storm. The point is they (the BBC) have given credence to the vampires by claiming I meant it. It’s rotten."
21
21
Describing the moment he was told he'd lost his Saturday morning radio show, he said: "The BBC said they found it abhorrent.
"I told them 'f*** you, and f*** off'. That’s exactly what I said to them. It wasn’t a very long call."
Baker then bizarrely claimed to have been unaware which members of the royal family were showing off their baby yesterday.
He said: "Literally put a gun to my head and say ‘who was having a baby yesterday?’ I wouldn’t have been able to tell you.
"I can name every squad in the Champions League but the royals is not my forte.
"I knew there was a royal baby. I didn’t know it was Meghan and Harry’s.
"If I’d known you simply wouldn’t have done it, would you? It was a big, stupid, grotesque, backfired gag."
He described the backlash as "preposterous" and said he is not a "slathering secret racist" but added: "I wish I’d never posted it. It was a chimp in a posh suit... This time it backfired.
"I would never in a million years make light of racism. No one wishes this on themselves but here I am and you’ve got to deal with it."
Confirming his dismissal, a BBC spokesperson told the Sun Online: “This was a serious error of judgement and goes against the values we as a station aim to embody. Danny’s a brilliant broadcaster but will no longer be presenting a weekly show with us.”
'THREW ME UNDER A BUS'
After the news Baker tweeted to say: "The call to fire me from @bbc5live was a masterclass of pompous faux-gravity.
"Took a tone that said I actually meant that ridiculous tweet and the BBC must uphold blah blah blah.
"Literally threw me under the bus. Could hear the suits knees knocking. #f***em."
He added: "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."
He had deleted the post and apologised, claiming it was a joke with no "connotations" and today spoke out again to say it was a "gag" about the baby being "posh".
But less than an hour later tweeted: "Just got fired from @bbc5live. For the record - it was red sauce. Always."
The strange red sauce comment was in reference to segments on his 5 Live show where he asked celebrities what sauce they like having on their sausage sandwiches.
His latest post read: "And now it's started raining. Perfect."
BBC 5 Live controller Jonathan Wall this morning emailed staff at the station informing them of his decision to fire Baker.
He stated Baker's tweet went against the values that the station "lives and breathes" before praising him for his "brilliant" work.
BBC kept Lord Sugar on after he was accused of posting a racist tweet
Last summer BBC chiefs refused to sack Lord Alan Sugar after he sparked outrage with a tweet comparing Senegal's World Cup team to Marbella beach touts.
His tweet – which compared Senegal football players to touts selling sunglasses and handbags on beaches – was “unforgivable", said fans online.
He posted the picture of the West African team on Twitter along with the caption: “I recognise some of these guys from the beach in Marbella. Multi tasking resourceful chaps.”
The tweet featured pictures of sunglasses and handbags in front of the Senegalese footballers, including £90,000-a-week Liverpool star Sadio Mane, who beat Poland 2-1 in their opening World Cup match.
A BBC insider told The Sun: "Lord Sugar understands his mistake and has apologised for it. We've spoken to him and agreed to leave it there. It's safe to say it's going to be business as usual now."
BAKER FIRED
Mock the Week star Dara O'Briain said he was "genuinely amazed" by the BBC firing the Radio 5 Live Saturday show presenter.
Reacting to the news, the Wicklow man tweeted: "What? Danny Baker got fired? But he immediately apologised and deleted the tweet!"
The star was fired after outraged Twitter users called on the BBC to axe him from his BBC Radio 5 Live Saturday show following the tweet.
One said: "Imagine thinking that tweeting this would end well in 2019. Guess that's Danny Baker cancelled, then... "
Another wrote: "I’m assuming that The awful #BBC5Live Danny Baker programme will be cancelled. Please. #5Live."
Baker appeared on I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here in 2016 and was voted out in the first week.
He is a comedy writer and radio DJ, has been appearing on the BBC since the 1980s - with his next episode of The Danny Baker Show due to air at 9am on Saturday before he was let go.
Baker worked at BBC Radio 5 Live from 1990-93 before rejoining in 2008 until his sacking today.
His earnings for the show - which attracted half a million listeners each Saturday - were not included in the broadcaster's annual salary list.
This suggests he was paid less than the £150,000 threshold that requires wages to be made public.
His tweets came after Meghan and Harry proudly showed off their first born child yesterday to the world.
BAKER OUT: Broadcaster's career controversies
Danny Baker has worked as a comedian, radio DJ and journalist since the 1970s.
But the 61-year-old has landed in hot water more than a few times during his broadcasting career.
In 1997, Baker was fired from 5 Live when station bosses alleged he had incited threatening behaviour in an outburst over a referee.
The presenter was claimed to have launched an attack on Mike Reed, the man who was awarded the penalty that clinched the Chelsea win over Leicester City.
His stint with Radio One also ended in being sacked.
And in 2012 he attacked the BBC on Twitter and on air after his show was cancelled.
In an on-air rant, he described his superiors as “pinhead weasels”.
MOST READ IN NEWS
The new parents appeared tired but ecstatic as they cradled the newborn, with mum Meghan Markle gushing: "I have the best two guys in the world".
Meghan Markle, 37, stunned in a white dress that bared her arms as she stood by grinning new dad Prince Harry, 34.
21
21
21
21
21
21
21
21
21
21
21
21
21
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announce they have named their baby Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor
21
21
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle show off their new baby boy to the world
Topics