Dancing on Ice bosses urged to axe Rufus Hound from show over sick Manchester Arena attack tweets
DANCING on Ice bosses have been urged to axe Rufus Hound for posting outrageous claims about the Manchester Arena attack.
Bomb survivors and MPs last night rounded on the Lefty comic — already in hot water for political barbs on the ITV1 show’s launch last week.
Conspiracy theorist Hound, 41, has previously posted comments on social media that then-PM Theresa May orchestrated the 2017 atrocity to help the Tories win the ongoing General Election.
He shared a user’s comment which read: “Given the attacker was known to MI5, the timing seems fortunate for May that an attack ‘slips through’ as Labour are making progress”.
In his own comments alongside the message, Hound added: “Apologies for mild tinhattedness, but I’ve been thinking the same. Esp. as she was Home Secretary for so long.”
He even compared the blast to the 1933 Reichstag Fire in Germany, suspected to have been staged by Nazis to increase Hitler’s grip on power.
Hound, who has a million Twitter followers, later deleted the comments. But they were mentioned again on social media last week.
MP Rob Halfon told The Sun on Sunday: “This is horrific.
“These trivial remarks are deeply offensive to victims of the Manchester attack.”
Fellow Tory Alec Shelbrooke said: “ITV have a moral responsibility and it’s time that they chucked out contestants that spout conspiracy theories and use family shows as political platforms.”
Mum Jade Clough, thrown 10ft into the air and hit by shrapnel from terrorist Salman Abedi’s suicide bomb, urged ITV to axe Hound.
Jade, 33, of Stockport, said: “It’s outrageous. I can’t believe anyone would even think it. I used to watch him on Celebrity Juice and had no idea he was like that.
“He’s in the limelight and a lot of people look up to him.
“When a celebrity starts saying things like that other people will think it’s okay to do the same.”
Sam Armstrong, of counter-terror think tank The Henry Jackson Society, weighed in: “These comments are a disgrace and plainly offensive to victims and to our security services who he suggests were in on the plot to murder 22 people.”
Last week there were 341 complaints to Ofcom about the show launch when Hound accused the Government of not feeding “hungry kids”.
Mr Shelbrooke said of them: “It’s not right he can make those claims without any balance.”
Social media users blamed Hound for “ruining the show” and turning it political. Several then referred to his earlier comments on the blast.
Ellis Cole tweeted: “Rufus Hound is a staunch lefty who even suggested Theresa May planned the Arena bombings. Wouldn’t expect anything less from that w*.”
Another user wrote: “For someone who claimed Theresa May orchestrated the Manchester bombing that killed so many young people because she’s a Tory, I’m surprised Rufus Hound still gets any work from decent production companies. Ofcom need to look at this.”
TV’s Piers Morgan tweeted Hound at the time: “This is utterly outrageous — delete, you shameful fool.”
The comic partly apologised in 2017, writing: “Okay, okay. Look, I’m probably too cynical, but I struggle believing our establishment is incapable of great evil. If you’re not, sorry.
“I guess, I’m not really alleging it as true, more that I don’t believe our establishment is incapable of such evil. Esp. during an election.”
During last week’s social media exchange, he explained: “It was something stupid I tweeted having spent three days at my friend’s funeral. I apologised.”
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Hound will miss tonight's show after being in contact with someone with Covid.
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He tested negative but is isolating for ten days.
ITV declined to comment about his Arena remarks.
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