Twitter was abuzz Wednesday after Prince Harry and Meghan Markle revealed the first photos of the newest royal baby boy, Archie. However, one allegedly racist tweet by BBC Live presenter Danny Baker didn’t go over as planned—and now the radio host has been fired from the station because of his “serious error of judgment.” The tweet, which was later deleted, showed a picture of a chimpanzee dressed in human clothes with the caption “Royal baby leaves hospital.” People quickly fired back at Baker, accusing the post of being racist as Markle’s mother is African-American. Following the intense backlash, BBC announced on Thursday that “Danny’s a brilliant broadcaster but will no longer be presenting a weekly show with us.” The media outlet explained that his inappropriate tweet “goes against the values we as a station aim to embody.” Baker responded to the criticism with a series of apologetic tweets on Wednesday evening. “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,” one tweet read, while another added, “Would have used same stupid pic for any other Royal birth or Boris Johnson kid or even one of my own… Anyway, here’s to ya Archie, Sorry mate.” He later told reporters outside his home that he felt he was “thrown under the bus” by BBC, describing his tweet as “ill-advised, ill thought out and stupid but racist? No, I’m aware how delicate that imagery is.” 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 Related Articles: The post Radio DJ Fired for Racist Tweet About Royal Baby appeared first on Fatherly.<doc-sep>A BBC disc jockey has been fired after using a picture of a chimpanzee in a tweet about the royal baby born to Meghan the Duchess of Sussex and her husband Prince Harry. FILE - In this May 13, 2013 file photo, Danny Baker poses for a photo in London. A BBC DJ has been fired after using a picture of a chimpanzee in a tweet about the royal baby born to Meghan the Duchess of Sussex and her husband Prince Harry. Danny Baker tweeted Thursday, May 9, 2019 that he has been fired after posting an image of a couple holding hands with a chimpanzee dressed in clothes and the caption: "Royal baby leaves hospital." (Yui Mok/PA via AP, file) Royal fans John Loughery, left and Terry Hutt pose with flags and banners, outside Windsor Castle, in Windsor, south England, Tuesday, May 7, 2019, a day after Prince Harry announced that his wife Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, had given birth to a boy. The as-yet-unnamed baby arrived less than a year after Prince Harry wed Meghan Markle in a spectacular televised event on the grounds of Windsor Castle that was watched the world over. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant) People take pictures of the notice on an easel in the forecourt of Buckingham Palace, London, Tuesday, May 7, 2019, placed on Monday to formally announce the birth of a baby boy to Britain's Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex. The as-yet-unnamed baby arrived less than a year after Prince Harry wed Meghan Markle in a spectacular televised event on the grounds of Windsor Castle that was watched the world over. (AP Photo/Tim Ireland) The Royal Regiment of Scotland band march by Windsor Castle, in Windsor, south England, Tuesday, May 7, 2019, a day after Prince Harry announced that his wife Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, had given birth to a boy. The as-yet-unnamed baby arrived less than a year after Prince Harry wed Meghan Markle in a spectacular televised event on the grounds of Windsor Castle that was watched the world over. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant) LONDON — A BBC disc jockey has been fired after using a picture of a chimpanzee in a tweet about the royal baby born to Meghan the Duchess of Sussex and her husband Prince Harry. Danny Baker tweeted Thursday that he has been fired after posting an image of a couple holding hands with a chimpanzee dressed in clothes and the caption: “Royal baby leaves hospital.” The tweet was seen as a racist reference to baby Archie’s heritage. His grandmother Doria Ragland is African American. Baker says the posting was an “enormous mistake.” It has since been deleted. BBC Radio 5 Live controller Jonathan Wall said Baker “will no longer be presenting his weekly show for us.” Wall says Baker “made a serious error of judgment on social media.”<doc-sep>A veteran BBC radio host has been fired over a “racist” tweet about the new royal baby. Danny Baker, who presents a show on BBC Radio 5 Live, tweeted then deleted an image comparing newborn Archie Harrison to a chimp. The 61-year-old apologized and deleted the tweet but later slammed the BBC for the way he was fired. “The call to fire me from @bbc5live was a masterclass of pompous faux-gravity,” he tweeted Thursday. “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.” The offending tweet showed a black and white image of a couple holding hands with a chimpanzee dressed in a suit and hat with the caption: "Royal baby leaves hospital." Baker called the tweet a “stupid unthinking gag.” “Was supposed to be joke about Royals vs circus animals in posh clothes but interpreted as about monkeys and race, so rightly deleted,” he wrote. “Royal watching not my forte. Also, guessing it was my turn in the barrel.” Baby Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor was born to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Prince Harry and Meghan on Monday May 6. Baker received swift backlash from Twitter users branding the post "racist" due to Meghan's heritage - her estranged dad Thomas Markle is white and mother Doria Ragland is African-American. “Sorry my gag pic of the little fella in the posh outfit has whipped some up,” he wrote. “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.” Baker, who has more than half a million followers on Twitter, described being doorstepped by reporters, one of whom asked: “Do you think black people look like monkeys?” “No mate. Gag pic. Posh baby chimp. Alerted to circs. Appalled. Deleted. Apologised,” he tweeted. A BBC spokesperson called the tweet “a serious error of judgement." The corporation added that Baker's tweet "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," the spokesman said. Baker is an award-winning broadcaster and was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 2012. It's the second time the controversial presenter has been axed by 5 Live and the third time he has left the BBC. “Would have used same stupid pic for any other Royal birth or Boris Johnson kid or even one of my own,” Baker tweeted. “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.”<doc-sep>
LONDON (AP) — A BBC radio broadcaster was fired Thursday for using a picture of a chimpanzee in a tweet about the royal baby born to Meghan the Duchess of Sussex and her husband Prince Harry. Danny Baker, who had a weekly show on BBC Radio 5 Live, tweeted Thursday that he has been fired after posting an image of a couple holding hands with a chimpanzee dressed in clothes and the caption: "Royal baby leaves hospital." The tweet came on Wednesday, the same day Harry and Meghan posed for photos with their first child, Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor. The tweet was seen as a racist reference to baby Archie's heritage. His grandmother Doria Ragland is African American. Baker, 61, said the posting had been meant as a gag, tweeting late Wednesday that it was "supposed to be (a) joke about royals vs circus animals in posh clothes but interpreted as about monkeys & race." The post has since been deleted. "Enormous mistake, for sure. Grotesque. Anyway, here's to ya Archie, Sorry mate," he tweeted. BBC Radio 5 Live controller Jonathan Wall said in an email to staff that Baker had shown poor judgment. "This was a serious error of judgment 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," Wall said. On Thursday, Baker insisted he is not racist and attacked the BBC for its handling of the controversy. He said the call to fire him "was a masterclass of pompous faux-gravity." When Harry was first dating Meghan, his office released a scathing letter in which the prince complained about sexist and racist media coverage and online comments about Meghan, who at the time was starring in the TV show "Suits." The flap over Baker's tweet came as Harry took a break from parental duties to travel to the Netherlands to promote the 2020 Invictus Games, an international competition he founded for injured service personnel and veterans. Story continues Harry grinned and made funny faces for the cameras as he held up a tiny baby outfit given to him by Princess Margriet of the Netherlands. Baby Archie was introduced to his great-grandparents, Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Wednesday. Harry and Meghan posted an Instagram picture of the meeting, which also included Meghan's mother, who is staying with the royal couple. One of Britain's leading contemporary artists, Yinka Shonibare, said Thursday the baby is a heartening symbol of Britain's multicultural society. "My parents' generation unfortunately had a very difficult time in Britain, my parents are from Nigeria, and also the Windrush generation had a very hard time," he said after receiving an award at Buckingham Palace. "It's good to know that finally we are treated as equals and everyone should be celebrated, so I think this is a natural progression for the next generation to be properly part of British society."