With sensitivity to perceived racism growing all the time, how important should intent be when society punishes someone for stepping over the line? On Wednesday, BBC radio presenter and comedian Danny Baker posted a black-and-white retro photo meme that showed a chimp accompanied by two well-dressed chaperones, with the caption “Royal baby leaves the hospital.” If we believe that this was a joke mocking the mixed-race origins of the newborn Archie, whose mother Meghan Markle is half black, then there is clear-cut cause for dismissal. Characterizing black people as simians has a long and inglorious history. Also on rt.com BBC radio host fired for tweeting photo of royal baby as a chimp, sparking racism scandal But what if we take the furious Baker at his word – that his “mind is not diseased” so he didn’t think of the “possible connotations” and deleted the tweet voluntarily as soon as he was alerted to them. While he can occasionally be opinionated, Danny Baker is a Corbyn-supporting lifelong left-winger whose 40-year broadcasting career – thousands of hours of unscripted radio chat – had previously managed to skirt a single notable racism controversy. Talking of Occam’s Razor, Baker himself wrote how inconceivable it is that he would voluntarily bring this upon himself for the sake of being edgy. Some would say that even genuine ignorance is no defense. That a man in the public eye should be more aware of the context and impact on others of what he posts online. But Baker’s backstory provides its own context, which the many who demanded his sacking simply chose to ignore because it makes condemning him easier. This is not to exonerate Baker, but simply to point out that punishing language is not the same as punishing murder: there is always a grey area where you are sentencing suspects for thoughtcrime, or perhaps even catching the innocent in the dragnet. Danny Baker (a man I’ve worked with in the past) knew full well what that tweet was suggesting. No comedian in their right mind could overlook that, that’s not how our brains work. We see a joke from every angle. He knew it was racist, thought it was funny and posted it anyway 👍🏾 — London Hughes (@TheLondonHughes) May 9, 2019 Are you kidding, Danny Baker has worked in media since the 1970s, most commonly as a football pundit. Of course he knows connecting that specific photo to this specific event is racist. He had to search for it. — Dr Fern Riddell (@FernRiddell) May 9, 2019 The scandal raises a related question: how tenuous does the link have to be between what is said or written and detectable racism? For example, could someone really be unaware that Archie is ¼ black? Perhaps only the truly careless. But what if he has a son of his own with a white woman, who is 1/8 black? Can ignorance be forgiven then? What racial proportion does someone have to be before it is acceptable to post chimp memes about them? Perhaps the easiest approach is to never make any potentially misinterpreted jokes at all – so no animal comparisons or other offensive material. It is one the BBC would approve of with their “zero tolerance” approach to Baker and their own impeccably “safe” content. But if it had taken this approach, would the corporation have ever commissioned, say Fawlty Towers, with its portrayal of bumbling and easily confused Manuel the Spanish waiter, who is not even played by a Spaniard. Should it even be showing repeats of this sitcom? More currently, what about the next time a storm of unflattering epithets – much more aggressive and personal than 'chimp' – is unleashed by one of its presenters or guests at Donald Trump? They likely won’t be fired. Does context enter back into it then? It’s OK to insult white people referring to the color of their skin, for example, but not black people. Maybe it’s OK to mock the powerful, but not the weak? Or is it the other way round, anyone is fair game, but not the royals? Or maybe Prince Philip is a joke, but Queen Elizabeth is not. Everyone but the perfect moral guardians would agree that the rules can be unfair, and false positives can strike even the most politically correct. Or should the offended party simply decide whether it finds something racist or sexist or transphobic, and then ensure that the culprit is disgraced? After all, people complained after Baker’s tweet, hence the reaction. But then aren’t we just giving more power to Twitter mobs and their own political biases? All this would make Danny Baker, or anyone else, think twice about telling that joke, sharing that meme or sending that tweet. Should we celebrate or be afraid? Should we all live like the BBC? By Igor Ogorodnev Igor Ogorodnev is a Russian-British journalist, who has worked at RT since 2007 as a correspondent, editor and writer.<doc-sep>He added: "Anyway I am now paying the price for this crass and regrettable blunder and rightly so. Probably even this final word from me will extend the mania. ('Dog whistle' anyone?) I would like to thank friends on here for their kinder words and once again - I am so, so sorry."<doc-sep>Police are investigating Danny Baker's tweet about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's baby, which resulted in the radio presenter being sacked by the BBC. The broadcaster was accused of racism when he posted a black and white photo of a man and woman holding hands with a suited chimpanzee after Meghan gave birth. In the caption, Baker, 61, wrote: "Royal baby leaves hospital." Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player 'I'm not a slavering, secret racist' He later deleted the tweet, admitting it was "ridiculous, stupid and idiotic", but insisted he was not racist. A Metropolitan Police spokesman told Sky News: "An allegation has been received by the Metropolitan Police Service on Thursday, 9 May in relation to a tweet published on the 8 May. Advertisement "As is routine, the allegation will be reviewed and assessed by specialist officers." A day after being fired from his role on BBC Radio Five Live, Baker posted a series of messages on Twitter on Friday apologising for the "outrage" he had caused. He described the controversy as "one of the worst days of my life" and said he made a "genuine, naive and catastrophic mistake". "The picture in context as presented was obviously shamefully racist. It was never intended so - seriously who on earth would 'go there'? ", Baker wrote. Baker revealed he had been sacked on Thursday and criticised the BBC's handling of the situation. He said the phone call telling him he was fired was a "masterclass of pompous faux-gravity" and the corporation "literally threw me under the bus". Image: Baker spoke to reporters outside his home on Thursday In a statement announcing Baker had been fired, a BBC spokesman said: "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." Broadcaster Afua Hirsch criticised Baker's initial response to the controversy after he claimed he had not seen the problem with the tweet because his mind was "not diseased". She said: "So not only does Danny Baker post an image comparing a baby [with] African heritage to an ape, but he has the audacity to say the problem is that those of us who point out how racist it is have 'diseased minds'. "Classic example of blaming those of us who call out racism for its existence." However comedian Dara O'Briain said he was "amazed" Baker had been fired, saying the presenter had "immediately apologised and deleted the tweet". "I mean, literally, in the event of mistakenly causing offence, what else can you do? Genuinely amazed by that," O'Briain wrote on Twitter. Prince Harry and Meghan, whose mother is African American, revealed on Wednesday that they have named their new arrival Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor.<doc-sep>
Danny Baker has admitted his tweet depicting the duke and duchess of Sussex's son as a monkey was "ridiculous, stupid and idiotic", but has insisted he is not racist. The radio presenter has been sacked after posting a black and white photo showing a well-dressed man and woman holding hands with a suited chimpanzee. Baker captioned it: "Royal baby leaves hospital." He later apologised, writing: "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," he wrote. Just got fired from @bbc5live. For the record - it was red sauce. Always. — Danny Baker (@prodnose) May 9, 2019 "Soon as those good enough to point out its possible connotations got in touch, down it came. And that's it." It was Baker himself who announced via his Twitter account the decision by the BBC. "Just got fired from @bbc5live. For the record - it was red sauce. Always," he said referring to a segment on his show. Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player In full: 'It came from such a naive, silly thing' Speaking to Sky News, the broadcaster said: "I've seen these things happen to other people but you never think it's going to happen to you. "The unconscious and ridiculous tweet I did yesterday has started all this off." :: Listen to the Daily podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Spreaker He insisted he was not some "slathering, secret racist, adding: "What I did was make a ridiculous, stupid and idiotic mistake." Image: Baker's angry reaction to the decision But despite admitting the BBC had no choice but to sack him - he said the corporation could have handled it better. He tweeted: "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." A BBC spokesman said: "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." :: Listen to the Daily podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Spreaker Following his original tweet, other users reacted with anger with @nick_BLM writing: "All those people defending #DannyBaker saying they can't see the connection between black people and sick racist monkey comments try being a black kid at school for a while! #RoyalBaby The 61-year-old later deleted the post and apologised again, saying the joke was intended to poke fun at the Royal family. "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." Harry and Meghan, whose mother is African American, revealed on Wednesday that their new arrival was named Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor.