British radio presenter Danny Baker has been fired by BBC for tweeting an image of a chimpanzee dressed in clothes below the caption “Royal Baby leaves hospital”.
The now deleted tweet, which has been circulated on social media, showed an image of a couple holding hands with a chimpanzee dressed in clothes with the caption: “Royal Baby leaves hospital”.
Meghan, wife of Prince Harry, gave birth in the early hours of Monday morning to a baby boy, Archie, the first mixed race child to be born into a senior position in British royalty in recent history.
“Just got fired,” Danny Baker, a broadcaster with BBC Radio 5 Live, said on Twitter. The BBC also reported the news.
The 5Live presenter was accused of mocking the duchess’s racial heritage.
The 61-year-old, who presents a weekly show on BBC Radio 5 Live, apologised again on Wednesday evening, saying the joke was intended to poke fun at the Royal family.
He said: “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.
A BBC spokesperson said: “This was a serious error of judgment.”
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.”
It’s the second time the controversial presenter has been axed by 5 live and the third time he has been sacked by the BBC.