Twitter

[Bairnardo]

We'll have to disagree.  I think the most plausible explanation is that he genuinely didn't think of a racist connotation when he posted it. 
But the only person that really knows is Danny Baker.

I dont buy any of the other connotations being suggested. For me the most likely scenario is that he misguidedly thought it would be edgy and funny to his fans to make a wee dig that the new royal baby is mixed race.

Happy to agree to disagree tho, like you say, only 1 man really knows

[pandarilla]

As others have said, Danny Baker must have known there is a racist connection there when posting that photo.  He deserves to have been sacked. 
To those defending him, would it have been ok if he had posted a picture of a gollywog with a similar royal reference?  I don't think so. 

There wouldn't been clear racist intent in that case.

Do you genuinely think he's intending to make a racist comment on this new baby?

[The OP]

He’ll bounce back. Guaranteed a job on The Grand Tour I’d imagine.

[Bairnardo]

There wouldn't been clear racist intent in that case.

Do you genuinely think he's intending to make a racist comment on this new baby?

Its possible that he is of the type that still thinks you can get away with a joke on yhis subject and failed to judge the reception

[pandarilla]

I dont buy any of the other connotations being suggested. For me the most likely scenario is that he misguidedly thought it would be edgy and funny to his fans to make a wee dig that the new royal baby is mixed race.

Happy to agree to disagree tho, like you say, only 1 man really knows

Has he ever made a racist comment in the past?

His fans appear to be a bit geeky - not what you'd normally associate with racist content. There really is no evidence whatsoever that he's intended to be racist in any way.

[pandarilla]

Its possible that he is of the type that still thinks you can get away with a joke on yhis subject and failed to judge the reception

A racist joke? He's a very experienced comedian. There's going edgy and then there's making a racist joke about a baby with mixed heritage.

[pandarilla]

It's not unknown for comedians to misjudge a joke, even if they're basically sound people. This one went over the line by miles, and I'm sure he regrets it massively, but at the time he posted it some part of him must have been aware of what he was doing.

You don't think this was a joke about the circus surrounding the unveiling of a royal baby?

You think he's trying to make a monkey-related joke about a mixed heritage baby? A monkey joke. Possibly being edgy?

[Bairnardo]

A racist joke? He's a very experienced comedian. There's going edgy and then there's making a racist joke about a baby with mixed heritage.

I just dont follow how the picture applies to what he is sayingnit was about. If the joke wasnt regarding the heritage of the baby then I just dont get it. I dont know about Bakers history or anything.

I do know that this is a horrifically out of order attempt at a joke on one hand OR an extremely unfunny and irrelevant joke that makes little sense, and demonstrates extreme stupudity in not knowing how comparing a mixed race baby to a chimpanzee would go down.

[pandarilla]

I just dont follow how the picture applies to what he is sayingnit was about. If the joke wasnt regarding the heritage of the baby then I just dont get it. I dont know about Bakers history or anything.

I do know that this is a horrifically out of order attempt at a joke on one hand OR an extremely unfunny and irrelevant joke that makes little sense, and demonstrates extreme stupudity in not knowing how comparing a mixed race baby to a chimpanzee would go down.

Did you think this was racist when you immediately saw it?

I have to say it took me about 10-20 seconds to realise, and that's only because I was looking for the 'shock' value (it had been posted on here with a comment about it being 'shocking').

I tried to avoid the royal wedding nonsense as much as possible but vaguely remembered seeing something about mixed heritage. It certainly doesn't immediately spring to mind that there is a race angle to this baby's birth.

[welshbairn]

7 minutes ago, pandarilla said:

You think he's trying to make a monkey-related joke about a mixed heritage baby? A monkey joke. Possibly being edgy?

Yes. I assume he was drunk and thought it funny at the time. He does a phone in show with millions of listeners, there is no way he doesn't pay attention enough to know that Archie has a black granny, and how his tweet would look. This is the photo I saw shortly before I saw his tweet.

 

Edited May 9, 2019 by welshbairn

[Bairnardo]

Did you think this was racist when you immediately saw it?

I have to say it took me about 10-20 seconds to realise, and that's only because I was looking for the 'shock' value (it had been posted on here with a comment about it being 'shocking').

I tried to avoid the royal wedding nonsense as much as possible but vaguely remembered seeing something about mixed heritage. It certainly doesn't immediately spring to mind that there is a race angle to this baby's birth.

As soon as I seen the tweet, within milliseconds, I would have bet on Baker losing his job

[pandarilla]

Yes. I assume he was drunk and thought it funny at the time. He does a phone in show with millions of listeners, there is no way he doesn't pay attention enough to know that Archie has a black granny, and how his tweet would look.

I don't really get his comment about not knowing who actually had the baby, although I certainly switch off anything relating to risk family news. Maybe he's insulated himself better than I have.

His show is pretty weird, and not in any way connected to current affairs or news.

[LincolnHearts]

Is he on P&B?

[pandarilla]

Yes he was being racist. I believe he intended to do so. 

Ok. Just going off this particular tweet?

If that is indeed the case i would seriously question your judgment on such matters.

[the_bully_wee]

I don't know a great deal about the guy but my interpretation of the picture in the context (which is, of course, important) is that it is a ridiculing piece of commentary on how the royals treat their children and portray them to the public. Pictures of the royal children released amid a massive clamour (really?) always have the kids posing in a very trained fashion, wearing all manners of ridiculous upper-class formal garb, pretty much as soon as they can stand on two feet. In my mind, it's a sad indicator of how much cancel culture prevails these days and I don't believe there is a single bit of racist intent behind it. 

[Marshmallo]

The guy is a w**k, he's been pulled up before for saying things about Leeds fans getting stabbed following Millwall games where there are chants of Istanbul and continues to post stuff like this. He tries to be edgy and has picked the wrong target this time (the nation's sweetheart royals). I have no sympathy regardless of intent.

 

[Savage Henry]

Whether you question my "judgement on such matters" doesn't really concern me.  The tweet with the chimp picture is so obviously aimed at being a dig against Meghan Markle's colour.   I cannot believe that you cannot see that and I would question why you do not.  The photograph concerned looks like it was taken years ago in an era where racism was rife, when terms such as jungle bunny, monkey, nigger and black b*****d were deemed to be socially acceptable words to describe black people.  I have heard a few of these derogatory terms in my life and as Danny Baker is older than me he must have heard them too.  Thankfully times have changed and they are no longer acceptable ways of describing our fellow human beings.  

Again I ask, would it have been acceptable if Danny Baker had posted an image of a gollywog with a caption saying something like, "The Royal kids new toy"  

I don't think that would be. 

 

 

 

 

Of course he’s aware of the trope. He’s not a Britain First moron. He was going for a performing monkey joke about posh folk wheeling out their kids in tops and tails, but the image coming with reference to a mixed race child meant it absolutely missed the mark. I don’t buy that he didn’t know who the mother was, but I do buy that he didn’t think it through.

 

A performing monkey in and of itself is not the same as a golliwog, which is an overtly racist toy. He’s not a raging white nationalist/PC-gone-mad halfwit, I don’t imagine. I doubt he laments the loss of the days of Bernard Manning.

 

I’m inclined to believe him - there was no racist intent. But the minute I saw it, it immediately seemed a very daft thing to post. I’m astonished he didn’t think it through. I agree with Welshbain - I assume he was on the sauce and cracked a bad joke. Most of us have been there to a greater or lesser degree. None of us are employed by the BBC or have half a million Twitter followers.

 

 

 

[Mark Connolly]

1 hour ago, Bairnardo said:

1 hour ago, Miguel Sanchez said:

Danny Baker is a twat, but I would have believed him until the "I didn't know whose baby it was" part. You don't work for the BBC and manage to avoid this shite.

Given that Wayne Hennessy got away with his one by claiming to be a moron of incomprehensible levels, we appear to be in post post truth era for pishy excuses/insincere apologies too....

To be fair, Wayne Hennessey is a moron of incomprehensible levels.

[Priti priti priti Patel]

11 minutes ago, Stinky Bone said:

Whether you question my "judgement on such matters" doesn't really concern me.  The tweet with the chimp picture is so obviously aimed at being a dig against Meghan Markle's colour.   I cannot believe that you cannot see that and I would question why you do not. 

The photograph concerned looks like it was taken years ago in an era where racism was rife, when terms such as jungle bunny, monkey, nigger and black b*****d were deemed to be socially acceptable words to describe black people.  I have heard a few of these derogatory terms in my life and as Danny Baker is older than me he must have heard them too.  Thankfully times have changed and they are no longer acceptable ways of describing our fellow human beings.  

Again I ask, would it have been acceptable if Danny Baker had posted an image of a gollywog with a caption saying something like, "The Royal kids new toy"  

I don't think that would be. 

 

 

I am sure, if you are so inclined, you will accuse me of that old cliche of doing a "my black friend", but since you feel it is so obviously racist and question why others do not, can I just say that my partner is a black American and also feels that there is no evidence of racist intent and thinks it's "super messed up that this man is out of a job".

[LeeVanTeeth]

16 minutes ago, Stinky Bone said:

Whether you question my "judgement on such matters" doesn't really concern me.  The tweet with the chimp picture is so obviously aimed at being a dig against Meghan Markle's colour.   I cannot believe that you cannot see that and I would question why you do not. 

The photograph concerned looks like it was taken years ago in an era where racism was rife, when terms such as jungle bunny, monkey, nigger and black b*****d were deemed to be socially acceptable words to describe black people.  I have heard a few of these derogatory terms in my life and as Danny Baker is older than me he must have heard them too.  Thankfully times have changed and they are no longer acceptable ways of describing our fellow human beings.  

Again I ask, would it have been acceptable if Danny Baker had posted an image of a gollywog with a caption saying something like, "The Royal kids new toy"  

I don't think that would be. 

 

 

For such an anti racist you seem keen  enough to spell out the N word and use other racist terms which we could all have imagined anyway.