The BBC has fired a British radio presenter who tweeted an image of a chimpanzee dressed in clothes below 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.
Just got fired from @bbc5live. For the record - it was red sauce. Always. — Danny Baker (@prodnose) May 9, 2019
Just got fired from @bbc5live. For the record - it was red sauce. Always.
Danny Baker, a 61-year-old presenter on BBC Radio show 5Live, announced on Twitter on Thursday morning that he had been fired from the program.
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. Soon as those good enough to point out it's possible connotations got in touch, down it came. And that's it. Now stand by for sweary football tweets — Danny Baker (@prodnose) May 8, 2019
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. Soon as those good enough to point out it's possible connotations got in touch, down it came. And that's it. Now stand by for sweary football tweets
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
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
Here we go. Opened door, grinning Mail hack. "Do you think black people look like monkeys?" Any other time you'd knock someone right on their arse for saying that. No mate. Gag pic. Posh baby chimp. Alerted to circs. Appalled. Deleted. Apologised. He asks again! #MailonRacism — Danny Baker (@prodnose) May 9, 2019
Here we go. Opened door, grinning Mail hack. "Do you think black people look like monkeys?" Any other time you'd knock someone right on their arse for saying that. No mate. Gag pic. Posh baby chimp. Alerted to circs. Appalled. Deleted. Apologised. He asks again! #MailonRacism
The BBC said the tweet was a serious error of judgment that went "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 BBC said.
Meghan, whose mother is African-American and father is white, has been the target of racist commentary on social media in the past.