Quote Originally Posted by Rjk View Post
That was exactly Danny bakers reaction when criticism started piling in. And I don't think it helped him.
I think you do have to consider intent, and I genuinely don't think there was any on DBs part, it would be very out of character to suddenly do something so crudely racist, but I do think that in a public role you probably should know that calling a mixed race baby a monkey is not ok.
If when it was pointed out to him, DB had been mortified and profusely apologised then it might have ended differently.

I can understand why the BBC had to sack him. They probably understood his humour and know he isn't racist, but the BBC in both an extension of UK soft power and a source of income are very much a worldwide organisation, and they have many enemies elsewhere in the media (daily mail, Murdoch etc) so they would have no control over how this story would be reported worldwide.

If the story became BBC refuse to sack racist host, and be implication BBC = racist then it could be extremely damaging in areas that are both diplomatically important and extremely lucrative.

Danny Bakers has paid the price for his own naivety rather than actual racist opinions.
I cannot accept that anyone can say he was naive. He has been in broadcasting for donkeys years (no insult meant to donkeys) and if he were naive he'd have gone long ago.
He may be a lot of things, drunk? racist? stupid? careless? convinced he was bomb-proof? - - lots of things. But no one who has been in his industry that long can ever make a defence of being naive!!!!!