By Gabriel Princewill-
GB News has suspended its main host, Dan Wootton, in the wake of controversial remarks made by Laurence Fox during a broadcast on the channel.
This suspension follows the earlier suspension of Laurence Fox for his comments about journalist Ava Evans, which have been widely condemned as “unacceptable, unjustifiable, and indefensible.”
AD: Capeesh Restaurant
During the contentious broadcast on Tuesday, Laurence Fox made derogatory comments about PoliticsJOE journalist Ava Evans, including asking, “Who would want to shag that?”
Rather than focus on her arguments, Fox instead used his time to condescendingly talk about the female journalist, as belittled and mocked her appearance.
Referring to Evans as a “little woman”, he imprudently remarked: “Show me a single self-respecting man that would like to climb into bed with that woman ever, ever, who wasn’t an incel.
AD: Oysterian Sea Food Restaurant And Bar
“We need powerful, strong amazing women who make great points for themselves. We don’t need these sort of feminist 4.0. They’re pathetic and embarrassing. Who’d want to shag that?”
As both Fox and Wootton laughed, Fox added: “Sorry, it’s true though.”
Wooten’s laughter made him somewhat complicit in the impropriety, the obscene nature of which one would have expected him t keep at bay.
Evans, who posted the clip of the segment on social media platform X – formerly known as Twitter – a said the comments had made her feel “physically sick”.
Evans later revealed she had received an apology from GB News.
“It was an email from the editor – a very gracious email – basically telling me that what Fox said was not representative of the rest of the GB News outfit,” she told the BBC Newscast podcast.
“That’s actually probably the best apology I could have gotten. Honestly, not to cast doubt on our media landscape, but I didn’t actually think anything was going to happen.
“I don’t want to say I’m pleased by it. I just think that’s probably the best outcome I could have hoped for.”
In a statement, GB News said, “[We have] suspended Dan Wootton following comments made on his programme by Laurence Fox last night. This follows our decision earlier today to formally suspend Mr. Fox.” The channel also announced that it is conducting an investigation into the comments.
Dan Wootton, as an afterthought, took to social media platform X (formerly Twitter) to publicly apologize to Ava Evans.
Describing Evans as “brilliant”, he expressed regret for the comments made during his show, acknowledging that he should have done so immediately on air.
In his public statement, Wootton emphasized that such comments were not reflective of GB News’ values, stating, “This is not what our channel is about.”
Challenges
The controversy surrounding Laurence Fox’s comments and the subsequent suspensions of both Fox and Wootton add to the challenges faced by GB News.
The network has been striving to establish itself in the competitive world of British news broadcasting since its launch. These recent events further highlight the scrutiny and responsibility that comes with being a news channel in the public eye.
Dan Wootton is already facing a separate investigation follows a three-year probe conducted by Byline Times into multiple allegations of inappropriate sexual overtures made to his colleagues at The Sun Newspaper and The Mail Online, as well as other individuals he allegedly targeted online.
GB News had chosen to stand by Wooton amid the torrent of disturbing allegations against the Australian born television presenter when they emerged earlier in the year, adopting the view that the conduct against which he had been accused ad not been subjected to a criminal investigation.
GB News’s sudden decision to suspend Wooton may be an effort to save the dying integrity of the broadcaster, despite the growing popularity of the show.
Popularity
GB News, though controversial in essence, has gained popularity in many quarters of the British public.
An annual poll of 45,000 UK consumers conducted market research company Savanta found GB News to be Britain’s third ‘most loved’ news brand, behind The Guardian and Metro.
The May 2023 survey, ranked the broadcaster as the UK’s most-loved news brand, ahead of The Guardian and The Sun.
Launched in June 2021 from studios at Paddington, North West London , GB News became Britain’s first television news start-up since the launch of Sky News in 1989, set up with the aim of broadcasting “original news, opinion and debate”, with a mix of news coverage and opinion-based content
The first chairman of GB News was Andrew Neil, who set up the channel after leaving the BBC, but only presented nine shows before resigning from his roles at the channel on 13 September 2022.
AD: Heritage And Restaurant Lounge Bar