Dan Wootton suspended by GB News following Laurence Fox sexist rant
Dan Wootton has been suspended from GB News. (GB News)
Presenter Dan Wootton has been suspended by GB News after a sexist rant by Laurence Fox aimed at political correspondent Ava Evans (also known as Ava Santina) was broadcast live on his show.
The broadcaster announced on Wednesday (27 September) afternoon that Wootton‘s show had been removed form the schedules, pending a full internal investigation, after he was seen smiling and laughing during Fox’s comments.
The vile comments followed Evans’ participation on the BBC’s Politics Live a day earlier, where GB News reportedly claimed – in a since-deleted online article – that she “smirked” at comedian Geoff Norcott while debating the need for a minister for men.
Fox appeared on Dan Wootton Tonight and said “no self-respecting man” would “climb into bed” with her.
“Who would want to shag her?,” he said.
The former Lewis star went on to say that only a “cucked little incel” would choose to chose to have sex with Evans – a reference to the right-wing “involuntary celibate” conspiracy theory.
“That little woman has been fed, spoon-fed oppression, day after day after day,” he also went on to say.
The comments left Evans feeling “physically sick,” she said in a social media post, sharing a clip of the rant.
The clip quickly went viral and GB News announced it was launching an investigation, adding that the comments were “totally unacceptable” and that Fox – who presents his own show – had been suspended.
“What [Laurence Fox] said does not reflect our values and we apologise unreservedly for the comments and the offence they have caused,” the far-right broadcaster said.
Wootton shared two separate apologies on social media following the segment, where he called Evans “brilliant” and admitted his “regret” over the interview.
“Having looked at the footage, I can see how inappropriate my reaction to his totally unacceptable remarks appears to be and want to be clear that I was in no way amused by the comments.
“I should have intervened immediately to challenge offensive and misogynistic remarks,” he continued.
However, Fox responded to the apology with what is believed to be an exchange of private messages between him and the GB News host, in which Wootton allegedly wrote: “You can imagine them freaking out in the gallery”, along with several laughing emojis.
The clip and been blasted by members of the public, politicians, activists and journalists alike, who questioned how the moment was even allowed to broadcast and urged Ofcom to act.
In response to the outcry, Ofcom issued a statement to say it had received a number of complaints and was “assessing these complaints against our broadcast rules and will publish the outcome as quickly as possible”.
