CAPITAL FM’s Ant Payne has now received more than 500 Ofcom complaints from listeners after his tasteless joke about the earthquake in Turkey.
The radio presenter, who hosts the 4pm to 7pm drivetime slot, made the sick joke on Monday, after the natural disaster killed 31,000 people in Turkey and 5,700 more in Syria.
4
4
And those listening were up in arms. So much so that 567 people took it upon themselves to complain to the broadcasting regulator, Ofcom.
Ant thought it was a harmless joke when he said: “I think now actually is the best time to start looking at some cheap flights away to Turkey over the next few years.”
He added: “You can get your teeth done while you’re over there. You can come back looking 19 years, you’ll be on Love Island next year if you do it now.”
But now, his once loyal listeners are calling for him to be sacked.
Read Related Also: Who is Taye Diggs’ ex-wife Idina Menzel?
One fan said: “Ant Payne needs removing after his insensitive vile comment.”
Another responded: “Capital FM, are you seriously going to allow this shameful and heartless employer of yours, Ant Payne, to make jokes at the expense of children who died in the Turkey earthquake?”
But this is not the first time his role as a public figure has been blighted by poor decisions.
In 2019, he was arrested for possessing cocaine and allegedly attacking an Uber driver.
This time however, he was forced to make an apology. He said: “I want to address the comment I made last night on the show. It was insensitive and ill timed. “
He added: “I would never wish to offend anyone from my shows. My sincere and wholehearted apologies.”
4
4
!function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s){if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?
n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;
n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version=’2.0′;n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;
t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window,
document,’script’,’
fbq(‘init’, ‘752905198150451’);
fbq(‘track’, “PageView”);
