Laurence Fox has been suspended from GB News over remarks about a woke female journalist, sparking furious backlash and calls for him to be barred from the network permanently.
GB News said that it suspended the My Son Hunter star and Reclaim Party leader for his “totally unacceptable” comments about far-left political commentator and PoliticsJoe journalist Ava Evans during his appearance on the Dan Wootton show.
Responding to Evans dismissing the idea of the government establishing a ministerial post for male issues, such as the much higher suicide rate for men, Fox said: “Show me a single self-respecting man that would like to climb into bed with that woman ever, ever, who wasn’t an incel. That little woman has been spoon-fed oppression day after day after day, starting with the lie of the gender wage gap.
“I’m going, like, if I met you in a bar and that was sentence three, chances of me just walking away are just huge. We need powerful, strong, amazing women who make great points for themselves. We don’t need this sort of feminist 4.0. They’re pathetic and embarrassing. Who’d want to shag that?”.
Announcing the suspension, GB News said in a statement on Wednesday morning: “GB News has formally suspended Laurence Fox while we continue our investigation into comments he made on the channel last night. Mr Fox’s suspension is effective immediately and he has been taken off air. We will be apologising formally to Ms Evans today.”
For his part, Mr Fox said that he would not apologise for his comments, which he claimed the broadcaster was made aware of prior to his appearance.
“I stand by every word of what I said. If a woman wants to go on television and belittle male suicide, she is totally within her rights to do so and not apologise, just as I am totally within my rights to say that I wouldn’t want to shag a hyper offended 4th wave feminist and not apologise, just as people are totally within their rights to be offended by my stating I would run a mile in the opposite direction from women like her, should our paths cross in a bar,” Fox said.
“It’s called free speech. I realise that the new woke world is low on laughter and high on offence, but it’s still worth trying to find the lighter moments in this joyless new cancel culture which has been created for us.”
“Without free speech and the presumption of innocence we are not free. We aren’t quite communist Eastern Europe yet. We may very close, but not quite there. It’s still worth fighting for. So if you are expecting a grovelling apology, I suggest you don’t hold your breath. I won’t ever apologise to the mob,” Fox declared.
Fox also claimed Ms Evans has an apparent history of making similar statements about who she would not “shag“.
Britain’s broadcasting regulator, Ofcom told The Times that it has received a number of complaints from the public about the segment and is investigating whether Fox’s statements violated broadcasting regulations.
Pouring on pressure, leftist Labour MP Stella Creasy said to Evans on social media: “This clearly breaches Ofcom guidelines on your right to privacy and unfair treatment. You shouldn’t have to put up with this and it’s their job to make sure GB News are held accountable for it. If they don’t act let us know and we will follow up.”