Guto Harri was taken off air after saying he “I actually now get it” and kneeling live on the show
The Welsh writer, broadcaster and communications consultant, Guto Harri, has been taken off GB News after he told viewers he now understood the importance of taking the knee as a gesture and did so live on air.
Harri‘s presenting of the right-wing alternative news channel has reportedly been suspended indefinitely after he admitted that he “underestimated how close to the surface the racism [in football and in Britain] still was “and that I now get it”, before proceeding to take the knee during the programme.
“Those people” are upset and threatening to quit watching their fave anti-woke channel, gbnews because presenter Guto Harri took the knee in 45 second segment. Imagine wanting to be fed hate 24/7.
— Efirecracker 🖖🏾 (@Allshewrote_) July 13, 2021
While videos of the gesture are all over social media, GB News is doing its best to take them down from the likes of YouTube and Twitter as viewers of the show, ironically, began to cancel Harri and boycott the show for allowing it to be broadcast. Yes, the opponents of ‘cancel culture’ are somehow cancelling people, again.
As you can see, even GB News’ original post which Harri quote tweeted has now been removed, as they look to sweep the incident under the rug and move back to the regularly scheduled programming. Harri had this to say on what he thinks the channel should be about and why this anti-racist statement is important for footballers to make.
GB News is – above all – about free speech; having the debates others won’t. English footballers have made it clear that when they take the knee they are making a clear statement about rejecting racism (not endorsing the narrow divisive aims of BLM). I support them https://t.co/Ny9H9HyRAj
— Guto Harri (@Guto_Harri) July 13, 2021
According to The Guardian, friends of Harri commented that “GB News is becoming an absurd parody of what it proclaimed to be – not defending free speech and combatting cancel culture but replicating it on the far right. Nasty.”
They went on to add: “It’s ridiculous to say he’s breached editorial standards and almost certainly defamatory. In reality, it wasn’t a breach of editorial code but ‘sacked for offending the lynch mob’.” Interesting when the shoe is on the other foot, isn’t it.
GB News was reached for comment but would not give any further details as to the extent of Harri’s removal and whether it would be permanent or not. Lead presenter, Andrew Neil, recently took a break from his duties also, just two weeks into the channel starting up. Neil admitted the channel had got off to a “rocky start”.
It’s unclear which part of the channel’s editorial code he supposedly broke or whether their commitment, in theory, to the “independence of our journalism”, “respect for opinions and those expressing them” and “the right of every individual to form and share their views”, only extends up until the point they’re actually faced with someone who penetrates the echo chamber.
