GB news presenter Laurence Fox has been formally suspended by the channel after he refused to apologise for saying of a female journalist live on air: “Show me a self-respecting man that would like to climb into bed with that.”
GB News had launched an investigation after Fox made a series of remarks about Ava Evans, the political correspondent for online news site Joe, during an episode of Dan Wootton Tonight on Tuesday.
Fox hosted his own show on GB News, titled “Laurence Fox”, in which the channel says he “tackles the issues of the day with his unique and outgoing style”.
But in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, the broadcaster said 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.”
Fox’s comments made journalist feel ‘physically sick’
In a clip shared by Ms Evans on X, Fox said: “We’re past the watershed so I can say this… show me a single, self-respecting man that would like to climb into bed with that woman… ever… ever.
“That little woman has been fed… spoon-fed oppression day after day after day, starting with the lie about the gender pay gap.
“She’s sat there, and I’m going like, if I met you at a bar and that was like 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 these feminist 4.0.
“They’re pathetic and embarrassing.
“Who’d want to shag that?”
When sharing the video, Ms Evans included a caption saying: “Laurence Fox just did a whole speech on GB News on why men apparently won’t shag me?”
In a follow-up tweet, she added that the footage made her feel “physically sick”.
The discussion came after Ms Evans appeared on the BBC’s Politics Live on Monday.
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But Fox’s suspension came after he stood by his comments in his own social media posts on Wednesday.
He said: “I stand by every word of what I said.”
He went on to add: “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.”
The actor and presenter also said: “So if you are expecting a grovelling apology, I suggest you don’t hold your breath. I won’t ever apologise to the mob.
“Have a lovely day.”
‘What he said does not reflect our values’
In its own statement posted to X, GB News said: “Comments made tonight on GB News by Laurence Fox were totally unacceptable.
“What he said does not reflect our values and we apologise unreservedly for the comments and the offence they have caused.
“We have launched an investigation and will be apologising to the individual involved.”
In a message to Ms Evans on X, host Dan Wootton said: “I think you’re brilliant… I apologise for what was said during the course of my show and should have done this immediately on air.
“This is not what our channel is about.”
‘I was in no way amused’
Wootton posted again on Wednesday morning, saying: “I want to reiterate my regret over last night’s exchange with Laurence on GB News.
“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 reacted as I did out of shock and surprise in an off guard moment while working out how to respond as he continued to speak by searching for tweets @AvaSantina had sent earlier in the day while having them read out in my ear at the same time.
“However, I should have intervened immediately to challenge offensive and misogynistic remarks.”
Media regulator Ofcom said in a statement: “We can confirm we’ve received a number of complaints about comments made by Laurence Fox on GB News last night.
“We are assessing these complaints against our broadcast rules and will publish the outcome as quickly as possible.”
