RACISM
Lord Sugar criticised for 'racist' tweet about Senegal team
Early on Wednesday, the magnate took to social media to post a photoshopped picture of the Senegal national football team.
British magnate and media personality Lord Alan Sugar has been criticised for a 'racist' tweet comparing Senegal’s national football team to sellers on the beach in Marbella.
He posted an image of the World Cup team next to pictures of sunglasses and handbags, along with the phrase, "I recognise some of these guys from the beach in Marbella. Multi tasking resourceful chaps."
The tweet has prompted thousands of critical responses, including those who accuse him of racism.
Racist tweet
Twitter users were quick to call him out on the post, with many calling the tweet 'racist' and 'disgraceful'.
Dawn Butler, Labour’s shadow secretary of state for Women & Equalities, said she was "very troubled after seeing Lord Sugar’s tweet" and that she "will be writing to the house of Lords Commissioner for Standards and the BBC" for an immediate investigation.
Actress Kelechi Okafor said Sugar was constructing his joke "on the premise that all black people 1) look alike 2) are poor 3) cannot achieve social mobility".
Misjudged attempt at humour
The 71-year-old, who appears on the BBC’s The Apprentice, later deleted the post and posted an apology, saying that his attempt at humour had "backfired".
"I misjudged [my] earlier tweet," he wrote. "It was in no way intended to cause offence, and clearly my attempt at humour has backfired. I have deleted the tweet and am very sorry."
Despite the backlash, he earlier defended his tweet, insisting that it was a joke and "meant to be funny".
"Frankly I can't see that, I think it's funny. But I will pull it down if you insist," he said.
Some Twitter users came to his defence, claiming his tweet didn’t harm anyone.
"The world is too PC... I am (sic) the majority of other people found the funny side to it and could see no offence was meant," Twitter user Chris Davis wrote.
Regarding Sugar's tweet, the BBC said: "Lord Sugar has acknowledged this was a seriously misjudged tweet, and he's in no doubt about our view on this. It's right he's apologised unreservedly."
Senegal beat Poland 2-1 in their World Cup opener on Tuesday. Their next match is against Japan on Sunday.