A presenter on Ujima Radio, a community station in Bristol, has received a warning from Ofcom after airing offensive homophobic comments. The station has since terminated the volunteers contract.
One of the presenters on the Noon Show was talking about a story in a local newspaper when he aired his own thoughts on the matter. He talked about issues relating to black homosexuals. He referred to homosexuality as a "pestilence" and claimed that "the most right thinking" people thought it was not natural.
Ofcom received a complaint from a listener who felt that the presenter’s comments during this discussion were offensive towards the gay community.
The broadcaster acknowledged that the programme was unsuitable for broadcast and that listeners would have been offended by the comments made by the presenter. Ujima Radio said that as a consequence of the complaint the station terminated the presenter’s volunteer contract and broadcast an on-air apology the following week.
In a statement, Ofcom said: "In general, offensive material can be broadcast, so long as it is justified by the context. Given factors such as the service on which the material is broadcast; the degree of harm or offence likely to be caused by the inclusion of the material; and the likely expectation of the audience, Ofcom considered that the broadcast of this offensive material was not justified by the context. Therefore, the material went beyond generally accepted standards for this type of programme and breached Rule 2.3 of the Code."
Here are the presenters comments in full:
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“I don’t like to believe we are the most homophobic, I like to look at it as we are the most right thinking. It’s as simple as that. Because if you didn’t think right, you wouldn’t be here in the first place … as there wouldn’t be such [a] thing as procreation, and procreation has to continue between man and woman… don’t get it twisted and don’t get sick out there, real talk now…it takes a man and hormone. Adam and Eve, simple, simple, simple. Argue your case with God Almighty.”
“You know your son is up in his bedroom playing his Xbox and you think ‘oh he’s 16, 17 years old’ and that lot, you’d like to see a few girls going up there but you don’t wanna walk up there and find that they’re not playing Xbox – the only box they’re playing is a nasty dirty little box, you know. I’m just merely saying, every time your son comes through the door with different boys, well it might be boys or just play mates I’m afraid.”
“Goodness knows what I would do if my sons turned round and told me they [are gay], I know what I would do but I won’t tell you on-air.”
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