28 September 2023 , 16:25
564
0
The Dan Wootton Tonight Show is being investigated by media regulator Ofcom after a recent sexism row received over 7,300 complaints.
Earlier this week, political journalist Ava Evans discussed men's mental health and suicide on BBC's Politics Live show, which led former actor Laurence Fox to launch a vile tirade of abuse towards her while chatting to Wootton on GB News. In his vicious rant, Fox mocked Evans and publicly humiliated her.
He asked the offensive question: "Who'd want to shag that?" He also described Ms Evans as a "little woman" and declared: "We don't need these sort of feminist 4.0" who he said are"pathetic and embarrassing". Fox and Wootton received a lot of backlash online, with GB News later suspending Wootton.
The GB News presenter's contract with MailOnline was terminated a day later. And now, Ofcom revealed they will investigate the shocking episode under rules on offence. It comes after MailOnline's parent company, DMG Media, released a statement on the termination of his contract.
Wootton and Fox received backlash over the sexist row (X)A spokesperson said: "Following events this week, DMG Media can confirm that Dan Wootton's freelance column with MailOnline – which had already been paused – has now been terminated, along with his contract." Earlier this week, New Zealand-born Wootton had been slapped with a suspension from the network which is said to champion "free speech".
Eamonn Holmes returns to work as he shares he's feeling better in health update
In a statement shared on X (formerly Twitter ), the network said: "GB News has suspended Dan Wootton following comments made on his programme by Laurence Fox last night. This follows our decision earlier today to formally suspend Mr Fox. We are conducting a full investigation."
During the GB News broadcast on Tuesday night, Wootton and Fox discussed Ms Evans comments made by the former LBC producer during her appearance BBC Politics Live on Monday, with the journalist attracting attention due to her remarks about men's mental health. Following her appearance on the BBC show, Ms Evans tweeted: "I was a little rash on my anti-minister for men comments which I do regret and am actually very interested in a brief for a minister on young men’s mental health."
That's when Fox launched into a rant about Evans. The comments from Fox sparked a furious backlash online - with Ms Evans telling her Twitter (aka X) followers she felt physically sick following the broadcast - and . This morning, just minutes before his suspension was announced by GB News, Fox took to Twitter to