Radio listeners are furious after Capital Radio DJ Ant Payne made a joke about earthquake-hit Turkey while on air. A devastating 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck the country, along with Syria, on Monday 6 February.
The latest figures show that more than 33,000 people have now perished with hopes of rescuing more survivors dwindling amid freezing conditions. The presenter, who hosts a show between 4pm and 7pm, had suggested "now is actually the best time to start looking at some cheap flights away to Turkey, over the next few years” before adding: "Get your teeth done while you are over there.
"Come back looking 19 years old. You will be on Love Island next year if you are doing that."
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The presenter received a huge backlash with one user called Cinders Wish Tweeting: "Cant believe I just heard @ant_man_go make fun of the #Turkeyearthquake on @CapitalOfficial. He said ‘flight from now for a few years should be cheap to Turkey to get your teeth done’ I wonder how all the Turkish&Syrian communities and victims of this disaster feel about that?"
Ant replied to the user, and to Capital, last night to say: "Except I said nothing of the sort…".
He apologised for the offensive comment in a Tweet posted this morning (February 14) which read: "Hi guys, I want to address the comment I made last night on the show. It was insensitive and ill timed. I would never wish to offend anyone from my shows. My sincere and wholehearted apologies."
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