BBC Radio Solent presenter, DJ Alex Dyke has been suspended following a frankly pathetic rant against breastfeeding mothers last Wednesday.
Dyke clearly has some serious issues with the “ladies” who breastfeed in public. The broadcast has subsequently been removed from the BBCiPlayer but the DJ’s comments have been widely reported. The Southern Daily Echo published Dyke’s outburst:
“It is 2015. Ladies, mums; we don’t like breastfeeding in public, honestly we don’t. I experienced this yesterday. I was on a bus and there was a lady on this bus. She was quite a big girl and she had a toddler with her.”
“She starts to breastfeed her baby on the bus. I didn’t know where to look. She’s putting me in an embarrassing situation.”
“I didn’t really realise what was going on. I just thought she was cuddling a baby and then I looked over and I realised. I wanted to look away but the bus was packed.”
“Breastfeeding is unnatural. I know it’s natural but it’s kind of unnatural. It’s the kind of thing which should be done in a quiet and private nursery.”
“We don’t want it in public. It was ok in the Stone Age when we knew no better and people didn’t even have their own teeth. A public area is not the place for it. It’s not a great look.”
Though the broadcast was made live on Wednesday, initially it seems the BBC took no action, allowing Dyke to continue to broadcast his show on the station the following day, during which he promised listeners a “breastfeeding special” the next day.
In a matter of hours, Dyke was back, apparently contrite, with the following statement: “Yesterday on the show I spoke about breastfeeding. The comments I made during the broadcast were unacceptable and I would like to apologise for any offence caused.”
A Change.org petition started by Maisie Jameson received more that 5,500 supporters in one day. Jameson described Dyke as an “ill-educated misogynist” a fact supported by the DJ himself when he wrote the following statement on his Facebook page:
“My point was fat chavvy mums with their boobs out on buses isn’t a good look. A classy discrete mum is absolutely fine.”
“Following unacceptable comments made on air yesterday Alex Dyke been suspended pending an investigation, so he will not be on air tomorrow,” A BBC spokesman told Huffington Post UK.
