Radio presenter sacked over on-air homophobic ‘dildo factory’ jibe
The UK’s media watchdog Ofcom has found a radio station breached the broadcasting code with an on-air comment about gay people.
The complaint arose against the Dai Haywood Rock & Roll show on South Wales radio station BRFM.
On the show, presenter Dai Haywood suggested that the growth in the number of gay people will lead to the decline of midwifery and a surge in “dildo factory”.
He said: “Just been talking to Graham about the way, the way the world is going with everybody being bis and gays and, well they say: like Betty was saying; there won’t be no midwives 20 years from now, midwives will be a thing of the past.
“Cause my granddaughter’s hoping to become a midwife, and funny I only said to her yesterday you’ll be redundant by the time you’re 40, with all the gay people
around.
“There’ll be no reproduction going on. But Betty did say they’d be opening two new factories in Blaenau: they’ll be for blow up, male blow-up dolls and the
other will be a dildo factory. So there will be work around.”
In its judgement published today, Ofcom said: “We considered that the presenter’s statements about homosexual and bisexual people were likely to have been interpreted by listeners as offensive because they were derogatory and stereotypical.
“The likely level of offence in this case would have been increased by the presenter referring to two factories opening up in the local area, which he joked would be for making ‘male blow-up dolls’ and ‘dildos’.
“This served to reinforce the presenter’s derogatory comments bypresenting a negative and stereotyped view on the sexual behaviour of homosexual and bisexual people.
“In Ofcom’s opinion, the general tone of the presenter’s remarks was likely to have been interpreted as an implied attack on homosexual and bisexual people, presenting their increased numbers as a threat to society.”
The watchdog found that the segment breached the broadcasting code.
In its response, BRFM said it had aired an on-air apology and “suspended the presenter with immediate effect”. The presenter, Dai Hayward, has now permanently left the station.
They said: “BRFML said that it had issued an on-air apology for any offence that may have been caused by the comments and also held a meeting with its presenters and volunteers” to ‘reiterate the code of conduct and the responsibility to the organisation of presenters’.”
