BBC Radio 1Xtra DJ Sideman has quit the station following the BBC’s decision to air a racist slur in a recent news report.
18,656 complaints were made to the BBC as of last Thursday (August 6) after a white reporter used the N-word in a report about a racially aggravated attack in Bristol, which was broadcast on regional news programme Points West, as well as the BBC News Channel, on July 29. (A warning was aired prior to the reporter using the slur and the report was taken off the air later in the day.)
"This is an error in judgement where I can’t just smile with you through the process and act like everything is okay," Sideman, real name David Whitely, said in a video posted on Instagram. "I’m happy working with organisations until we all get it right, but this feels like more than getting it wrong."
He continued: "The action and the defence of the action feels like a slap in the face to our community. With no apology I just don’t feel comfortable being aligned with the organisation.
"Money and opportunity doesn’t outweigh the dissatisfaction that I feel with this situation. This is wild to me, especially in the current social climate, and I can’t make any sense of it no matter how much I think about it, so I think it is time that I left."
A spokesman for 1Xtra said: "Sideman is an incredibly talented DJ. Obviously we are disappointed that he has taken this decision.
"We absolutely wish him well for the future. The door is always open for future projects."
