Entertainment
Capital FM receives 800 more complaints over DJ Ant Payne’s Turkey earthquake joke-Kitty Chrisp-Entertainment – Metro
The disaster has claimed over 45,000 lives.
Caption: Capital Radio DJ Ant Payne has apologised after making a joke about earthquake-hit Turkey while on air.
Ofcom has received 863 additional complaints after Capital Radio’s DJ Ant Payne made a joke about the hurricane in Turkey which flattened towns, killed over 45,000 people and left tens of thousands more homeless.
Disaster struck Turkey and Syria on February 6 when buildings and towns across the countries were devastated by the 7.8-magnitude shock.
Weeks on and bodies are still being recovered in the rubble, as yet more tremors continue to strike.
The 39-year-old DJ was hosting Capital FM from 4pm-7pm last Monday when he declared ‘now is actually the best time to start looking at some cheap flights away to Turkey, over the next few years’.
He added: ‘Get your teeth done while you are over there. Come back looking 19 years old. You’ll be on Love Island next year if you are doing that.’
Unsurprisingly, the comments were received poorly by appalled listeners, one of whom tweeted the presenter: ‘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?’ [sic]
Over 45,000 people have died and the death toll is expected to rise still (Picture: Getty Images)
Ant then made his second mistake, and replied that he’d done ‘nothing of the sort’, trying to brush off what listeners had just heard him say.
The presenter changed his tune on Tuesday morning though, when he addressed his words: ‘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.’
The search for bodies and survivors continues (Picture: Getty Images)
But that didn’t cut it for lots of listeners, as one tweeted to remind Ant of his misstep: ‘You tried to deny it first and this is the apology you give? You shouldn’t ever be on the radio again.’
Days after the incident, Ofcom reported it had received 567 complaints, and has now received an additional 863 bringing the total to 1,430.
Liberal Democrat councillor Suzanne Nuri-Nixon also spoke out in horror over Ant’s joke.
‘Wow @CapitalOfficial, just wow!’, she tweeted.
‘Read the room Ant Payne, thousands have died, thousands are in mourning and you crack a ‘joke’?! Man, did you misread the room’.
Meanwhile in Turkey, the search for survivors continues, and anger is mounting at the urban planning of buildings which were supposed to be earthquake safe but flattened when it struck.
More: Trending
Efforts to get aid to civilians in Syria have been complicated by the ongoing civil war.
On last count, deaths in Syria made up 5,800 of the total toll, which is expected to rise still in the coming weeks.
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What is Ofcom and what does it cover?
Ofcom is the regulator for the communications services that we use and rely on each day.
The watchdog makes sure people get the best from their broadband, home phone and mobile services, as well as keeping an eye on TV and radio.
Ofcom deals with most content on television, radio and video-on-demand services, including the BBC. However, if your complaint is about something you saw or heard in a BBC programme, you may need to complain to the BBC first.
Its rules for television and radio programmes are set out in the Broadcasting Code.
The rules in the Broadcasting Code also apply to the BBC iPlayer.
This Broadcasting Code is the rule book that broadcasters have to follow and it covers a number of areas, including; protecting the under-18s, protecting audiences from harmful and/or offensive material and ensuring that news, in whatever form, is reported with due accuracy and presented with due impartiality.
Audiences can complain to Ofcom if they believe a breach of the Broadcasting Code has been made.
Every time Ofcom receives a complaint from a viewer or listener, they assess it to see if it needs further investigation.
If Ofcom decide to investigate, they will include the case in a list of new investigations, published in the Broadcast and On Demand Bulletin.
An investigation is a formal process which can take some time depending on the complexity of the issues involved.
Ofcom can also launch investigations in the absence of a complaint from a viewer or listener.
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