Alan Sugar—British businessman and star of BBC’s Apprentice series—seems to have taken a page from the star of the U.S. version, in terms of racist tweets.
Yesterday, Sugar took to Twitter to make a joke about how Senegal’s World Cup team reminds him of beach vendors at Marbella. Check it out below:
While Sugar may not have taken the tweet all that seriously, the rest of the internet has; Sugar has received a great deal of backlash for his racist tweet. Here are a few of Sugar’s responses to the backlash:
(Images via: Sick Chirpse)
Sugar received a scolding from many Twitter users, individuals, and organizations. Piara Powar—the executive director of ‘Football Against Racism in Europe’—said that Sugar’s tweet was “disgraceful and damaging.”
Ultimately, Sugar took down the tweet and apologized, but the damage is done. Sugar continues to be admonished (and trolled) for his racist joke, with many calling for the British billionaire to be fired from The Apprentice.
The BBC said in response: “Lord Sugar has acknowledged this was a seriously misjudged tweet, and he’s in no doubt about our view on this. It’s right he apologized unreservedly.” Strong words from the BBC, but it looks like he’ll keep his job—for now.
Like most, I don’t think Sugar’s tweet was meant to be racist or inflammatory. Still, considering that Senegal’s recent victory over Poland was the first for Africa in this year’s tournament, it’s not hard to see that Sugar’s joke is incredibly dismissive of a triumphant moment for African football fans.
In vaguely-related World Cup news, Russian politicians don’t want Russian women having sex with foreigners.
