Carol Thatcher gets sacked through use of a racist term, Anton does not

thats consistency for you

if you are perceived as a 'nice person' you can get away with it, otherwise forget about it.

It appears that he has made two racist remarks towards this girl, how awful. This racist should be removed from the show. I do not wish to watch this racist on my TV.

I would disagree with that, I saw Darren and Lilia's show three times in london and each time the threatre was full.

I saw D& L's show twice too and on both occasions it was packed so I'm not sure were the sold badly thing comes from.

On the Anton front I agree with those who have said Laila should be given the option to have a different partner (ok that just leaves her the choice of Matthew Cutler- not a bad thing in my books!)She shouldn't have to put up or get out in circumstances which she may find very uncomfortable

I think you're spot on about Hole in the Wall. If they sacked Anton from Strictly then they would have to pull the rest of the series of this as well. So it poses a problem for them. I suppose it depends on how many people complain. I'm just amazed at Anton's stupidity really. After the terrorist comment which didn't go down well you would have thought he'd have been more careful. If Laila wanted to make more of a big deal of it then I think the BBC would have to take action but as she's accepted his apology then I guess they will hope it will all go away. The question is whether Laila felt she had to accept the apology because she wants to continue in Strictly. Judging from her initial reaction to what Anton called her it's obvious she was very angry about it. You don't tell someone to get away from you and then leave the studio and go home if you aren't angry and upset.

missfrankiecat dont misinterpret what i said.

I was saying that Anton was not neccessarily the most popular dancer on SCD. Ok he does his own shows rather than the tour, good business sense, but I didnt say that he didnt have that.
Lots of people cant get to the tour so A & E provide an alternative.
However Matthew and Nicole, Vincent and Flavia and Ian and Camilla do shows after the tour has finished and they are all sell outs. I think some of the others do as well, cant be sure of that though.

He does need to diversify I will agree, but as yet he isnt good at it and needs to learn to think first and speak afterwards. If he keeps making these gaffs the press will keep having him for breakfast, there is nothing they will like better.

I think you've got the essence of the problem here.
She seems very uncomfortable with him and their great 'banter' seems more like blatant arguments to me.

She is a competitive person and wants to do well.
Darren should be out soon -she can have him!

Darren and Lilia's show didn't sell badly. I saw it twice and both times it was packed, and when I looked into going again I couldn't because there were no seats available on any of the dates I wanted. Added to that, Darren and Lilia's show fared a lot better with the critics.


Anton is certainly one of the least popular pros on DS: http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/forums/s...&highlight=pro

Everyone except James, Ola and Hayley beat him in a poll with 630 votes.

Isnt Anton also the person who hates fat people and wants them all shot? He's a silly tw*t who suffers from foot-in- mouth desease which seems to be incurable in his case.

She may be a wee bit on the tall side for Darren

Brendan may also be available soon though.

I find it repellent that Anton is being branded a racist.

People who use the so-called 'P-word' in jest are not racist. They are just very, very ignorant. There is a difference.

I went to school in a rural area where there were hardly any ethnic minorities. You would often hear racist jokes in the common room. Was everybody that went to my school a racist? No, they were not. They just did not know any better.

Does ignorance excuse the use of racist language? Absolutely not. But should we run after somebody who uses a racist term with pitchforks? Absolutely not.

I am very disappointed in Anton, but I do not think he is a racist. I think he has made a a very crude and very stupid mistake, for which he has apologised.

I hope he isn't sacked. But after Carol Thatcher, it would be inconsistent of the BBC not to discipline him.

NB: I hope I haven't offended anyone with this post. I know everybody has their own passionate views about what constitutes as racism. For me, there is just a big difference between racist language used in ignorance and racist language used with intent. I know not all of you will agree.

He can wear cuban heels.
Seriously, after that cha cha it's clear to see that Anton Latin is as bad as everyone says. Hope he gets a Latin pro in to choreograph soon or we may need more cushions to hide behind.

Okay Galentine I see your point. However, there is a difference in school children using racist language in an ignorant way and a man in his forties (at least!) who has been in the media spotlight for over 5 years using racist language.

The fact is Anton shouldnt be ignorant that this would cause offence - he is more savvy than that I can assure you.

Thank you for your thoughts on the matter though!

Personally I find this comment more offensive than this whole thing. Just how old are you?

Yes, Anton did make a stupid comment some time ago and -[LIST]
[*]He has since apologised to Laila who has accepted his apology.
[*]Laila has made it quite clear she regards the matter as closed.
[*]Laila has also made it quite clear she is happy to continue dancing with Anton.
[*]He has also made a public apology.[/LIST]
The NOTW article is pure muck stirring and the knives are out for him on here.


To repeat what has been said several times on this thread -

Carol Thatcher was sacked because she refused to apologise. Anton has apologised publicly and to the other person involved. There is no inconsistency by the BBC.

mountain out of a molehill.

On the whole I usually agree with you Buddy, but sometimes it grates when, just because someone apologises for a wongdoing, that seems to make it alright. Apologies are often just empty words imo.

That is utter rubbish.

Anton shouldnt need to apologise, he shouldnt have said that word in the first place. People who say things like that in an attempt at humour seriously need some reeducation.

How?
If we start to allow some words as 'okay' then we are setting a precedent for worse language to be used.

I am certainly not over the top PC but I dont like the assumption that Im some hysterical do gooder because I think he should be disciplined for this?

An apology isnt discipline.

However it is the truth. Whether you want to get rid of Anton now as a personal mission is neither here nor there.

:yawn:

He isn't a child, what on earth do you want to happen to him? To be sacked for something he said and then apologised for?

The person he said it to, who has the right to be offended, accepted said apology and feels that's the end of it.

He went as far as publically apologising because it got out - leaks being as they are with the BBC. IT IS THE END OF IT


those hystericals screaming for him to be sacked need to get a sodding grip!

I think you made a good point, and it is problematic to say someone who is merely ignorant should be classed as racist. The school I went to was very ethnically diverse, so I know how offensive those sorts of words are, and that even if Asian people use the words themselves it would still not be acceptable for anyone else to use them. I accept that other people who have grown up in different backgrounds may not be aware of this.

However as a few of us have been saying, Laila should have the option of staying in the competition but not partnering someone who has made two racist comments to her, intended or not. If Laila is truly happy to stay with Anton, fair enough, but the BBC should give her an alternative.

I also think that, given that this is the second time Anton has made inappropriate comments with racist implications, he should be getting some kind of written warning from the BBC. Of course that may be happening behind the scenes and it wouldn't necessarily be right for the public to know about it. All the same, it doesn't look great that Anton has seemingly not been disciplined at all for this. It isn't really good enough to make ignorant comments and then apologise later- he should think about what he is saying and how it makes Laila feel.

No, it is not.

Read this from the BBC.

For those of you who haven't read them yet, here's the links to the stories:

http://uk.tv.yahoo.com/04102009/19/s...race-slur.html

and

http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/show...terrorist.html

I personally think that he'll be kept 'till the end of this series then when it's over, he'll be given the boot. Or when/if him and Laila are voted out.

What d'you think?

Will the BBC be willing to keep him after this? :P

Anton Du Berke

Ron atkinson got sacked for calling marcel Desailly a N***a, carol thatcher was sacked for Golly*** so anton could be sacked for P*** and terrorist comments