He’s got himself in trouble.
The BBC has been forced to apologise after Orlando Bloom featured on Nick Grimshaw’s Radio 1 show on Wednesday, April 26th. During the show, Orlando used the word “pikey”.
They were talking about his upbringing when he said, “I’m still a pikey from Kent. You don’t want to get on the wrong side of me, boy.”
People were quick to comment on social media over what he said.
I love that Orlando Bloom keeps saying pikey on Radio 1 when there was a whole feature on there about how offensive that is the other day ?
— wann™ (@neversquare) April 26, 2017
No, Orlando Bloom on @R1Breakfast @BBCR1, you’re not a ‘pikey from kent’. It’s a racist slur! #radio1 #traveller #gypsy #racism
— angree bindii (@angreebindii) April 26, 2017
Orlando insists that he didn’t mean the word in an offensive way, saying:
“I’ve come from Kent and I grew up with a lot of, like, freewheeling, cool, interesting characters like that.
I certainly wasn’t taking a slant at that at all. I’m very respectful.”
However, the BBC were still forced to apologise saying:
“As with any live broadcast, we take great care to ensure all guests are briefed about their language before going on air. We apologised to listeners afterwards for any offence caused.”
Lead image via BBC.
