Alastair Stewart, a longtime anchor on the British network ITV, stepped down from his post after facing backlash for calling a black Twitter user an “angry ape.”
Stewart, 67, quoted the Shakespeare play Measure for Measure in a spat with a black Twitter user, Martin Shapland. Shapland, a policy manager at the Institution of Civil Engineers, took offense to Stewart’s remarks, tweeting, “Just an ITV newsreader referring to me as an ape with the cover of Shakespeare. Measure for Measure, Alistair is a disgrace.”
On Wednesday, Stewart issued an apology and announced that he was leaving ITV. ITV News claimed that Stewart left the network because of “errors of judgment in [Stewart’s] use of social media.” The anchor confirmed that he was leaving the network, stating, “It was a misjudgment which I regret, but it’s been a privilege to bring the news to households throughout the UK for the past 40 years.”
The network claimed in an internal email that Stewart’s tweets violated the network’s editorial guidelines. Stewart deleted his Twitter account before his departure was announced.
In response to Stewart’s departure, Shapland claimed that Stewart had made several tweets that were out of line, stating: “In so far as Mr Stewart caused hurt and upset, intentionally or otherwise, in an exchange earlier this month, there is a wider context. There was not a single post as has been widely reported, but several posts written by Mr Stewart, which have all now been deleted.”
Shapland also said that, while he was upset by Stewart’s remarks, he did not want him to be punished at work. He wrote: “An apology and commitment to be more careful about language was all that I would have asked. It is regrettable that he has decided to stand down and I take no pleasure in that.”
Thank you to those who have been in touch in the last few days about Alastair Stewart. I apologise for not getting back to media enquiries more quickly in particular.
I am not planning to make on or off the record comments beyond the statement below and a few clarifying tweets pic.twitter.com/lK1Q18MoyQ
— Martin Shapland (@MShapland) January 30, 2020
Shapland’s colleagues at ITV and other members of the British press expressed their heartbreak over Stewart’s departure from the network, including ITV News’s Julie Etchingham, who wrote, “So sad to learn this – we have worked on many big stories together & Al is a trusted friend and guide to many of us.”
So sad to learn this – we have worked on many big stories together & Al is a trusted friend and guide to many of us https://t.co/05kv3nYd5X
— Julie Etchingham (@julieetchitv) January 29, 2020
FWIW Alastair Stewart is one of the kindest men in broadcasting. Full of encouragement, be it a thumbs-up after returning from studio or quoting your script back at you days later. Small acts that meant the world from someone like him.
— Duncan Golestani (@DuncanGolestani) January 29, 2020
Alastair Stewart is a fine journalist, and a thoroughly decent, kind, generous man. None of us know exactly why he has lost his job, but I don’t believe for a second that he’s a racist. He has caused unintentional offence but nobody should be sacked for a single mistake.
— Jenni Russell (@jennirsl) January 30, 2020
Stewart had been a staple of British news since joining ITV News as an industrial correspondent in 1980. He remained with the network as a foreign correspondent and an anchor, making him the longest-serving male newsreader on British television. He also moderated the first televised political leaders’ debate in 2010 and received numerous awards, such as the Royal Television Society’s presenter of the year.
