U.K. TV Channel Sorry After Actor’s Shockingly Misogynistic Rant

A free-to-air British TV station has apologized “unreservedly” and says it has launched an investigation after “totally unacceptable” comments were made about a female journalist during a segment on one of its primetime shows.

The comments concerning Ava Evans, a political correspondent for online news site Joe, were made by actor-turned-conservative activist Laurence Fox, who is also leader of the right-wing Reclaim Party, on station GB News. Fox was appearing on an episode of Dan Wootton Tonight on Tuesday when he took aim, claiming no “single self-respecting man would like to climb into bed with that woman, ever, ever.” He continued to call her a “little woman” adding it was “pathetic and embarrassing. Who’d wanna shag that?”

The comments came after Evans made an appearance on BBC’s Politics Live on Monday. She subsequently shared footage of the GB News segment, slugged “Hard-Left Commentator Slammed for Shrugging Off Male Suicide Crisis,” saying she felt “physically sick” after watching it.

Host Wootton, a former star reporter for British tabloid The Sun and who himself is embroiled in a bizarre media scandal, nodded and laughed during his guest’s comments, describing Evans as a “very beautiful woman” after Fox’s tirade. He tweeted an apology to Evans after the show. “Dear @AvaSantina I think you’re brilliant,” he wrote. “I apologise for what was said during the course of my show and should have done this immediately on air. This is not what our channel is about.”

The network, GB News soon followed suit, posting a statement on X, formerly known as Twitter, condemning Fox’s comments.

“Comments made tonight on GB News by Laurence Fox were totally unacceptable,” it said.

“What he said does not reflect our values and we apologise unreservedly for the comments and the offence they have caused. We have launched an investigation and will be apologising to the individual involved.”

Fox’s acting career spanned hits including thriller The Hole alongside Thora Birch, Robert Altman’s Gosford Park and hit TV detective drama Lewis, but he began to attract criticism after 2019 when he vocalized his views on a number of controversial issues including political correctness, racism, and the LGBT community.

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