Julie Burchill, the incendiary Telegraph columnist, has sparked a fresh wave of controversy for tweeting about Prince Harry and Meghan’s newborn baby girl.
The couple announced their baby girl, who arrived on Friday, will be called Lilibet Diana – after Her Majesty The Queen’s family nickname and her late grandmother, The Princess of Wales.
But Burchill – who was recently forced to make a public apology for racist messages about journalist Ash Sarkar – tweeted yesterday: “What a missed opportunity. They could have called it Georgina Floydina!”
The comment references George Floyd, just over a year after he was murdered by police officer Derek Chauvin in Minneapolis.
Burchill’s tweets
Burchill was heavily criticsed for the reference, and for calling the baby ‘it’.
She replied to the criticism, saying: “I called the baby IT as a nod to non-binary bollocks – and if you think you can make me respect a violent criminal who once held a gun to a pregnant woman’s stomach, you’re in for a VERY long wait.
“Have a good time with your pearl-clutching life-wasting woo-woo, ya clowns!”
I called the baby IT as a nod to non-binary bollocks – and if you think you can make me respect a violent criminal who once held a gun to a pregnant woman’s stomach, you’re in for a VERY long wait. Have a good time with your pearl-clutching life-wasting woo-woo, ya clowns!
— Julie Burchill (@BoozeAndFagz) June 7, 2021
Burchill also posted that the first words of the baby will be ‘Free Palestine!’
Reactions
British media personality Adil Ray brought up a previous scandal in which Burchill was involved, saying she “still works for the Telegraph”.
Burchill has form. She was forced to pay Ash Sarkar substantial damages. Burchill said that her posts had “included racist and misogynist comments….although it was not my intention, I accept that my statements were defamatory…” That worked. She still writes for the Telegraph. https://t.co/lAidycf7oA
— Adil Ray OBE ? (@adilray) June 6, 2021
And Twitter user Alexander Williams said “the fact that this person has a career in British media says a lot of terrible things about our society”.
Nadine White, race correspondent at The Independent, said Burchill’s tweets represent “disgusting racism”.
The fact that this person has a career in British media say a lot of terrible things about our society https://t.co/OCjNgN09xm
— Alexander Williams (@Alexand22574772) June 6, 2021
Disgusting racism. https://t.co/9q7XMJliJh
— Nadine White (@Nadine_Writes) June 7, 2021
They really hate us. . . https://t.co/UnymjsloBg
— Genesis Elijah (@GenesisElijah) June 6, 2021
Why the limit in comments? If you can dish it, can’t you take it? Coward. https://t.co/7r9FwwMGah
— Dee – I’m Excessively Black (@weightoflife) June 6, 2021
People are being labelled as woke for calling this shit out. ??♂️ https://t.co/7qj9TBA3Iv
— jay_cluskey21 (@JCluskey21) June 6, 2021
baby Lili not even a week old and already has to deal with racism…and this racist writes for the @Telegraph https://t.co/DJ2iAKDy0h
— kake⁷? (@sweetkake7) June 6, 2021
Julie Burchill proving once more that Harry’s view of UK media has been, if anything, too generous; & that his & Meghan’s decision to leave that cesspit of a country was clearly both well motivated & more than justified by the racist trash who pass for ‘journalists’. https://t.co/Px6hEMhnqA
— The History of Democracy Project ???????? (@palaeopolitics) June 7, 2021
They had a baby girl and you called her ‘it? At the same time making fun of a dead man
— Buks (@faks_ken) June 6, 2021
you’re despicable & racist…shame on you. @Telegraph this person’s working for you? Shameful. https://t.co/S33KniS7Bd
Let’s imagine that Prince Harry had married a Jewish woman, and that Julie Burchill tweeted “Anne Frank” instead of “Georgina Floydina”. It would quite rightly be deemed antisemitic. The fact she tweets this filth with impunity further highlights Britain’s institutional racism. https://t.co/Zc0ii15rpo
— Cromwell (@Cromwell606) June 7, 2021
Burchill’s apology for ‘racist and mysoginist’ comments
It was only three months ago that Burchill was forced to make a public apology to leftwing journalist and activist Ash Sarkar and agreed to pay her substantial damages.
In December Julie Burchill accused me of worshipping a paedophile and called me an Islamist.
— Ash Sarkar (@AyoCaesar) March 16, 2021
After legal action, she has apologised in full for these falsehoods, for playing into “Islamophobic tropes” and making “racist and misogynist” comments about my appearance and sex life. https://t.co/7scZBelq5w
The move came after Burchill made a series of tweets last year, accusing Sarkar of being an “Islamist” who “worships a paedophile”.
In her apology, the Telegraph writer said she “sincerely regretted” the defamatory statements, that she “retracted” them and had undertaken “not to repeat”.
On 13 December 2020 I made defamatory statements about @AyoCaesar, which I sincerely regret and retract and have undertaken not to repeat. I have agreed to pay substantial damages to Ash Sarkar and her legal costs. Here is my full and wholehearted apology. Please retweet pic.twitter.com/tc2aUKbCOK
— Julie Burchill (@BoozeAndFagz) March 16, 2021
The columnist was due to have her book, Welcome to the Woke Trials: How #Identity Killed Progressive Politics, published by Hatchette imprint Little, Brown, but the publisher decided to cancel it.
However, Edinburgh-based publisher Stirling Publishing acquired the rights, and the book is now set to be published later this year.
Related: Harry and Meghan welcome baby daughter: Lilibet ‘Lili’ Diana
Julie Burchill pays Ash Sarkar ‘substantial damages’ – and says sorry – after libel case