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Kate Plummer
Aug 13, 2021
First of all - what a headline. Secondly... ?!?!
But yes, this is what is happening and we are just doomed to tell you. This Morning host Eamonn Holmes has well and truly put his foot in it by comparing the show’s doctor’s hair to that of an alpaca’s.
Dr Zoe Williams, a TV doctor, was on the show to discuss the latest health headlines. She said she would be talking about “how your health can be benefited from gardening and even alpacas”, prompting Holmes to reply, for some reason:
“Your hair reminds me of an alpaca’s today.
“You just want to pet it, don’t you? It’s very alpacaish.”
Williams laughed uncomfortably and said “don’t touch my hair!” as Holmes’ wife and co-host, Ruth Langsford shifted in her seat and tried to end the conversation.
Reacting to his gaffe, people were outraged and told him he was committing a microaggression towards black people.
@thisisAlanTurk @ITV @thismorning Let’s stop picking apart how she reacted and instead focus on the horribly racist comment that was made.— Allison McKenzie (@Allison McKenzie) 1628772280
@thisisAlanTurk @ITV @thismorning I’m not a woman of colour but I am a woman (of a certain age) and I can confirm p… https://t.co/cPlcrrcdbj— Heather (not cowering but cautious) #FBNHS (@Heather (not cowering but cautious) #FBNHS) 1628769858
Why is Eamonn Holmes still even on tv? Isn’t he past his sell by date by now? Imagine telling a black woman her hai… https://t.co/lPlmMtu2zr— Ⓡⓘⓝⓐ (@Ⓡⓘⓝⓐ) 1628773689
What is it with people in positions of privilege stating that POC have features similar to those of animals? Eamonn… https://t.co/wpEc4gtsod— Shuaib. (@Shuaib.) 1628780103
This is what Black people have to experience, here we have Eamonn Holmes comparing a Black Woman’s hair to an Alpac… https://t.co/gd0xdh7F9W— Joey 🏴⚫️ (@Joey 🏴⚫️) 1628780716
So, Holmes apologised, kind of:
Hey everyone out there. if my attempt at being humorous with my friend @DrZoeWilliams was misjudged I am mortified… https://t.co/I355hKGrjG— Eamonn Holmes OBE (@Eamonn Holmes OBE) 1628763801
But people were unsatisfied.
@EamonnHolmes @DrZoeWilliams Making jokes about a black woman’s hair is never being “humorous” especially when comp… https://t.co/Vdl64spiHo— Demerara Slimmer (@Demerara Slimmer) 1628764443
@EamonnHolmes @DrZoeWilliams That’s a non-apology. Who do you think you’re fooling? Try again and take some time to… https://t.co/FUgHINtQnv— Soleil (@Soleil) 1628783300
@EamonnHolmes @DrZoeWilliams No excuses, with your silly comment, you just open the doors of racism even further.— Lucinha carvalho 🇧🇷🇧🇷🇧🇷 (@Lucinha carvalho 🇧🇷🇧🇷🇧🇷) 1628773874
@EamonnHolmes @DrZoeWilliams Eamonn, aside from anything else it was completely unnecessary and inappropriate. I a… https://t.co/7zcFdEYAX5— Anne Marchant (@Anne Marchant) 1628771524
It is not the first time the host has embroiled himself in controversy.
In 2019, Holmes called Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, “uppity” leading a viewer to make a complaint to Ofcom – saying that the word has racist origins, and was used in the US in the 19th Century to refer to Black people who “didn’t know their place”.
Meanwhile, in April 2020, Holmes was criticised by viewers and scientists when he appeared to defend a conspiracy theory which suggested that 5G was responsible for the coronavirus pandemic.
The following day, he read out a statement live on air, insisting: “It is not true that there is a connection between the present national health emergency and 5G and to suggest otherwise would be wrong and indeed it could be possibly dangerous.
“Every theory relating to such a connection has been proven to be false and we would like to emphasise that.”