Popular British radio host David Whitely, known as “Sideman” on BBC’s Radio 1Xtra, quit his job after the network decided to include a racial slur in a news story about a racist attack.
The radio host took to Instagram on Saturday to express his disappointment in the network, saying their including the word in the report “feels like a slap in the face to our community.” reports the Associated Press.
“With no apology (from the BBC) I just don’t feel comfortable being aligned with the organization,” Whitely wrote.
Last month, a white reporter for the network had used the word when describing a verbal attack that had taken place between a black National Health Service worker who was hit by a car.
Fiona Lamdin prefaced the report by saying that the viewers were going to hear “highly offensive language.” The comment was met with swift backlash from the internet community, with many people criticizing the fact the reporter should have edited the word out of her report.
“Doesn’t matter which way you cut it, Fiona Lamdin should not have said the n-word on TV. What was she thinking?” tweeted Matthew Teller, a documentary maker who previously worked for the BBC.
BBC defended its position by saying that they wanted to convey the racist nature of the story by using the word and the viewers were given “adequate warnings that upsetting images and language would be used.”
As of now, the BBC has seen over 18,000 complaints regarding the story.
