Rachel Riley may be facing problems of her own making, after she photoshopped an image of Jeremy Corbyn with a falsehood and put it on a T-shirt.
Rachel Riley slammed after erasing anti-apartheid message to label Jeremy Corbyn a racist https://t.co/6KCGUxmtJ9
— Evolve Politics (@evolvepolitics) November 21, 2019
It seems she does not understand how offensive it is to over-write an image of him protesting against racism in South Africa (in 1984) with a proof-less claim that he himself is a racist.
But it seems that the public at large does understand – and the backlash has been huge.
There have been calls for Ms Riley, who co-hosts Countdown on Channel 4, to be sacked – indeed, a Twitter hashtag, #SackRachelRiley is trending at the time of writing:
https://twitter.com/PeteGoldup/status/1197466930841554945
I call on @Channel4 to condemn Rachel Riley’s disgraceful actions and to terminate their association with this unhinged individual. She has misused her fame & brought politics, by association, onto Countdown, a programme which I can no longer watch because of her presence.
— Andy (@andrewdsweeney) November 21, 2019
Admittedly, some believe C4 will stand by her – but have accosted another show on that channel, The Last Leg, which has a feature about whether events in the news are appropriate:
#isitokay that Rachel Riley probably won't face any work related backlash from this slur pic.twitter.com/RJbYXTKoyw
— Lu vegan (@SawyerLuLu) November 21, 2019
Other comments have been more generalised:
Rachel Riley should apologise for the hurt and upset that she has caused to many whose families and loved ones suffered under the Apartheid regime!
The disrespect and lack of care shown to the Anti-Apartheid struggle is truly hurtful.
https://t.co/y3RuTUs3yp— Labour's Black PLP (@LaboursBlackPLP) November 21, 2019
As a former MP under Nelson Mandela, as the son of a Holocaust survivor who lost 39 members of her family in the camps, as a Sth African anti-racist, I find what Rachel Riley has done offensive, appalling & deeply repugnant. (Cud someone who she hasn’t blocked plse pass this on) https://t.co/ioC8UFdlfd
— Andrew Feinstein (@andrewfeinstein) November 21, 2019
Rachel Riley needs to be cancelled. YOU DO NOT treat apartheid as joke to make a statement. I don’t care who is holding the placard or what statement she thinks she is making here. #Blacktwitter we need to sort this out.
— Chardine Taylor Stone (@ChardineTaylor) November 21, 2019
Last week, @Freedland falsely accused an innocent Muslim Labour councillor of being antisemitic.
This week, Rachel Riley insults victims of apartheid in South Africa and Israel.
Funny how those trying to smear Jeremy Corbyn as a racist end up exposing themselves, isn't it?
— Frank Owen's Legendary Paintbrush (@WarmongerHodges) November 21, 2019
No intelligent person is suprised by her latest antics. This was her in July. https://t.co/k5oC83HBJ1
— Tory Fibs (@ToryFibs) November 21, 2019
It is behaviour like this that led to the libel case against This Writer, of course. I wrote an article protesting after Ms Riley took issue with a teenage girl who criticised her attacks on Jeremy Corbyn (and others who Ms Riley considers to be anti-Semitic).
This unwarranted behaviour called the girl to the attention of certain followers of Ms Riley, who then subjected her to a torrent of abuse, including death threats.
Ms Riley took offence at my article and threatened to take me to court. My belief is that she thought she could bully me into paying her some money because I could not afford to defend myself.
Instead, I started a CrowdJustice page and members of the public helped me fight back.
There could be no better demonstration of why I need to win this case than this latest incident. It is clear that Ms Riley will continue with this abhorrent behaviour unless she is made to face legal consequences for it.
I don’t think there will ever be a better time to contribute to my appeal, so please forgive me for asking:
Email five of your friends, asking them to pledge to the CrowdJustice site. The address is https://www.crowdjustice.com/case/mike-sivier-libel-fight/
You could also post a link to Facebook, asking your friends to pledge.
If you’re on Twitter, you could tweet in support, quoting the address of the appeal.
If you use other social media platforms, please mention the campaign there, quoting the appeal address.
And please consider making another donation yourself – or contributing for a first time, if you haven’t already.
Public opinion has taken a huge swing against Ms Riley. Will you help me win this court case against her?
Have YOU donated to my crowdfunding appeal, raising funds to fight false libel claims by TV celebrities who should know better? These court cases cost a lot of money so every penny will help ensure that wealth doesn’t beat justice.
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