At the end of September 2023, GB News made the decision to suspend star yet scandalous presenter Dan Wootton. This was done after he was caught giggling during Laurence Fox’ sexist rant about journalist Ava Evans.
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Following those two suspensions, GB News didn’t stop there. When Calvin Robinson, also a GB News presenter, decided to step in and defend Dan Wootton he was also suspended. Now, over a month after this wave of forced exits, it appears that there are two teams: Team Dan Wootton and friends and Team GB News.
Calvin Robinson calls out Nigel Farage
Now that Robinson no longer has a TV platform, he takes to X to share his opinion on his former employer. On 15 November he posted a video of Nigel Farage in which the politician-turned-TV-personality says:
Laurence Fox said what he said. Calvin Robinson said what he said. Free speech is one thing, it doesn’t mean just gratuitously lobbing grenades around the place. Free speech also comes with a degree of responsibility.
Ava Evans is a left wing journalist on JOE (...) very capable lady. Don’t underestimate Ava Evans. (...) How he (Fox) mentally made the connection between her not thinking that a Ministry of Men’s mental health was necessary to ‘I wouldn’t want to…’ It says more about his brain. (...) I thought it was deeply gratuitously offensive, unnecessary, missed the point.
And you know something, the point about GB News is we will only succeed as a team and that means we need team players. Those guys were not team players.
In answer to those words, Robinson’s reply is filled with bitterness. He wrote:
Free speech for me, but not for thee.
Sarcastically adding,
Thank you for your support, @Nigel_Farage “Not team players,” which team would that be? Team Nige? Ofcom? Pay packets? @LozzaFox and I are on the side of the silent majority, the viewers, and our shared principles.
In a different tweet, Robinson stated:
I chose to defend the free speech of my friends/colleagues, Laurence and Dan, for which I lost my job. Farage chose to defend a woke misandrist, which enabled him to keep his high paid, high profile job. One of us was based on our principles, the other on self interest. 🤷♂️
On top of those stinging words, Calvin Robinson has been retweeting and answering tweets that also criticise Farage’s lack of support for his former colleagues.
Calvin Robinson continues to defend Dan Wootton
Before fustigating Nigel Farage on 15 November, Calvin Robinson tackled GB News on 13 November. This time it was about their treatment of his friend Dan Wootton. Responding to the channel’s press release announcing that Patrick Christys was going to inherit Dan Wootton’s 9pm slot, Robinson fumed.
To announce “Patrick Christys Tonight” in the 9pm slot before letting Dan know what’s happening is cold.
Dan has been suspended for what, seven weeks? That’s one hell of an investigation into not challenging a guest strongly enough.
The rest of his tweet is composed of unproven claims. Robinson alleges that GB News had ‘Patrick lined up for this slot all along’. On that point he accuses:
The only reason Mark subbed for the first few weeks was because the one who wields the knife never wears the crown. They didn’t want the audience to turn on Patrick for jumping in Dan’s grave.
He then mentions the channel’s ‘legal department’ and the fact that they can’t find any legitimate reason for them to transform Dan Wootton’s suspension into a permanent exit. He went on to point out the following:
The viewers are not stupid, even though management seem to think so. Ratings have been dropping consistently and rapidly for the last 6/7 weeks.
The people’s channel, with little to no regard for the people… viewers have been wanting to know when their favourite show is returning. Seems it isn’t.
So far, it seems like Robinson has no intention of going back to GB News however it is unclear what his friend Dan Wootton wishes to do. He and the channel have remained mute about the topic and even Nigel Farage didn’t mention his name.
Read more:
⋙ Dan Wootton: The GB News presenter spotted on a rare public outing since suspension
⋙ Dan Wootton: Where has the presenter gone after dramatic exit from GB News?
⋙ Dan Wootton: GB News is moving on as another presenter appears to replace him
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