BBC star Clive Myrie says he pities “sad losers” who resort to hurling racist abuse online - and says he says he is hopeful that Britain is well on the way to stamping out racism once and for all.
The 59-year-old news presenter was born and raised in Lancashire to Jamaican immigrant parents who arrived in the UK in the 1960s. And unfortunately, the BBC star has been on the receiving end of vile racist abuse over the years - with sickening tweets and even emails being directed towards him.
Clive told the Off Air podcast: "I might have achieved a few things in life but that does not stop people from using the N-word in correspondence, in emails, in tweets. It doesn't stop it at all. You can't legislate for individuals. What you can do is get rid of the structural disadvantages and inbuilt racism that exists. As a society, Britain is on its way to trying to deal with a lot of that.
"But individuals - there's always going to be a loon out there. You can't legislate for someone feeling a certain way about another individual. Those people used to wind me up. Now I just have unbridled pity, because they're just sad losers."
Clive Myrie has discussed the racist abuse he has received online (Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)His comments come just weeks after Clive was left furious after learning members of his family had become victims of the Windrush scandal. He explained earlier this month that his two half-brothers were facing deportation - even through they have been living in the UK for decades and even through their parents had arrived from Jamaica as British citizens.
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Sadly, Clive’s bother Peter died before he could receive either a British passport or compensation for the trauma he faced over the deportation attempt. While his other brother, Lionel, is reportedly still waiting for both a passport and compensation.
Clive highlighted his brothers’ plight - and his own anger over their treatment - in his autobiography, Everything Is Everything. The broadcaster said he was “angry and also ashamed of my own country” over the scandal.
He also spoke to The Times about the incident, saying: “We're all agreed that what has happened is a complete and utter disgrace – the question is, what do you do about it? I'm still hoping society understands what happened and tries to rectify it.”
He added that some TV fans - who have been familiar with him as a face of BBC news since 2009 - have shared their shock he has been impacted by the Windrush scandal. Clive said: "People think they know me. But it could have happened to anyone with relations who came here under the Nationality Act."
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