“ITV you lot can suck my dick for this” was UK rapper, Stormzy’s response to the media giant printing an article regarding statements he made recently over racism in the UK following the recent election that led to Boris Johnson taking office.

Despite clearly printing a headline that was 100 percent not true, ITV decided to say sorry for printing a misleading headline. “Despite this, it was felt the headline at the top of this story on our website and Twitter post did not reflect these comments fully and was therefore amended. The tweet regarding the quotes was also later removed. We would like to apologise to Stormzy for any misunderstanding” was the response ITV gave to the backlash it faced following the headlined that contained a made-up quote.

ITV implied that Stormzy said the UK was 100% racist, when he actually said “Definitely, 100%. It’s like: ‘Oh no, we’re not racist’. But there’s a lot of racism in the country.” after being asked if racism existed in the UK.

“The difficult thing with the UK is, as you said, in Italy, it’s a clear problem, whereas trying to explain that Britain is a racist country is the most difficult thing ever”.

“It's mad to think I was just a kid from south London, rapping in parks with friends”
- Stormzy (GQ)

The bigger issue here is that the British press can seemingly get away with writing almost anything they wish without being held to account, in most cases. The recent UK election saw several papers printing entirely false and misleading headlines and stories about political parties in the UK, which many believe ultimately helped to get Boris Johnson and the conservative party into office with an overwhelming majority. Huge smear campaigns were launched against opposition leader, Jeremy Corbyn, that convinced large majorities of the British public that he was somehow a danger to the UK and in league with the IRA. some went as far as to brand him a communist.

Stormzy it but one of many who face racism in the UK, many on a daily basis, as the rise of far-right views, worryingly, become the status quo.

Author Bio: AC Speed

Senior Editor

I started my career as a music journalist in 2013 and have been involved in the music industry as a touring musician, studio engineer and artist consultant since 2002, as well as previously being a signed artist. My passion for delivering high quality, informative music-related news is a daily driving force behind the content I create. Also a huge gaming nerd! Born in the United Kingdom and currently living in Sweden. Skål!

CONTACT ME HERE

...people just like you all over the world make our work possible. Without you, we would not be able to keep our journalism open and free. Your support is vital in keeping our publication independent.

Every contribution, however big or small, is so valuable for our future. Please consider contributing to our passion.