British MEP Godfrey Bloom Calls Women ‘Sluts’ And Hits Journalist
British politician Godfrey Bloom has lost his party’s whip after describing a room of women as “sluts” and hitting a journalist on the face with a brochure. UK Independence Party (UKIP) leader Nigel Farage has suspended the “selfish” senior politician after his blunders overshadowed the “good things” about their party’s conference on Friday.
Mr Bloom, a Member of the European Parliament for Yorkshire and the Humber, was at the UKIP’s annual gathering in London when he made a “joke.”
After two of his female colleagues admitted that they do not clean behind their fridge, Mr Bloom laughingly said, “This place is full of sluts.”
Here the audio:
Though the audience seemed to laugh along with him, his comment wasn’t met with the same enthusiasm by others who thought the senior MEP was being sexist.
He quickly defended his remark on Twitter, saying that it was just a joke and the “hostile” press took it out of context.
Made a purposely outrageous joke among friends which was taken as joke by women present
— Godfrey Bloom (@Goddersukip) September 20, 2013
It shd not b taken out of context & misrepresented by a hostile press — Godfrey Bloom (@Goddersukip) September 20, 2013
After the party conference, he was met with reporters who asked him about his “sluts” remark.
“We all had a jolly good laugh. Everyone in the room thought it was funny,” he defended himself.
But uttering the derogatory word wasn’t his only gaffe on Friday. Channel 4 reporter Michael Crick then asked him why the faces on the UKIP conference brochure do not feature a single person from any ethnic minority.
“What a racist comment is that? How dare you?” Mr Bloom growled at the journalist. “That’s an appalling thing to say! You’re picking people out for the colour of their skin. You disgust me! Get out of my way!”
Mr Crick wasn’t through with him, though, and refused to drop the issue. He followed the fuming politician, saying, “But I’m making a point that you haven’t got... what’s appalling about making that point?”
“You, sir, are a racist!” Mr Bloom continued, adding, “You are picking out people for the colour of their faces. Disgraceful! You’re disgraceful!”
He then hit the reporter on his head with the booklet.
Party leader Nigel Farage wasn’t pleased with Mr Bloom’s slip-ups in just one day, saying that his older colleague has gone “beyond the pale,” and ultimately destroying UKIP’s party conference.
He announced his decision before the members to remove the party whip from Mr Bloom, pending a review.
“There is no media coverage of this conference. It’s gone; it’s dead. It’s all about Godfrey fitting a journalist and using an unpleasant four-letter word,” Mr Farage, who admitted that he had a “blistering row with Mr Bloom days prior, was quoted by the Telegraph as saying.
“The trouble with Godfrey is that he is not a racist, he’s not an extremist or any of those things and he’s not even anti-women, but he has a sort of rather old fashioned Territorial Army sense of humour which does not translate very well in modern Britain.
“We can’t have any one individual, however fun or flamboyant or entertaining or amusing they are, destroying UKIP’s national conference and that is what he’s done today.”
Mr Bloom is no stranger to causing controversy with his statements.
In July, he criticised Britain for allegedly wasting taxpayers’ money on foreign aids sent to “Bongo Bongo Land,” a disparaging term that is usually used to refer to Third World countries.
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