(JTA) — A British Broadcasting Corporation host has apologized for saying, earlier this month, that it is “great” that music artists are no longer being managed by “some random fat Jewish guy from northwest London.” Radio 1 host and TV presenter Reggie Yates said on Monday “I am hugely apologetic for this flippant comment. It was not my intention to offend or reinforce stereotypes, but I’m aware that this could have been interpreted that way and for that I am also deeply sorry." He explained, “What I was actually trying to say was how proud I am of the new generation of artists making their success independently on their own terms and without giving away control or their rights to major labels.”
Dave Rich of the Community Security Trust, a London-based group that combats anti-Semitism, told the local media, “Even worse than any offense is the message Yates gives his audience by reinforcing an anti-Semitic stereotype” that Jews are money grabbing and untrustworthy.