Telegraph columnist fired for saying Meghan, Harry should have named baby ‘Georgina Floydina’
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“I’ve been sacked by the Telegraph – it’s been a lovely five years, and I’ll always be grateful to them for ending my wilderness years.”
A Daily Telegraph newspaper columnist announced she had been fired after making racially insensitive comments about Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s daughter online.
On Tuesday, Julie Burchill announced she has been “sacked” from the British publication after taking to Twitter to say the royal newborn should have been named “Georgina Floydina!” The comment infuriated many social media users, per The Independent.
“I’ve been sacked by the Telegraph – it’s been a lovely five years, and I’ll always be grateful to them for ending my wilderness years,” she wrote on Facebook.
She added: “However, I’d be lying if I said that I hadn’t often moaned to my husband recently about them always rejecting my edgy column ideas and giving me more pedestrian ones – which I’ve done splendidly anyway.”
“Onwards and upwards!” she concluded.
The couple announced the birth of their second child on Sunday, a daughter named Lilibet “Lili” Diana Mountbatten-Windsor.
As theGrio previously reported, her first name, Lilibet, is a nod to Her Majesty The Queen’s nickname. The baby’s name is in honor of Harry’s grandmother and his mother, the late Princess Diana. The name Lili also pays tribute to Meghan’s mother Doria Ragland.
“What a missed opportunity! They could have called it Georgina Floydina!” tweeted Burchill.
The name was in reference to George Floyd, a Black man who was murdered by police in 2020 during an arrest outside of a convenience store in Minneapolis. Former officer Derek Chauvin knelt on Floyd’s neck for 9 minutes and 29 seconds.
Shortly after, social media users took to Twitter to sound off on how disgusting the remark was.
“Even more upsetting than reading Julie Burchill’s tweet about the new Royal baby was to then read the disgusting, racist twitter conversation that followed between Burchill and a practising member of the legal profession. I feel sick personally and professionally,” tweeted a user.
Even more upsetting than reading Julie Burchill's tweet about the new Royal baby was to then read the disgusting, racist twitter conversation that followed between Burchill and a practising member of the legal profession. I feel sick personally and professionally.
— Miranda Grell 🕷 (@MirandaGrell) June 7, 2021
Another added: “That Julie Burchill tweet may be the most disgusting thing I’ve ever seen!”
That Julie Burchill tweet may be the most disgusting thing I’ve ever seen!
— 💥sarah guerra💥 (@equalitywarrior) June 6, 2021
Burchill is not the first person chastised by an employer for making inappropriate comments about the infant’s name. British attorney Joanna Toch, 59, wrote several tweets about the newborn girl’s name, as reported by theGrio.
Just after the announcement of the baby’s moniker, Toch responded to the highly offensive tweet from Burchill.
Toch responded, “No Doria? Don’t black names matter?”
Doria Ragland is the name of Markle’s mother.
Burchill responded to Toch’s tweet, saying, “I was hoping for Doria Oprah, the racist rosters.” Toch replied again, saying, “Doprah?”
After being blasted on Twitter by social media users, Toch apologized, while Burchill did not. Currently, Toch’s account is inactive. Burchill also deactivated her account, saying she chose to leave the platform after the online argument.
Additional reporting by Ny Magee and Biba Adams
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