Scotland Times

Friday, Mar 29, 2024

Sunday Times apologises for saying Brits ‘secretly enjoyed’ Prince Philip's ‘slitty eyes’ comment about Asians

Sunday Times apologises for saying Brits ‘secretly enjoyed’ Prince Philip's ‘slitty eyes’ comment about Asians

The Sunday Times newspaper has apologised for publishing a front-page article in the wake of Prince Philip's death that claimed people had secretly “enjoyed” his 1986 comment about Asians having “slitty eyes” and similar “gaffes.”

The Duke of Edinburgh was “an often crotchety figure, offending people with gaffes about slitty eyes, even if secretly we rather enjoyed them,” Sunday Times Chief Foreign Correspondent Christina Lamb penned in an article about Prince Philip’s funeral on Saturday.

It was a reference to a 1986 incident during which the Duke told British students studying Mandarin in China, “By the time you go back home you'll have slitty eyes.”

Lamb's article sparked outrage on social media, and the Sunday Times apologised on Tuesday for the offensive wording.


“This so-called ‘gaffe’ made by Prince Philip was a well-known aspect of his life story. The Sunday Times did not intend to condone it,” said Sunday Times editor Emma Tucker. Tucker said the line was identified by editors on Saturday evening as being “offensive” and was subsequently “not published in digital editions.”

“Christina Lamb has spent her whole career reporting on discrimination and injustices against people in every part of the world and never intended to make light of his remark in any way,” Tucker continued.

An updated digital version of the article kept the line about Brits secretly laughing about Prince Philip's many controversial comments, but removed the “slitty eyes” example.

Outraged Brits, including those of Asian descent, had condemned Lamb's article and called for her to be fired this past weekend.



“I'm one of those ‘slitty eyed’ folk you secretly guffaw about. It's people like you that perpetuate racism and make casual mockery of our lives. Shame on you,” tweeted one woman, while another person wrote, “Please Christina, look me in my slitty eyes... actually look at all the British asians in their slitty eyes and tell us how much you enjoyed Prince Philip's racist comments.”

Prince Philip died at Windsor Castle on April 9, aged 99, just two months before his 100th birthday. Lamb has not personally responded to the controversy, despite being bombarded with negative tweets about it.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Scotland Times
0:00
0:00
Close
UK Island Orkney council to look at proposals to become territory of Norway
Woman Awarded Over £100,000 After Being Fired for Transgender Tweet
A provocative study suggests: Left-Wing Extremism and its Unsettling Connection to Psychopathy and Narcissism
A Real woman
Brand new security footage has just been released to the public showing the Active shooter Audrey Elizabeth Hale drove to Covenant Church School in her Honda Fit this morning, parked, and shot her way into the building
China's foreign ministry branch in Hong Kong urges British gov't to stop the biased and double standards Hong Kong report
Double standards: UK lawmakers attack EU chief over Ireland claims
Democracy? Not for UK. UK PM rejects Scottish independence referendum, cancel democracy in BVI
UK urged to brace for economic storm
Women's own body dissatisfaction appears to influence their judgment of other women's body sizes
Prince William To Move Family Into Cottage Near Queen Elizabeth II
BOOOOOOS: Tony Blair receives royal honour
Captured Britons sentenced to death in Ukraine
Barbados PM Mia A. Mottley among Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People
Today's headlines
"Just One Of the Boys In School:" Years That Shaped Prince Charles
BVI Premier Rubbishes Claim Of Causing COI Delay
Comments on "Human Intelligence in a Digital Age" - A brilliant Speech by MI6 Chief Richard Moore, and the elephants neglected in the room
Bitcoin: BoE Deputy Gov wants to cancel democracy and protect the banks with regulations which infringe on people’s freedom, independence and benefits they get from their own money.
What are the Pandora Papers?
Taiwan-China relations at their 'worst in 40 years'
The attempt to hold Epik.com accountable for the content of its clients' websites is like blaming Gutenberg for the NYT's fake news that dragged the US into the pointless war against the nuclear weapons Iraq never had
×