Viewers pointed out that several numbers inked on tattooed competitor Darren Lumsden appeared to have white supremacist links
Sky History deleted her new carpentry show The Chop as she investigated a competitor’s tattoos after viewers reported they appeared to have ties to Nazism and white supremacists
The new competition, which looks for « Britain’s best carpenter » in the style of The Great British Bake Off, is hosted by presenters Lee Mack and Rick Edwards
But after the publication of a promotional clip featuring heavily tattooed candidate Darren Lumsden, social media users pointed out that several numbers written on him had apparent links to white supremacy
They include the number 88 – which white supremacists use as a code for « Heil Hitler » – H being the eighth letter of the alphabet – according to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL)
The numbers 23 and 16 are also tattooed on the side of his head – a number symbol used by white supremacists to signify « white power », and also referring to the position of the letters in the alphabet, says the ADL
Sky History initially insisted that the tattoos « denote significant events » in Mr. Lumsden « and had no political or ideological significance », but later released a statement confirming that the show was withdrawn during its investigation
The channel said, « While we investigate the nature and meaning of Darren’s tattoos, we have removed the video representing him from our social networks, and will not be showing any episodes of The Chop until we will not have concluded this investigation
In its initial statement, Sky History had said « among the various digital tattoos on the body (from M Lumsden), 1988 is the year of his father’s death «
But on Wednesday Mail Online claimed to have spoken to M’s father Lumsden, Trevor, who told the website: « I’m alive and I’m not dead yet »
After the show’s trailer aired, historian Dr Elizabeth Boyle of Maynooth University in Ireland said she had seen « at least five recognized Nazi / white tattoos »
The Campaign Against Antisemitism group also criticized Sky History, claiming it made a « terrible mistake » in including a competitor « adorned with what appear to be neo-Nazi tattoos without providing serious evidence that the tattoos Meant something other than how they appear «
« These tattoos will be clearly visible to viewers of the show, including younger ones, which is unacceptable, » he says
« If Sky History is indeed ‘racist intolerant’ as it claims, it urgently needs to provide credible clarification or remove the candidate from the program »
When asked whether Mack or M Lumsden would comment, Sky History returned Sky News to its previous statement
Before confirming that The Chop had been taken down, the channel posted several tweets – which have since been deleted – which read: « Darren’s tattoos denote important events in his life and have no political significance. or ideological
« Among the various digital tattoos on her body, 1988 is the year her father died
« The production team did extensive background checks of all carpenters on the show, which confirmed that Darren had no affiliation or connection with any racist groups, opinions or comments
« Sky History does not tolerate racism and all forms of hatred and any use of symbols or numbers is entirely incidental and is not intended to cause prejudice or offense »
© 2020 Sky France
Darren Lumsden
World News – UK – Sky History’s Chop removed as ‘Nazi and white supremacist’ candidate’s tattoos investigated
