According to
an article in Variety, Fox News' Shepard Smith called the actor a “coward,” while
talkSPORT's Alan Brazil reportedly said he had "no sympathy for Williams" who created a "diabolical" situation for the family left behind.
Fortunately Brazil was called out on his comments by listeners and fellow hosts.
"You're not a doctor, Alan Brazil, so your opinion on mental health issues counts for nothing to be fair," tweeted fellow SPORTS presenter, Stan Collymore. "An opinion on a factual illness isn't an opinion. It's called ignorance. I can have an opinion that the world is flat."
Astonishingly, Brazil even expressed a kind of open relief that it wasn't the singer Robbie Williams who had passed away.
"It didn't hit me hard like if it had have been Robbie," said Brazil, "and thank god it wasn't."
Williams' death has dredged up a lot of views about depression and suicide, many of which are sadly rooted in ignorance.
For his part, Smith issued the following apology:
“The last thing I would ever suggest about a man I know nothing about personally, is that he’s a coward. That goes against everything I am. If those words, I used so innocently, offended his family, from the bottom of my heart, I could not be more sorry.”
The public has since urged TalkSPORT to fire Brazil. Thus far he has stood by his 'opinion.'
Should presenters be fired or simply reprimanded for making insensitive or ignorant remarks?
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