Chris Hughes informed to apologise after calling feminine cricketer ‘little Barbie’
Former Love Island star Chris Hughes has been urged to apologise following a clumsy interview with feminine cricketer Maitlan Brown through the BBC‘s protection of The Hundred. Hughes, who additionally usually presents horse racing on ITV, was chatting with Brown through the Southern Brave’s innings in opposition to the Trent Rockets on Tuesday.
Hughes initially managed to maintain the dialog on the subject of cricket as he mentioned the match with Brown, though he later received sidetracked when she talked about a latest workforce bonding train that she took half in alongside her Brave team-mates.
“We watched Barbie the other night altogether and it was really good team bonding and the group is gelling really well together,” she stated. “That is the key to success I think in tournaments like this, how well and how quickly you can gel as a group.”
Hughes went on to spark a wave of social media criticism together with his reply as he stated: “You’re a little Barbie yourself, aren’t you, with your blue eyes.” Brown then let loose a clumsy giggle earlier than Hughes added: “She’s blushing now.”
Quite a lot of viewers took to Twitter to demand an apology from Hughes, with @Dan1290_ posting: “Has Chris Hughes apologised for this? Hideous!” Meanwhile, @tasneemsummerk merely posed the query: “Can you die of second-hand embarrassment?”
“Got off to a bad start with ‘you’re a batsman’ and just went further downhill,” wrote @joalhe1997, whereas @WG_RumblePants added: “She’s an elite athlete and he’s referring to her as a Barbie. Let’s all have a think about whether that’s in any way appropriate. No, we don’t need to. It’s not!”
Others questioned if Hughes can be invited again by the BBC to cowl The Hundred once more, with @ThatChris1209 saying: “Wonder if the roaming interviewer on The Hundred coverage will be back, calling a female player a batsman and telling Maitlan Brown she’s ‘a bit of a Barbie’?”
A BBC spokesperson later informed Express Sport: “We have spoken to Chris and explained that his comment was not appropriate.”
Hughes is a part of the BBC‘s reside presenting workforce for The Hundred and was tasked with the roving reporter function on Tuesday, which marked the opening day of this 12 months’s match. He has additionally introduced reside protection of main horse racing occasions, together with the Cheltenham Festival and the Grand National, on ITV since 2017.
A consultant of Hughes has additionally been approached for remark by Express Sport.