‘Get a new joke’: Spectator diary editor criticised over Welsh language jibe
An editor at the Spectator has been told to “get a new joke” after seeming to suggest that the Welsh language is made of random letters.
The magazine’s Diary Editor, James Heale, was responding to an accidental nonsense tweet by Labour Deputy Leader Angela Rayner which read ‘M nbchffgy. Nhfyohreuhhuijh’. She later deleted the tweet.
James Heale however uploaded a screenshot of her mistake to Twitter with the caption: “Labour campaign to win in Wales going well.”
Labour campaign to win in Wales going well pic.twitter.com/OHYTsjYFwR
— James Heale (@JAHeale) July 22, 2021
The joke did not go down well with Labour’s candidate in Dwyfor Meirionnydd in the Senedd election, Cian Ireland, responding: “Get a new joke challenge.”
“Wow amazing. Original. Show stopping. Give this man all the awards,” responded another.
“About as funny as gonorrhea,” responded another.
It’s not the first time the Spectator has been at the centre of controversy about the Welsh language. Rod Liddle, who complained in the magazine in 2018 that joking about the Welsh language was “treated like a hate crime”, is a regular columnist.
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The Spectator has the greatest joke in ‘journalism’ it’s Rod Liddle,
I like that, very funny 😂 😂 😂
If only they would get a new one.
If only the Spectator would just spectate.
But they always feel they need to comment. An appalling rag. You’d have to be to retain a pompous hack like Rob the knob Liddle.
That said, I though the joke was funny. To those too idle and too insular to learn about cultures outside of their own, ours must sometimes look a confusing language lacking in THEIR perception of what vowels are.
Jokes like this were amusing once, or twice. Now, after decades, they’re boring. Like knock knock jokes you’ve heard a dozen times. The real amusement is finding people who seem to think they’re being witty and amusing by repeating an old trope about an old language with no vowels. The joke really is on them. In future I will refer to Rod Liddle as Liddle Rod. It sounds a bit rude and nobody could possibly have ever called him that before so it will be thought highly amusing and witty. The Spectator editor JAHeale, I will refer to as James… Read more »
Remember the Irish jokes? Now the Irish just roar off………………..in a Mercedes.
Absolutely!
Not much intelligence there unfortunately
According to his LinkedIn profile, it took him four years to get a degree which would usually take people three.
Oh well. 🤔
Shouldn’t this be under ‘culture’.
Or lack thereof?
You know what they say about Sticks & stones.
Since deleted
Nothing unusual – it’s been happening for years and I’m glad they are still doing it ! It will remind the Welsh population it’s one of the reasons why independence is such a good idea !
Bit of a non-article though I do agree with one sentence; Rod Liddle is a hate crime.
Just remember these are the tw*ts who once had Bojo the Clown as their editor.