A BBC presenter dropped the “C bomb” live on TV yesterday, then immediately apologized — kind of — and immediately blamed men for using the word.
During a segment about who should be the next Conservative leader in the UK, BBC presenter Victoria Derbyshire referred to Jeremy Hunt as “Jeremy C*nt,” before saying:
“I’m so sorry, Jeremy Hunt. I’ve never said that before in my life, it’s usually men who say that, so I really, really apologize, I’m sorry.“
Victoria Derbyshire’s instant blame-game may have raised eyebrows, but she is far from the first British broadcaster to C-bomb Jeremy Hunt. A YouTube video compilation includes ten recent examples of prominent broadcasters, male and female, all on live TV, dropping the C-word while talking about Jeremy Hunt.
Imagine the problems if someone called Mike Hunt ever enters British politics.
The British broadcasters with their fondness for the c-word join a long tradition of vulgarity in the UK. The c-word has been in common use in English since at least the 13th century, its earliest known reference being around 1230 when it gave its name to a street in Southwark, London, “Gropecuntelane” — a well-known red light district of the time.
Many other English cities had similarly named streets but the vulgarity meant their names were eventually changed to Grope Street or Grape Street.