Dan Walker deletes 'insensitive' post as fans see red over Princess Kate joke
Dan Walker has been blasted for a "classless" and "insensitive" joke about Kate Middleton, prompting the Channel 5 star to delete all traces of it from his social media page.
Dan Walker appeared to poke fun at Princess Kate over her admission that she'd edited a royal family photo - and the Classic FM and Channel 5 newsreader quickly came under fire. The 46-year-old posted a seemingly enhanced photo of a man who looked nothing like himself, alongside the words: "Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing."
The quip seemed to have been based on the identical wording of Princess Kate's statement earlier this week, where she'd apologised for causing "confusion" by editing her Mother's Day photo with her children. Although he wouldn't have been the first to have mocked the photo fiasco, after it was splashed across headlines worldwide yesterday, some fans disapproved and took to Twitter to make their feelings clear.
"Shame on you @mrdanwalker - you're clearly not the gentleman you would like us to believe," one follower slammed. Another reasoned: "Come on Dan, no need for this at all."
"Thought you'd have more class tbh Dan, cheap shot," a third chimed in, before branding his joke "pathetic". Others blasted that it was "not funny" - and Dan himself seemed to have had a change of heart when he chose to remove the post from his account altogether.
This isn't the first time Dan's comments about members of the Royal Family have caused controversy. He previously landed himself in hot water with some fans over a post about Prince William's absence from last year's Women's World Cup final in Australia.
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William had been expected to attend in his capacity as President of the Football Association, but he instead published a video apologising that he was unable to make it.
Dan reasoned on Instagram: "Not sure why some people are getting so angry about Prince William not going to the game.
"We all know he’d get hammered for the cost and climate impact of flying all the way to Australia for one football match. Come on England."
However, he added: "Having said that… if I was him… I’d be there with the whole family."
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Fans went on to slam him for appearing not to mind the absence, with one blasting: "Oh come on Dan…he’s head of the FA and the date should have been in his diary months ago…the cost and climate change issue is a smokescreen he’s hiding behind. Shameful!"
Another echoed: "He’s head of the FA and if this had been the men’s World Cup final he would have been there most definitely."
Meanwhile, Kate is believed to have now recovered from abdominal surgery and was spotted in a car with William on Monday. She is expected to return to royal duties after Easter.