Tokyo Olympics: Presenter Alex Scott Has Best On-Screen Clap-Back After Criticism Of Her Accent
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BBC's Tokyo Olympics presenter Alex Scott managed to slip in an incredible on-screen clap back after being criticised for her accent.
The sports correspondent made a not-so-subtle dig at comments made by former Director General of the Confederation of British Industry, Lord Digby Jones, in which he criticised her so called lack of "elocution".
Baron Jones of Birmingham had savagely tweeted that Alex "spoils a good presentational job on the BBC Olympics Team with her very noticeable inability to pronounce her 'g's at the end of a word."
To which former England footie captain Alex expertly responded by purposely missing off the letter g from a series of words, showing just how unaffected she was by his remarks.
Check out a clip below:
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“Evenin’! So far we’ve been runnin’, ridin’, shootin’, scorin’, swimmin’ and puttin’, but we’ve got a lot of gold to still uncover," she said, with a cheeky smile.
Without saying any more on the issue, Alex then went to live coverage of the Olympics.
What a queen.
While Alex kept it classy and professional, her pointed statement was picked up by many on Twitter.
"This is brilliant from @AlexScott...After being slagged off for her accent and 'dropping her g’s' by a former Government minister, this is her opening link," one fan wrote, sharing the clip online.
As another penned: "Brilliant response from an awesome presenter. Embracing different accents from all around the UK is something that makes this country special. Just be proud of who you are and where you come from. And remember 'when they go low, we go high.'"
"That's brilliant. Ignore the snobbish Jones. You're doing a fine job. Perfect response!," someone else quipped.
A fourth concurred, writing: "Get in there girl, spot on."
Arsenal and England footballer Alex also spoke out about Lord Digby's comments on social media after the made them, writing: "I’m from a working class family in East London, Poplar, Tower Hamlets & I am PROUD. Proud of the young girl who overcame obstacles, and proud of my accent!
"It’s me, it’s my journey, my grit. Any young kids who may not have a certain kind of privilege in life should not allow judgments on your class, accent, or appearance hold you back.
"Use your history to write your story," she added. "Keep striving, keep shining amd don’t change for anyone".
In response, boarding school-educated Lord Digby, who is former Labour transport minister, wrote: "I admire and often publicly praise the adversity you faced and defeated to achieve all the success you deserve.
"Not sounding a g at the end of a word is wrong; period. It's not a question of class, it's not a question of accent, it's a question of poor elocution. Don't let it spoil your otherwise excellent performance."
Scott, who was recently announced as the host of Football Focus, received a flurry of support following the ordeal, from the public as well as the likes of Labour MP's Dawn Butler and Jess Phillips.