Chris Moyles has made his name with his risqué sense of humour, but now it’s been ruled that, on one occasion at least, he took things too far. On his Radio 1 breakfast show on 20 January – Will Young’s 30th birthday – Chris changed the lyrics to Will’s hits Evergreen and Leave Right Now and sang them in “an effeminate and high-pitched” voice, causing a number of listeners to complain. “It's my birthday today, gonna wear my new dress tonight,” he sang. “And I smell nice. I've had a shower and I've shaved my legs. Going out later, might go to Nobo for dinner. Oooh, Will Young here, mmm, I'm here, it's Will's birthday and as the years go by I get more very gay” and “When you saw me years ago you didn't know, but now I'm the gayest fella you probably know. Mmm, I like to wear a silly hat, I get camper by the hour, oh would you look at the muck in here. I'm Will Young and I'm gay.” Er, inspired. Although the BBC claimed that the DJ’s words were not intended to be derogatory and insisted that he wasn’t ridiculing Will for is sexuality, Ofcom said that the language “could have reasonably been interpreted by listeners as promoting and condoning certain negative stereotypes based on sexual orientation. Although no doubt intended to be humorous, comments such as these and the manner in which they were delivered, in Ofcom’s view, could reasonably have been perceived as hostile and pejorative.” They added that the songs “ran the risk of being imitated by children, for instance in the playground, causing unnecessary distress.” Do you agree that Chris went too far this time?
Chris in trouble