Julie Burchill pictured in 1999. (Andrew Hasson/Getty)
Julie Burchill has reportedly been sacked by the Telegraph after blaming a “racist” tweet about Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s daughter on “non-binary b*****ks”.
The notorious anti-trans columnist announced the news on Facebook on Tuesday afternoon (8 June).
“I’ve been sacked by the Telegraph – it’s been a lovely five years, and I’ll always be grateful to them for ending my wilderness years,” she wrote.
“However, I’d be lying if I said that I hadn’t often moaned to my husband recently about them always rejecting my edgy column ideas and giving me more pedestrian ones – which I’ve done splendidly anyway. Onwards and upwards!”
It came after she faced a storm of criticism for a “despicable” tweet about Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s daughter, Lilibet, whose arrival was announced on Sunday.
Burchill – who was recently forced to pay “substantial damages” for her racist posts about journalist Ash Sarkar – tweeted: “What a missed opportunity! They could have called it Georgina Floydina!”
The comment references George Floyd just over a year after he was murdered by a police officer in Minneapolis. Burchill was widely condemned for the “racist” remark, and for calling the newborn baby “it”.
“I called the baby IT as a nod to non-binary b*****ks – and if you think you can make me respect a violent criminal who once held a gun to a pregnant woman’s stomach, you’re in for a VERY long wait,” she wrote in a now-deleted tweet.
“Have a good time with your pearl-clutching, life-wasting woo-woo, ya clowns!”
She remained unapologetic as she fielded questions on Facebook about why she had been fired by the Telegraph.
“I made a joke about a violent career criminal who once held a gun to a pregnant woman’s stomach, and a pair of lying hypocrites,” she replied.
According to Royal journalist Omid Scobie, a spokesperson for The Telegraph has confirmed that Julie Burchill no longer works for the paper. A source confirmed that she was fired following her “racist” tweets about the Sussexes’ second child, and her refusal to apologise for them.
Back in 2013 Burchill faced calls to be sacked from The Observer for an infamous column describing trans women as “shemales”, “screaming mimis” and “bedwetters in bad wigs”.
The article was pulled from the Guardian website after 800 people complained to the Press Complaints Commission.