Get the best celeb exclusives and video house tours to your inbox every evening with our daily newsletter
ITV bosses will not be firing Rufus Hound after 'homophobic and racist' tweets resurfaced, it has been reported.
Dancing On Ice decision makers won't boot him off the show despite the controversy.
In the past, Rufus made comments about Jewish people and also called singing superstar Ed Sheeran a “gay lord”.
Another damaging tweet about the Manchester Arena bomb attack which killed 22 people in 2017 was also dug up.
The comedian also tweeted using racist words in 2012, it was found.
Who is Dancing On Ice star Colin Jackson and who is he dating? Here's everything you need to know
All you need to know about Dancing On Ice's Rufus Hound as he is forced to pull out of show
The network are under pressure after they kicked YouTube star Jack Maynard off I’m A Celebrity in 2017 for using similar language on Twitter.
But sources told The Sun that Dancing On Ice bosses are not planning on taking action against Rufus, 41.
“Dancing On Ice have made their position clear and while Rufus’s tweets have been quietly condemned, right now it’s not being seen as an offence which would require his removal," the insider told them.
"It seems there is one rule for some, and one for another. After Jack was taken off I’m A Celebrity for the same kind of tweets, it was assumed that Rufus would be told he should step down.
Dancing On Ice bosses urged to fire Rufus Hound after comments he made about Manchester Arena bombings
Gemma Collins makes highly-anticipated return to Dancing on Ice as she is lowered onto ice rink on a hoop
"But it’s been made clear to those working on the show that they’re standing by him.”
Rufus has admitted that tweets from his past were "stupid and hurtful".
He shared a link to a thread of tweets he shared in September 2020 in response to complaints about his tweets at the time.
It read: "Hi there Occasionally for different reasons, people trawl through my timeline (I've been on this site for 11 years, so that's a fair bit of material) to find stuff that they can take offence at or inspire offence in others with.
"So, I just want to make something abundantly clear: When I was a stand-up and a younger man, the culture on here was much darker and edgier. I made jokes about race, sexuality, politics… everything.
"You may not like those jokes. You may find those jokes offensive or upsetting. And if you do, there's a very good chance that I hadn't thought about them or the subjects they covered enough.
"Hell, I put out a Comedy Central Special that was almost entirely about oral sex and when I watch it back (I have done this only once in the last 6 years) there's stuff I wish I hadn't said, or said differently or just flat out don't like."
He then went on to say sorry for his actions.
Rufus wrote: "If anything I've said or tweeted in the past was stupid or hurtful, it's because I can be stupid and hurtful.
"I, sincerely, try to understand and do better. Ask anyone who knows me. I am not short of thinking. Paralysingly, sometimes.
"I'm not aware of anything specific coming my way, hand on heart. This isn't one of those moments where my publicist has phoned me and said they've found my prints on the body (I don't even have a publicist. Well, I did but they died in mysterious circumstances. And I wear gloves).
"People grow. People improve. Whilst I still have endless improvements to make, undoubtedly, I'm trying.
"So, if a load of old s**t I came out with years ago offends you or upsets you, know that there's a very good chance it offends and upsets me too, which is why I stopped saying it."
Source: Read Full Article
