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Sky History has canceled its new woodworking show The Chop while investigating a contestant’s tattoos after viewers reported they appeared to have ties to Nazism and white supremacists.
The new competition show, which seeks out “Britain’s best carpenter” in the style of The Great British Bake Off, is hosted by hosts Lee Mack and Rick Edwards.
But after a promo clip was released featuring heavily tattooed contestant Darren Lumsden, social media users pointed out that various numbers written on it had apparent ties to white supremacy.
They include the number 88, which white supremacists use as a code for “Heil Hitler,” with H being the eighth letter of the alphabet, according to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL).
The numbers 23 and 16 are also tattooed on the side of his head, a numerical symbol used by white supremacists to mean “white power,” and which also refers to the position of letters in the alphabet, the ADL says.
Sky History initially insisted that the tattoos “denote significant events” in Lumsden’s life “and have no political or ideological significance,” but later issued a statement confirming that the show had been withdrawn while it was being investigated.
The channel said: “While we investigate the nature and significance of Darren’s tattoos, we have removed the video showing him from our social media and will not broadcast any episode of The Chop until we have concluded that investigation.
“Sky History opposes racism and hate speech of all kinds.”
In its opening statement, Sky History had said “among the various number tattoos on (Mr. Lumsden’s) body, 1988 is the year of his father’s death.”
But on Wednesday, Mail Online claimed that he had spoken to Lumsden’s father, Trevor, who told the website: “I’m alive and well, so I’m not dead yet.”
After the show’s trailer aired, historian Dr. Elizabeth Boyle of Maynooth University in Ireland said she had seen “at least five recognized tattoos of Nazis / white powers.”
The Chop has been recalled pending an investigation. Image: Sky UK / A & E Television Networks
The group Campaign Against Antisemitism also criticized Sky History, saying it had made “a terrible mistake” in including a contestant “adorned with what appear to be neo-Nazi tattoos without providing serious evidence to show that the tattoos mean something other than their appearance. “.
“These tattoos will be clearly visible to viewers of the show, including younger viewers, which is unacceptable,” he said.
“If Sky History is truly ‘intolerant of racism’ as it claims, then it must urgently provide credible clarification or remove the contestant from the show.”
When asked if Mack or Mr. Lumsden would be commenting, Sky History referred Sky News to their earlier statement.
Comedian Lee Mack hosts the Sky History show The Chop. Image: Sky UK / A & E Television Networks
Before confirming that The Chop had been withdrawn, the channel had posted several tweets, which have since been removed, that read: “Darren’s tattoos denote important events in his life and have no political or ideological significance.
“Among the various number tattoos on his body, 1988 is the year of his father’s death.
“The production team conducted a thorough background check on all carpenters participating in the show, which confirmed that Darren has no affiliations or ties to racist groups, opinions or comments.
“Sky History is intolerant of racism and all forms of hatred and any use of symbols or numbers is totally incidental and is not intended to cause harm or offense.”
