Gordon Ramsay has been accused of a hate crime following his comments about how he ‘can’t stand’ Cornish people after reigniting a war with his neighbours.
The TV chef, 55, who owns a properly on the Cornish coast, has angered locals with his off-the-cuff comment, including the leader of Cornish nationalist party who said he was ‘disappointed’ with the remark.
Gordon made the comment during an appearance on Zoe Ball’s BBC Radio 2 Breakfast Show on Tuesday, saying: ‘Trust me, I absolutely love Cornwall, it’s just the Cornish I can’t stand.’
Remarks: Gordon Ramsay has been accused of a hate crime following his comments about how he ‘can’t stand’ Cornish people after reigniting a war with his neighbours
When quizzed on the remark by stand-in host Vernon Kay, Gordon refused to apologise and instead doubled down, adding: ‘I promise I did mean it.’
After hearing of Gordon’s comment, the leader of Cornish nationalist party Mebyon Kernow, Dick Cole, said: ‘I am really disappointed to hear Gordon Ramsay’s divisive comments and his lack of respect for the Cornish people.
‘It is shocking he deems it OK to make such a statement that he’d presumably not make about other national or ethnic groups. I sincerely hope he will reflect on his words and apologise.’
Uh oh! The TV chef, 55, who owns a properly on the Cornish coast, has angered locals with his off-the-cuff comment, including the leader of Cornish nationalist party who said he was ‘disappointed’ with the remark
Mr Cole’s comments refence the governments recognition that Cornish people are a national minority like the Irish, Scots or Welsh.
Boss of Visit Cornwall, Malcolm Bell, said: ‘I absolutely love chefs but can’t stand Gordon Ramsay. Cornwall is a wonderful place with wonderful people.’
A spokesman for Gordon told the Sun: ‘Gordon has made these tongue-in-cheek comments many, many times. Always, very clearly, said in good humour and seen that way by the majority.’
By the coast: Gordon recently admitted he regrets not defending himself after his neighbours in Cornwall criticised him and his family for relocating to their seaside home (pictured) from London during the first COVID lockdown in 2020
Gordon recently admitted he regrets not defending himself after his neighbours in Cornwall criticised him and his family for relocating to their seaside home from London during the first COVID lockdown in 2020.
The TV chef spent much of 2020 in his £4.4 million holiday home with wife Tana and their five children Megan, 23, Holly and Jack, both 22, Tilly, 20, and Oscar, two.
But the family came under fire from locals who accused them of flouting government rules at the time and ‘bringing the virus from London’.
In a new interview with Radio Times, Gordon said he is still baffled as to why they were criticised so heavily, saying: ‘God knows why we took so much s**t from the Cornish. We lived down there; we just hadn’t been down there for a long time.’
‘We didn’t sneak down there at all. We got there at an appropriate time, and had an absolutely amazing time.’
The TV star added that he relished the quality time with his family during lockdown, explaining: ‘A time like that – we’ll never get back again. When the kids started disappearing again, I didn’t want it to end – as a dad, not a chef.’
Gordon angered locals after relocating to his second home in Cornwall during the coronavirus crisis despite the Government urging Britons not to travel.
Nice digs: The chef spent much of 2020 in his £4.4 million holiday home with wife Tana and their children Megan, 23, Holly and Jack, both 22, Tilly, 20, and Oscar, two but came under fire from locals who accused them of flouting government rules
Nearby villagers were reportedly furious with Gordon after he fled to his holiday home with his family in order to isolate amid the ongoing pandemic.
Locals in the West Country called for tougher action to be taken on people fleeing to their holiday homes as second home owners were even accused of sneaking into the area in the dead of night.
According to The Sun, at the time villagers were worried Gordon may have brought the virus with him from London and wanted him ‘the hell out of Cornwall’ and even threatened to expose his address if he didn’t leave.
In messages seen by the newspaper, nearby residents vented their frustration in a Facebook group called You Shouldn’t Be Here. One user wrote: ‘The big s*** should take himself and his family the hell out of Cornwall.’
Another said: ‘Wealthy second homers think making a few quid means they are immune from the virus and any rules. They are arrogant at this best of times, this has shown how bad some of them are.’
Upset: In a new interview with Radio Times , Gordon said he is still baffled as to why they were critcised so heavily, saying: ‘God knows why we took so much s**t from the Cornish’ (pictured with his family in December 2020)
Not happy: According to The Sun , at the time villagers were worried Gordon may have brought the virus with him from London and wanted him ‘the hell out of Cornwall’ and even threatened to expose his address if he didn’t leave
One local accused Gordon of flouting government orders to stay in his primary location. They wrote: ‘He’s swanning around the shops as if nothing is wrong.’
Yet a friend told MailOnline at the time of the reports: ‘The family see Cornwall as their family home when the kids are back from uni and Gordon back from filming around the world it’s where they spend all their family time together.
‘They’ve been spending time there for 10 years and Jack actually lives in the house there full time too. Most of their neighbours are so welcoming and they love being part of the community.
‘They’ve been following the government advice along with the rest of the country since they arrived on March 20th and the campaign against them is hurtful and unnecessary at a time when we should all be coming together and supporting each other.’
Wow: Gordon even had a new pool installed at his Cornwall holiday home in Summer 2020, regularly showing off the incredible house on his Instagram account
The star also came under fire after he was spotted a number of times taking long excursions when outings were still limited to an hour a day including a beachside stroll with his entire family.
The Hell’s Kitchen star also landed in hot water with the local coastguard, who were said to have issued an official warning to him over his apparent flouting of lockdown guidelines.
Sources indicated that Gordon was seen in Rock, Fowey, Port Isaac and Newquay – some distance from his £4 million home in Trebetherick.
The warning was particularly troubling because Ramsay was the face of a ‘Stayhome’ initiative on YouTube which he had been plugging on his ten-minute cookery shows, filmed in isolation in his Cornwall kitchen.
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