Female BBC Radio Host Fired After Requesting ‘Non-Asian’ Cabbie

Video report here regarding the firing of Sam(antha) Mason, a popular (former) BBC radio personality. Caption: "A guy with a turban is going to freak her [daughter] out. She's not used to Asians." She also said she would prefer a female driver, too.

The commentary that follows includes a debate among the commentators (all female) that includes speculation that the BBC's actions are not entirely justified or legally defensible, and then goes on to discuss whether or not it would have been less offensive and even a far-more valid concern if she had only asked that the driver be female. They seemed to be in agreement on that point.

They also compared her case to Don Imus' and said the difference between him and her was that Imus said what he did on the air and she did not. They close with the speculation that the taxi company had done her wrong by releasing the tape to the BBC. There is a related print story here.

And so it goes.