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Greg James has apologized after being criticized for ‘ableism’ on social media.
The BBC Radio 1 DJ, 38, and newsreader Chris Smith were revealed today as two of 13 authors commissioned to write new stories based on Roald Dahl’s much-loved fictional characters.
Greg and Chris have written a sequel to the very popular novel The Twits, first published in 1980.
Their announcement video showed the pair asking the illustrator of their new book, Emily Jones, to give a character a glass eye to make her ‘more disgusting’.
In a previously deleted promotional video for Puffin, Greg and Chris assisted their illustrator in finalizing the characters.
When asked by Emily for their opinion, Chris said: ‘So close! She needs to be more revolting,’ to which morning show host Greg emphasized: ‘Really gross.’
‘What about a glass eye?’, asked Emily, to which Chris eagerly said: ‘She needs a glass eye, that’s it! What a disgusting pair of Twits.’
In the original story, Mrs Twit was a memorable glass eye wearer. She didn't always wear it, and used it to play tricks on Mr Twit, like the time she put it in his beer glass to scare him.
After releasing Greg and Chris’s video, they received a lot of angry messages from fans, calling the comments ‘depressing’.
Posting later today, Greg and Chris issued a heartfelt statement addressing the backlash.
‘We are so sorry to have caused offense with the launch video,’ the message began. ‘It was absolutely not our intention. And we apologize unreservedly. It’s now gone.’
After removing the original video, they continued: ‘We understand that words matter and we pride ourselves on supporting and welcoming everyone into the magical world of children’s books.
‘We would never intend to deliberately exclude anyone.
‘With the glass eye comment, we were trying to honor one of the Twit’s most famous pranks involving a glass of beer to remind people of Dahl’s infamous terrible twosome.
‘This does not suggest that it forms any part of the new story's plot, nor was it our intention to suggest in any way that it was disgusting.’
In their statement, they added that ‘it’s unfortunate that the word disgusting seems to be a direct comment on that.’
‘That’s our mistake,’ they admitted.
‘We are devastated that it’s been perceived this way but completely understand why there is anger. And we appreciate everyone rightfully speaking out.
‘We fully hear that, we’re so upset that we made a mistake but we’re still incredibly proud of this book and we’re excited to get out there and share it with young readers all over the world x’.
Their lengthy apology comes after supporters of Greg and Chris called out their comments, with X user DrFrancesRyan writing: ‘This is so depressing to see “a prosthetic eye” equated with revulsion. I know Greg James has always been attentive of these things and I so hope the whole team listens to the disabled people in the replies asking for a rethink. Disability is not a character flaw.’
BlondeHistorian expressed her strong emotions, saying that as a blind mother, a certain content made her cry. She finds it difficult to find representations of blind individuals in books for her child, and she is upset that one of the limited options is a 'horrible disgusting' character.
nmelzack expressed disappointment in @gregjames and @itschrissmith for making negative comments about glass eyes. They questioned the kind of message the comments send to disabled children and urged the individuals to feel ashamed of themselves.
The Royal National Institute of Blind People also criticized the duo.
Speaking to MailOnlineAccording to the charity, positive portrayal of disabilities in children’s books has a powerful impact, making children with disabilities feel acknowledged and understood while encouraging their peers to treat everyone equally. They emphasized that prosthetic eyes are not revolting at all, but rather remarkable.
The charity strongly encourages authors, illustrators, and publishers to consider the influence they have and the role they can play in fostering acceptance and understanding of disabilities, both visible and invisible, particularly for children with vision impairments.
The Twits sequel, titled The Twits Next Door, is not the first children’s book by Greg and Chris. They had previously worked together on a successful children’s book series called Kid Normal.
In a statement to the BBC, they shared their excitement about writing a story featuring their famous characters. They also mentioned having a great time working on The Twits.
The new story, to be released this summer, will focus on Mr and Mrs Twit's attempts to deal with their new neighbors, The Lovelies.
The likes of The Last Leg host Adam Hills and children’s TV presenter Konnie Huq have also been asked to write stories.
Meanwhile, The remarks sparked anger among fans.
