It is complete nonsense to say that the word ‘woke’ has been banned from the Sun. No such conversations have taken place — with Ally Ross or anyone on the paper. We cover ‘woke’ stories on the front page regularly, including today, and we use the word throughout the paper and in leader columns.
There is also no agreement with ITV to only write positive stories about their celebrities, nor was there any meeting with Carolyn McCall, CEO of ITV, to discuss this or to discuss Phillip Schofield coming out. There are many other factual errors in this piece, and outdated assumptions about the Sun’s readership and editorial position.
The Sun reaches over 38 million readers each month, making it the most-read UK newsbrand. Kelvin MacKenzie’s contract with the Sun was terminated in 2017. He has not written or worked for the Sun since then. And as for the Sun’s use of the word ‘woke’, the below examples suggest that our columnists have no problem in using it.
Ally Ross:
On the Baftas: ‘The grandest exercise in woke self-delusion you’ll ever see and one of those occasions when it’s a lot easier to list the very few things it got right rather than run through all the mistakes and lies Bafta told itself.’ (11 June)
On Friends: The Reunion: ‘Nothing has come close to matching the global success of Friends since it finished in 2004. Nor will it so long as we are in thrall to the cult of woke, which is why BBC1 is currently having to rely on 42-year-old episodes of Fawlty Towers for laughs.’ (28 May)
On SAS: Who Dares Wins: ‘The audience, though, will almost certainly draw the same conclusion I did from that incident and assume no one can resist the relentless march of the woke brigade’ (13 May)
Rod Liddle:
‘The lesson for the National Trust and Tim Parker is very simple. Go woke, go broke — and lose your job.’ (26 May)
‘One reason is that like virtually every other institution in the country, the force has been captured by the dingbat, woke Left.’ (20 May)
‘I’m mildly in favour of the monarchy only because it reaches back so far into history — and a country should always revere its history, no matter what the woke nutters insist.’ (10 March)
Tony Parsons:
‘Woke Words On War — this pitiful Labour Party are still spouting their woke student cliches.’ (15 May)
‘Labour’s dwindling band of woke avocado crunchers can debate if the Union Jack is inherently racist or not’ (8 May)
Clemmie Moodie:
‘Finally, the end is in sight and Freedom Day looms — but not if these moronic, selfish, invariably woke idiots have their way.’ (17 May)
‘Time and time again Carrie Symonds has been portrayed as a slightly crazed, meddling woman, sticking her unwanted woke, millennial oar into Boris’s business.’ (10 May)
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