UPDATE: Tim Westwood responds exclusively to Exeposé regarding sexist slur allegations
A spokesperson for Tim Westwood told Exeposé: “Tim was DJ-ing from midnight to 4 a.m. for a university crowd aged over 18. The music he plays is hip-hop and reggae which includes, at times, explicit lyrics and Tim introduces some tracks by quoting their lyrics to the crowd. Tim apologises for any offence that may have been caused.”
A source close to Tim Westwood said: “Westwood has been gigging for years playing hip-hop and reggae so people going to his gigs know what music to expect and quoting lyrics is all part of the show. He is mortified that people would think he was being offensive as it is all part of the late night act.”[divider]
Exeposé has learnt that the Exeter Respect Concert has been postponed indefinitely, following accusations that planned headliner Tim Westwood made sexist comments whilst performing at a student union.
The concert was originally due to take place on 25 October, but will not have a new date scheduled until the promoter has investigated the accusations and given Mr Westwood the chance to clarify his position on equality.
Mr Westwood left BBC Radio 1 earlier this year after a 20 year career at the station, during which time he has also hosted the UK version of cult-show Pimp My Ride and won three MOBO awards for Best UK Radio DJ.
Mr Westwood, 56, was performing at Leicester University on Saturday 5 October for 2,000 students, as the headliner of the University’s ‘We ❤ R&B’ event – part of their Freshers’ Week programme.
According to a number of students at the event, Mr Westwood made a number of offensive comments to the crowd over his microphone, including: “Girl in the front row in the black dress, I’ll be f***ing you tonight”, and “Girls, keep your p***ies tight and clean”.
Mr Westwood also allegedly said to a member of the crowd, “Security have told me you need to wear a sports bra”, and dedicated a song to “All the girls with clean wet p***ies”.
The Tab Leicester, who initially reported the comments, have been threatened with legal action from Mr Westwood’s representatives, for misappropriating lyrics from reggae songs as sexist comments. This is despite numerous testimonies from students attending the event saying that they felt his comments were offensive to the crowd.
Dr Suaad Genem-George, on behalf of the Exeter Respect Chair, said: “Exeter Respect have a zero tolerance policy on all forms of prejudice – both implicit and explicit – and we explicitly condemn any form of sexism.
“If the comments that have allegedly been made are true, then we condemn them clearly and firmly as inappropriate.
“We fully support all students as they are the new generation to promote Equality, Diversity and Human Rights”.
The concert has been organised by Urban Treats Entertainment as a celebration of diversity during Black History Month. Exeter Respect have leant their name to the event in order to promote their values of diversity and equality.
Chris Rootkin, VP Welfare and Community, said: “I am pleased to see that the allegations of inappropriate behaviour and remarks made by Tim Westwood are being investigated by the promoter of the Exeter Respect Concert. I and the Students’ Guild take matters of respect, diversity and dignity very seriously and I fully support any action that seeks to promote these.
Ricky Freelove, a second year History student, said: “For what the Exeter Respect concert is supposed to represent – equality and diversity across all sectors – Tim Westwood is the complete opposite of what I would expect to see at the concert after hearing about his alleged recent comments at the Leicester University gig. The comments are vile, and would be a true embarrassment to him. The vulgar, misogynistic language supposedly used at Leicester is just appalling, and I expect to see a full apology from him. I should hope that he is not playing any other student events.”
Jon Jenner, Editor
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