TV personality Susannah Constantine has apologised for remarks she made in a podcast in which she said “I fucking hate cyclists” and that she would like “to kill the lot of them” – with the fashion journalist and Trinny and Susannah star claiming the comments were meant as a joke.
We reported on her comments yesterday, with our article retweeted by broadcaster and cyclist Jeremy Vine this morning, who observed that “The last minority you can legally wish death on are cyclists,” and he invited Constantine to go for a bike ride with him.
The last minority you can legally wish death on are cyclists. Come out with me on my bike one day Susannah https://t.co/7FehbZes3O
— Jeremy Vine (@theJeremyVine) July 19, 2020
In an episode of her My Wardrobe Malfunction podcast on YouTube in which she was speaking with Dr Sarah Parish, Constantine had said: “Oh I hate cycling. I won’t cycle. No, I fucking hate cyclists.
“My husband is a cyclist and if I see him on the road on his bicycle, I’m going to run him over.
“And the day when I know I’m about to die, I’m going to get in my car, aged 90, and I’m going to drive into cyclists wearing Lycra, kill the lot of them and go and die in jail.”
Today, Constantine said on Twitter: “My remarks about cyclists were intended as a joke. I am not planning to run over anyone riding a bike and recognise that it was insensitive to say so.
“I apologise for any offence caused and the remarks have been removed from the My Wardrobe Malfunction episode.”
She added that she would take up the offer of a bike ride with Vine who, like her, is a past contestant on the BBC One show Strictly Come Dancing.
2/2 I have agreed to take part in The Murray Parish Trust cycle ride in 2022 and, in the meantime, have accepted an offer to get on my bike with Jeremy Vine.
— Susannah Constantine (@snhconstantine) July 19, 2020
2/2 I have agreed to take part in The Murray Parish Trust cycle ride in 2022 and, in the meantime, have accepted an offer to get on my bike with Jeremy Vine.
— Susannah Constantine (@snhconstantine) July 19, 2020
There’s no news on whether Vine will get her to ride a penny farthing similar to the one he rode this morning to a delicatessen near his home in Chiswick.
The joy of owning a Penny Farthing is you don't need to lock it. If anyone can grab this and cycle off on it, it's theirs pic.twitter.com/dZLSYtD9Br
— Jeremy Vine (@theJeremyVine) July 19, 2020
Claiming that anti-cyclist comments were intended to be a joke, or were made ironically, seems to be the default defence for high-profile media personalities who make them - including, recently, The Sunday Times columnist Rod Liddle, who had written in the newspaper that he found it “tempting” to stretch piano wire at neck height across roads used by cyclists.