A TV presenter has been forced to apologise after he was roasted on social media for making an insensitive joke about Formula 1 legend Michael Schumacher.
Antonio Lobato, who is a Spanish sports journalist, was called out by fans after Schumacher’s name was brought up following the Japanese Grand Prix.
“Let Adrian Newey (Red Bull’s chief technical officer) tremble because Antonio Lobato is coming,” a commentator remarked on Spain’s sports TV channel DAZN.
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And Lobato chipped in: “Let Michael tremble. Well … not Michael, he cannot tremble.”
All the commentators – who included Toni Cuquerella, Noemi de Miguel, Pedro de la Rosa – started to laugh.
The moment has gone viral on social media with fans calling it “disgusting” and wanting DAZN to take action.
“Using someone’s medical condition as the punchline of a joke is unacceptable and abhorrent,” one fan said.
“Michael is beloved and respected in this sport and (Lobato) doesn’t deserve the platform he is given.”
Others have suggested Lobato should be sacked, while some want him to apologise to the Schumacher’s family.
Schumacher has been in serious decline since hitting his head on a rock in a 2013 skiing accident.
He was in a medically-induced coma for 250 days, and the family has attempted to keep the seven-time world champion’s health battle as private as possible.
In a recent interview with Swiss newspaper Blick, close personal friend Roger Benoit gave a chilling summation of the severely ill F1 icon’s health.
“No. There is only one answer to this question and that is what his son Mick gave in one of his rare interviews in 2022 — ‘I would give anything to talk to dad’,” Benoit said.
“This sentence says everything about how his father has been doing for over 3500 days. (Schumacher is) a case without hope.”
Lobato took to social media to explain his actions.
He posted a five-minute video (in Spanish).
“I think it is necessary to explain and admit that I was wrong,” he said.
“I made a mistake without any bad intentions.
”It was simply a mistake of pure clumsiness, of pure inability to express myself correctly, maybe because of too many hours up, jetlag in Madrid, or whatever … which is not an excuse for those of you who didn’t see it.
“What happened is that I went too far and made an expression that is not good. It is not accurate, it is not fine.
“I didn’t mean to make a joke … I didn’t mean to make fun of Michael Schumacher, no.”
Lobato did receive some support after his mea culpa.
“I think it was clear that it was a comment without malice that escaped as a reaction that could escape anyone when you realise that you say something that can be misinterpreted,” one fan said.
“No one is perfect and sadly in networks everyone seems to be increasingly intolerant of the mistakes of others but little evaluate their own. Thank you for continuing to bring excitement to the broadcasts and for loving our sport as you do, a hug Antonio!”
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