UK lawyer suspended for 'offensive' tweets about Meghan & Harry's daughter Lilibet

A UK lawyer has been suspended from the family law service after mocking “black names” and the Black Lives Matter movement in her “offensive” tweets about Prince Harry and Meghan’s newborn Lilibet Diana. Joanna Toch, a former Olympic rower who also founded Family Law Cafe in the UK has been suspended with immediate effect on June 7 as internal review remains pending for ‘racist’ jokes on Twitter with another woman, Julie Burchill about Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s first daughter’s name right after the birth was announced on June 6. 

The first great-grandchild of UK’s Queen Elizabeth II born outside of the UK has been named Lilibet ‘Lili’ Diana Mountbatten-Windsor to honour the British monarch whose family nickname is ‘Lilibet’ and Princess Diana. While Burchill and Toch joked about the name of the newborn, the Family Law cafe issued a statement on June 7 announcing the founder’s suspension. The firm’s directors said, “Family Law Cafe Limited has suspended Joanna Toch with immediate effect pending an internal review into her recent comments on Twitter.”

“FLC considers her comments as offensive, unacceptable and highly contradictory to the inclusive manner in which FLC has always and will continue to work with members of all communities in managing the challenges of matrimonial and family disputes,” they added.

What did Toch and Burchill joke about?

Burchill who is a contributor to The Telegraph and The Spectator and goes by username @BoozeandFagz tweeted about Lilibet’s new name being a “missed opportunity for Prince Harry and Meghan. Referring to the couple’s second child as “it”, she said, “They could’ve called it Georgina Floydina!” To this, Toch replied saying, “No Doria? Don’t black names matter?” The UK lawyer referred to Doria Ragland, Meghan’s brother. While the joke continued, Burchill answered that she “was hoping for Doria Oprah, the racist rotters.” Toch again replied, “Doprah?”

As their jokes triggered a backlash on social media with internet users calling them “stupid” and “racist,” Toch later issued an apology for her “joke.” Before issuing a longer apology, she replied to a commentator saying, “It was a joke and I’m sorry if it upset you.” She also mentioned that she has “children of colour.”

I am very sorry for the comment and what I saw as a joke,” she said in a tweet. “I’ve fought during my professional life against racism which is abhorrent. I’m not a judge and I have children of colour and I apologize unreservedly.” Both accounts are apparently deactivated on Twitter with an original tweet, where the duo ‘joked’ has also been deleted.

IMAGE: AP/Twitter