Posted by 
Jeremy Vine has come under fire for his response after a guest on his Channel 5 show explained what the term “woke” actually means.
The presenter was branded “patronising” following a conversation about the term with mental health campaigner Natasha Devon on Friday’s edition of his show.
Discussing how some of his university friends are “woke”, Natasha asked him what he thought the word means.
He responded: “Well, woke is, you know, you kind of read The Guardian and this and that, yeah.
“It just means you’re not racist, homophobic or misogynist, so I’d say you’re a woke person.”
“Well, in your definition it means that, but not to everyone,” he replied.
Hey @JeremyVineOn5, think your twitter account accidentally deleted this clip of @_NatashaDevon clearly and coherently explaining the true definition of ‘woke’, only to be condescendingly dismissed by #JeremyVine.
So just re-posting it for you xx pic.twitter.com/Eq3yLg73n7— Alex (@_Alex991) March 31, 2023
On social media, people criticised Jeremy for ignoring the origins of the word and how the term had been hijacked by people using it pejoratively.
Among those who called him out was comedian Kathy Burke, who tweeted: “No it hasn’t, it’s just been hijacked by thicko’s and patronising old white men.”
“It’s come to mean something else” from Vine there. No it hasn’t, it’s just been hijacked by thicko’s and patronising old white men. https://t.co/v3r7MeuRiD
— Kath 🇺🇦💙🙀❄️🇪🇺✊🏾 (@KathyBurke) March 31, 2023
Many others agreed:
What a grim, patronising response.
— Will Hawksworth (@Will_Hawksworth) March 31, 2023
So true. It’s the go to retaliation for those who would rather turn a blind eye or don’t want to be inconvenienced by progressive social change.
— George Rumble 💙 (@RumbleGeorge) March 31, 2023
That's a shocking response from Jeremy Vine.
— Lawrence Kershaw (@poggiolino) March 31, 2023
Jeremy Vine asked to define woke he says
‘Woke is basically when you sort of kinda read the Guardian & this & that yeah and your friends are all woke over there yeah’ @_NatashaDevon then gives the dictionary definition, Jeremy’s says no no no and asks to quickly move on.
— D B 🌹 (@NaturalGenX) March 31, 2023
What is Jeremy Vine on his days off from being woke? I'm assuming this was one of them judging by his rudeness
— Rhian Lewis 🏴💙 (@RhianLe56881809) March 31, 2023
Oh Jeremy! I thought you were better than this. So patronising.
— Richard Morris (@MorrisMorris232) March 31, 2023
The shocking ignorance of #JeremyVine! How many definitions of woke does he think there is? https://t.co/a48AVwhawl
— Caroline #SocialistAnyDay (@CazzaKabb) April 1, 2023
Listen to Jeremy Vine patronising Natasha Devon here and dismissing the actual meaning of 'woke'. It's breathtaking. What a complete plank!
— 🇺🇦 Pete Paterson 🏴🇮🇪🇪🇺#RejoinEU (@PeteTheRef) March 31, 2023
The exchange was originally clipped up and posted on the Jeremy Vine show’s official Channel 5 Twitter account, where it started doing the rounds.
However, the video has since been deleted.
Amanda Holden faced a similar backlash over her use of the word “woke” earlier this week when she said what she “loved” about the late Paul O’Grady was that he was “not woke in any way”.
Many listeners took issue with Amanda’s choice of words, highlighting the fact that the gay star was a trailblazing queer activist, trans rights supporter and arguably, as Lily Savage, the very first drag queen to breakthrough on to mainstream TV.
Jeremy Vine airs weekdays from 9.15am on Channel 5.
READ MORE:
