Lord Alan Sugar denies accusations of homophobia in Twitter tirade after posting about 'puffs' in his boardroom

Alan Sugar said Boris Johnson was too "cautious" in easing lockdown restrictions in the UK
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Ella Wills24 December 2018

Alan Sugar has launched a furious tirade on social media after he was accused of tweeting a homophobic slur.

The tycoon replied to an image early on Monday of his face photoshopped onto a Sugar Puffs cereal box with "hah... I have enough puffs who come through my boardroom."

The tweet prompted a backlash online as many branded its content "homophobic" and called for Lord Sugar to delete the post.

But The Apprentice host hit back in an angry series of tweets, claiming his response had referred to "people full of hot air".

Lord Sugar wrote: "A lady posted a funny picture of me on a Sugar Puffs cereal packet. I replied Hah.. I have enough puffs coming through my board room. Meaning PEOPLE FULL OF HOT AIR.

"So go to hell you horrible s****."

One person on Twitter had replied: "Slightly below the belt for someone of your stature, disappointing."

Another wrote: "Using homophobic language isn't acceptable."

Lord Sugar later tweeted: "I just woke up in a good mood on a very sunny day in Florida. remembering to wish all my followers a very merry Christmas. First thing I see is a load of b******."

He went on to share tweets of others online who had come to his defence.

Many claimed that people were reading "puff" wrong.

Labour MP Wes Streeting was among those to tweet in support of Lord Sugar, writing: "This is not homophobic. This isn’t how you’d spell ‘poof’. The context is clear. Let’s give the manufactured outrage a rest, deal with real homophobia and give @Lord_Sugar a break."

Lord Sugar was at the centre of racism row earlier this year after he compared the Senegalese football team to street-sellers in Marbella on Twitter.

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