Countdown star Rachel Riley is accused of Islamophobia after falsely comparing ... trends now
Countdown star Rachel Riley has issued a grovelling apology after being accused of Islamophobia following her tweet about the Sydney mall massacre.
The 38-year-old presenter faced a huge backlash after she falsely compared Saturday's horror attack in Australia to a pro-Palestinian uprising.
The bloody rampage was carried out by English tutor Joel Cauchi, 40, from Queensland, who police said had been suffering from mental health issues.
In her now-deleted tweet, Riley appeared to compare the shopping centre attack, in which six people were killed before Cauchi was shot dead by police, to the 'globalised Infitada' movement.
The presenter has since released a statement on X in which she said she was 'sorry' if her message had been 'misunderstood' - after it led to her facing calls to be sacked by Channel 4.
Countdown star Rachel Riley has apologised after being accused of Islamophobia following her tweet about the Sydney mall massacre
The 38-year-old presenter faced a huge backlash after she falsely claimed Saturday's horror attack in Australia was the result of pro-Palestinian uprising (pictured: knifeman Joel Cauchi who carried out the deadly attack)
Riley was slammed for this tweet, which she has since deleted, in which she claimed the attack was part of the 'globalised Infitada'
'Just to clarify, my intention with this tweet was not to say this attack was caused by any ideation or to link it to Islamic extremism,' Riley wrote.
The former Strictly Come Dancing star continued: 'At the time we did not know who the attacker was, and as such I made no reference.
'My aim was to highlight the weekly calls for 'intifada' being tolerated in London and around the world, which in actuality means violence on our streets.
'For 6 months now, I have avoided taking the tube, or going with my kids to anywhere near the marches each Saturday, and each week we see the extremist chants on proud display with little outcry.
'Sadly, the type of attack seen in Sydney yesterday is exactly the kind of violence the previous intifada involved and I hope to avoid in future, but in my opinion ignoring the problem won't make it go away.
'Attacks on Jews have recently become repackaged as 'resistance' in some circles, and we should in one voice condemn all acts of violence, whoever the perpetrators and whoever the victims.
'I am sorry if this message was misunderstood, that was not my intention.'
Her apology came after she sparked mass outrage on X and was accused of writing a racist statement about the Sydney stabbing.
Riley's apology came after she sparked mass outrage on X and was accused of writing a racist
