Ant Middleton hits out at SAS: Who Dares Wins bosses AGAIN saying ‘Don’t employ a lion if you want a kitten’
ANT Middleton has hit out at SAS: Who Dares Wins bosses AGAIN after he was fired saying: "Don’t employ a lion if you want a kitten".
The 40-year-old has remained defiant after he was dumped from the Channel 4 show amid allegations of "inappropriate comments".
Ant shared a photo of him alongside Aussie rules football star Sabrina Frederick where the pair are seen laughing.
He captioned the pic: "Be proud of who you are no matter what! I am an alpha male and I love who I am!
"This one size fits all approach isn’t realistic nor true to our uniqueness! Do not be squeezed into a box that you don’t fit in… Be you, be proud, be resilient and stay true to who you are!
"'Don’t employ a lion if you want a kitten.'"
Earlier this week, Ant told The Sun he is "really disappointed" with Channel 4 and that them "butting heads" resulted in his departure.
Ant said the show - which is based on the brutal SAS selection process to join the elite unit - was not what it was when it started in 2015.
He said: "I think that ultimately what has happened is that the people that make the show and I have very different opinions on where the show started and where it is going in the future.
“When I started making the show and as I was involved from the beginning, it was very simple and at its core it was to show what Special Forces’ selection was.
“And I am sad to say that in recent years the producers of the show have drifted from this and it has become more of a reality show than I feel comfortable with.
“I have decided to walk away from it, it is clear Channel 4 and I have fallen out over it and that is regretful. I have butted heads with some of the team but ultimately it is out of a passion for what I wanted to do and that’s make the best show possible.”
Going further yesterday he slammed "desperate and reckless" Channel 4 on Good Morning Britain following the allegations of "inappropriate comments".
When quizzed on new claims that he'd received complaints from female staff members, Ant said these would have been "indirect" remarks and "military humour" from his and the other instructors' dorm.
Channel 4 have now released a statement refuting these claims - saying the "inappropriate comments" were made when the cameras weren't rolling and are completely separate to his "on-screen persona".
They told: "Our decision not to renew Ant Middleton’s contract and not to work with him again was solely based on his personal conduct off-camera and is not related to his on-screen persona as a DS."
Addressing Ant's complaint that the programme had turned into more of a reality TV show than factual entertainment, they added: "SAS: Who Dares Wins will continue to be as tough as it’s ever been."
Ant leaving the show comes after several high-profile gaffes in the last 12 months.
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The veteran resigned from his role as the Royal Navy’s Chief Cadet last summer, after bosses were left unhappy over his now-deleted tweet about Black Lives Matter protests.
He apologised after referring to Black Lives Matter protesters as "absolute scum" as he complained about the "extreme left" and the English Defence League's "extreme right" taking to the streets.
He later said he was "anti-racist and anti-violence" after deleting the tweet.
Ant also hit headlines in March 2020, when posted a “tough-love” video message on social media urging his followers to carry on as normal despite coronavirus.
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Channel 4 said it will not work with the decorated war hero again due
to his "personal conduct".
In a statement, the channel said: "It has become clear that our views
and values are not aligned.