Ashley Cain breaks silence after his BBC show was axed over 'completely unacceptable' historic tweets
Warning: This article contains offensive language which some readers may find distressing.
Ashley Cain has spoken out after his documentary series was axed by the BBC over a series of ‘completely unacceptable’ historic social media posts.
Last week, the BBC announced it had ‘no plans’ to broadcast the second season of Ashley Cain: Into the Danger Zone, following an investigation by The Guardian, which unearthed tweets in which the reality star used abusive terms and sexualised language, referring to women as ‘s**ts’, ‘s**gs’, and ‘psychos’.
Cain has now issued a statement to Instagram addressing the recent controversy.
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He wrote: “You may have seen a recent article concerning language I used many years ago that I am not proud of.
“I don’t deny it. I don’t excuse it. And I certainly don’t condone it.
“The truth is that these comments were made over a decade ago by a younger version of myself who still had a lot of growing up to do.
“I cannot change the past and truthfully I have never tried to hide from it. I have always believed that accountability matters. We should all take responsibility for our actions, good or bad.
“But I also believe in growth, in learning from our mistakes, and in proving through our actions that the person we once were does not have to be the person we remain.”
In the lengthy statement, Cain went on to say that he made the posts at a time when he was feeling ‘lost’ and ‘frustrated’ after his dream of becoming a professional footballer disappeared because of injury.
“Like many young men, I had lessons to learn, and life made sure I learned them,” he said.
“Over the last decade, life has taught me lessons that no amount of fame, success or public opinion ever could. I became a father. I experienced a love so powerful that it changed every part of me. Then I experienced a pain so devastating that it nearly destroyed me.”
Cain then spoke of losing his eight-month-old daughter Azaylia in April 2021 after she was diagnosed with leukaemia.
“Losing my daughter changed me forever,” he continued.
“Since then, I have dedicated my life to trying to honour my daughter’s legacy and help others wherever I can.
“I cannot change what I said over a decade ago. What I can do is take responsibility for it. What I can do is continue striving every day to be a good father, a good human and a positive force in the lives of others.”
Cain’s statement comes days after the BBC confirmed it had shelved the second season of his Into the Danger Zone show.
In a statement, the BBC said: “The posts by Ashley Cain, albeit from many years ago, are completely unacceptable.
“The BBC has clear requirements around vetting and social media checks, which are undertaken by the production company. In this instance, the process clearly failed and we are investigating why.
“We are continuing to strengthen our processes to ensure everyone working for, and on behalf of, the BBC meets our values and standards.
“We have no plans to broadcast the new series of Into the Danger Zone, and no future projects with Ashley Cain.”
Since the historic tweets came to light, Cain’s X account appears to have been removed from the platform.
Claire Reid