People Are P***ed Off That ‘The Chase Australia’ Changed The Dark Destroyer’s Name

Everyone loves The Chase, right? As we all know, the five Chasers that appear on our screens nearly every day have their own tailored nicknames for the show: Mark Labbett is nicknamed The Beast, Anne Hegerty is The Governess, Paul Sinha is The Sinnerman, Jenny Ryan is The Vixen and Shaun Wallace is The Dark Destroyer.

These names add to the fearful persona of each Chaser, along with a steely gaze, uptight personality and snappy dress sense that is supposed to make the contestants tremble in their boots.

But is seems as though the Australian version of The Chase has slightly altered Shaun Wallace's nickname from The Dark Destroyer, making him simply 'The Destroyer'. While it's only dropping one word, viewers are pissed off, with some claiming it's political correctness gone too far.

One die-hard fan wrote on Twitter: "Can't believe they've changed The Dark Destroyer's name on the Chase to just 'The Destroyer' WORLD'S GONE MAD I TELL YA BLOODY MAD."

Another added: "Any particular reason why @THECHASEAUS refers to Shaun as just 'The Destroyer' when we all know him as The Dark Destroyer on the UK version?"

Bradley Walsh got himself into some trouble during the filming of one episode when he said to the contestants: "You know what I've wondered about [The Dark Destroyer]? You know when he's washing his face, how does he know when to stop?"

There's no denying that Shaun Wallace is, indeed, a black man from London, however some fans of The Dark Destroyer don't associate his nickname with the colour of his skin.

But there are still plenty other viewers who reckon that The Chase could have been more careful with their nickname selections.

One person wrote: "When are ITV going to realise calling a black man 'The Dark Destroyer' is a little bit racist?"

While another added: "I cannot be the only person that thinks 'The Dark Destroyer' is a racist nickname for Shaun Wallace, on The Chase."

You could argue that the other nicknames are inappropriate - The Beast could be interpreted as fat shaming, or The Vixen could have unnecessarily sexual connotations.

Wallace has been on The Chase since 2009 after appearing on Mastermind, Fifteen to One , The Weakest Link, Greed, and Are You an Egghead? He joined the Aussie version of the ITV show at the start of this year, to much fanfare.

Featured Image Credit: ITV/The Chase

Topics: the chase, Racist, ITV

Stewart Perrie

Stewart Perrie is a Trending Journalist at LADbible. His first job was as a newsreader and journalist at the award winning Sydney radio station, Macquarie Radio. He was solely responsible for the content broadcast on multiple stations across Australia when the MH17, Germanwings and AirAsia disasters unfolded. Stewart has covered the conflict in Syria for LADbible, interviewing a doctor on the front line, and has contributed to the hugely successful UOKM8 campaign.

@stewartperrie