Jermain Defoe claims Jermaine Jenas has been treated differently by the BBC because he is black

Jermain Defoe claims that his pal Jermaine Jenas has been treated differently by the BBC over his sacking, because he is black.

This was made in response to a question put to him by the Daily Mail about Jenas being sacked this week.

At the time of Defoe’s comments being made, the Daily Mail and other media outlets meanwhile put out stories on the ex-footballer and girlfriend Alisha LeMay ‘clearly putting his previous cheating scandal behind them’ when attending an anniversary dinner together.

Media put it in their headlines about’s Jermain and Alisha’s rare public outing after flying out to Dominican Republic for a make-or-break holiday after hitting a rocky patch in their relationship amid the cheating scandal.

The news outlet’s sources report that the relationship is work in progress again, while still ‘tense’ between the two after he was spotted kissing another woman.

The Daily Mail say they approached Defoe for a comment on that situation, but for now, Defoe wants to talk on Jenas’ sacking from “The One Show” and “Match of the Day” due to allegations of workplace misconduct, specifically sending ‘inappropriate’ messages to a female colleague.

The #BBC treated Jermain Jenas @jjenas8 much worse because he’s black, claims his friend Jermaine Defoe. Read Wednesday’s Eden Confidential social diary via @MailOnlinehttps://t.co/P6YEak6Uro

— Richard Eden (@richardaeden) October 2, 2024

The BBC’s decision to terminate Jenas’s contract was based on its handling of workplace conduct complaints, with the corporation facing scrutiny over its management of misconduct allegations in recent times.

Now Defoe has given his thoughts, saying: “He’s [Jenas] my friend.

“What I don’t like is if you’re black and you do something wrong, any opportunities that you have will be gone. But, if you’re someone else, you’ll find ways to get back in.”

Defoe refrained from naming those who ‘are getting chance after chance’.

“We all make mistakes,” he added.

“[But in] society nowadays, someone does something and they get cancelled.”

Daily Mail’s Richard Eden writes: He refrains from naming those who ‘are getting chance after chance’. Others may note that the first complaints about Huw Edwards were made to the BBC in May 2023.

Only in April this year did Edwards resign – five months after his arrest, which was known to the BBC, for possession of the most serious category of indecent images of children.

Jenas said in an interview to The Sun a few months back: “I am deeply sorry.

“I have let myself down, my family, friends and colleagues down, and I owe everyone an apology – especially the women with whom I was messaging. I am so, so sorry.

“I am sorry for what I have put them through. I think it would be fair to say I have a problem.

“I know I self-sabotage and have a self-destructive streak when it comes to my relationship especially, and I know I need help. And I am getting help.

“I have made a lot of mistakes, and I am asking myself a lot of questions at the moment. I know there’s a lot of work that needs to be done, and it will be hard.”

Jermaine Jenas also recently thanked his supporters, saying via Instagram: “I just thought it was important for me to jump on here actually and just talk to you lot and say thank you for the level of support that you’ve shown me.

“It’s clearly been a difficult period for me but one I will definitely grow from.

“We’re human beings, it is what it is, you’ll learn from it. Become a better person. I think those are the things that are important in life.

“None of us are perfect and we’ve just got to find a way to just keep moving forward, look after our babies and our families in the best way we possibly can and that’s something I will be trying to do.”

Jenas had been part of TNT Sports’ football coverage, a co-presented a talkSPORT drive-time show, a presenter for The One Show, and a regular pundit on sports programmes Match Of The Day and Match Of The Day 2 and a presenter on BBC Radio 5 Live.

He claims he’s looking at returning to presenting duties, adding: “There’s some exciting stuff that I’ve been working on so hopefully you’ll all have that to look forward to very soon.

“And also hopefully I’ll just be back talking about what I love really which is football.”

Jenas is also reportedly currently working on repairing his marriage to wife Ellie Penfold, having admitted she was left ‘raging’ with what he’s been up to.

A spokesperson for the BBC have only said: “We can confirm that he is no longer part of our presenting line-up.”

You can read more of what Jenas had to say below…

Jermaine Jenas makes confession to The Sun and speaks of his shame after being sacked by the BBC