Lawyer suspended for tweeting offensive ‘Black names’ for Meghan, Harry’s daughter
Joanna Toch has been suspended from the English law firm she founded after her tweets about Lilibet “Lili” Diana Mountbatten-Windsor's name.
A British attorney has been suspended from her job at a family law firm after her offensive comments on Twitter about the newborn daughter of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
Joanna Toch, 59, wrote several tweets about the newborn girl’s name, which is Lilibet Diana.
Just after the announcement of the baby’s moniker, Toch responded to a highly offensive tweet from English journalist Julie Burchill, who wrote, “What a missed opportunity. They could have named it Georgina Floydina!”
Toch responded, “No Doria? Don’t black names matter?”
Doria Ragland is the name of Markle’s mother.
Burchill responded to Toch’s tweet, saying, “I was hoping for Doria Oprah, the racist rosters.” Toch replied again, saying, “Doprah?”
After being blasted on Twitter by social media users, Toch apologized, while Burchill did not. Currently, Toch’s account is inactive. Burchill also deactivated her account, saying she chose to leave the platform after the online argument.
Actress Kelechi Okafor was one critic, writing in response: “What a nasty thing to say about a newborn baby.”
In Toch’s tweet expressing regret, she wrote, “I’ve fought during my professional life against racism which is abhorrent. I’m not a judge and I have children of colour and I apologise unreservedly.”
However, her employer, Family Law Cafe — which she founded in the U.K. — still suspended her. “FLC considers her comments as offensive, unacceptable and highly contradictory to the inclusive manner in which FLC has always and will continue to work with members of all communities in managing the challenges of matrimonial and family disputes,” read a company statement on Twitter.
As previously reported, Lilibet “Lili” Diana Mountbatten-Windsor was born Friday morning at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital in California at 11:40 a.m. The girl, who is eighth in line to the British throne, weighed in at 7 lbs, 11 oz.
“She is more than we could have ever imagined, and we remain grateful for the love and prayers we’ve felt from across the globe,” the Duke and Duchess of Sussex wrote in their announcement of baby Lili’s birth. “Thank you for your continued kindness and support during this very special time for our family.”
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