BBC Radio 1 has apologized for airing what it claims was meant to be an "ironic" tweet about London Grammar vocalist Hannah Reid. The original tweet asked followers if they considered Reid to be "fit," and polished off the post with the hashtag #ladz.
In case you haven't figured it out, "fit" isn't referring to physical fitness. According to UrbanDictionary, the go-to reference for any piece of sexual slang, fit means "extremely good looking, synonymous with 'hott' (sic) and 'sexy.' British slang, relatively unknown in US."
Based on the standards set by some British tabloids, referring to Reid as hot seems hardly a big to-do, but the BBC is typically held to higher standards of journalism.
"really regret the tweet this morning about @londongrammar," the news agency later tweeted. "We're aware its been RT'ed a lot & screengrabbed, but out of respect to Hannah, we have removed from our timeline ... We got it wrong. We're sorry."
London Grammar released its debut EP, "Metal & Dust," in February to some acclaim and its first full LP, "If You Wait," dropped last week. The indie pop/electronic band was praised for the album, particularly the vocals of Reid, which are reminiscent of the the retro-pop stylings popularized by Lana Del Rey and Florence Welch. Some have even suggested that "If You Wait" is deserving of the Mercury Award, an esteemed prize given to the best album created by an artist from the United Kingdom or Ireland. "If You Wait" was released, some think strategically, on the last possible day for qualifying records.
Perhaps the most disappointing thing from this whole affair is the terrible misuse of the word "irony" by the BBC, the broadcast symbol of a culture so steeped in dry humor that the error itself almost seems ironic.
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