Gary Lineker has offered his “total and utter support” to the BBC’s female stars, amid the on-going gender pay gap row.
The ‘Match Of The Day’ presenter has spoken out after some of the corporation’s top female talent called for their male counterparts to help in their mission to fight for equal pay.
Many famous women - including Emily Maitlis, Alex Jones and Clare Balding - signed an open letter to the BBC’s director general, Tony Hall, after the salaries of 96 names who earn over £150,000 a year were made public last week, revealing a huge gender pay gap.
After one fan tweeted the list directly to Gary asking him to voice his feelings, he responded, writing: “Certainly get my total and utter support.”
Last week’s report revealed Gary is the second-highest paid BBC star, earning as much as £1,799,999 - far more than female sports presenters Sue Barker, Gabby Logan and Clare Balding.
His support comes after his agent hit back at claims they were “sexist” for appearing to suggest female BBC stars weren’t paid as much as men because female agents were “not as tough”.
Gary’s agent Jon Holmes previously told PA: “I can only speak for sport but it is a gross failure for an agent if their clients are doing the same job [as men] on less money...
“Maybe women feel happier being represented by women and women are not as tough but I have found women very tough negotiators and vowed never to buy a house off a woman.”
Following a social media backlash, John said the outrage at his comments was “bollocks”, telling HuffPost UK: “I said there may be a perception that some women are not as tough but I said some women can be very tough.”