Fired The Apprentice star Dr Asif Munaf has this morning furiously denied making shocking comments to ‘horrified’ cast members about ‘only having sex with virgins’.
The former NHS doctor was accused of making the remarks to other candidates and crew members in the house with a source saying his comments had made people feel uncomfortable.
But Dr Munaf, who was seen leaving the show on Thursday, has defiantly hit back and denied the accusations saying they are ‘absolute lies’ and baseless.
He then went on to say his comments were in relation to his religious belief that women should be virgins when they get married.
It comes after BBC bosses confirmed on Thursday they had dropped Dr Munaf from their spin-off show after he made ‘a stream of anti-Jewish’ comments on social media.
Dr Munaf – who owns his own wellness brand – described Zionism as a ‘satanic cult’ in the aftermath of the October 7 terror attack.
He said today: ‘Firstly absolute lie, absolute baseless. What was said was in the house I remembered what we talked about was the sanctity of marriage when you get married for the first time you should be a virgin.
‘This is what Islam teaches, Christianity teaches, Judaism teaches. In fact, most religions teach purity, chastity – respecting the institution of marriage.
‘It’s a sanctimonious institution. Do not sleep around before and during marriage. So that is what I said.’
A source told The Sun yesterday Dr Munaf ‘made the candidates feel uncomfortable’ and ‘they were particularly shocked when they heard the way he spoke about sex and women’.
‘Crew members were also horrified and could not believe someone with this attitude had made it so far in the process,’ they said.
BBC bosses edited Dr Munaf out of Thursday’s episode of The Apprentice: You’re Fired! in the wake of anti-Jewish posts.
He also wrote on social media that he was compiling a ‘list of sadistic doctors’ who were ‘supporting the Zionist genocide’ and described Zionists as ‘odiously ogre-like’, also labelling the ‘Zionist PR machine’ as ‘slimy’.
The discovery of his comments caused outrage across the Jewish community, with the Board of Deputies of British Jews complaining to Tim Davie, the BBC director-general and Samir Shah, its chairman, about having Dr Munaf on the show.
Hitting back at the Corporation in a series of Twitter/X posts, Dr Munaf accused the broadcaster of ‘[doing] me dirty’ before branding Israel a ‘neo-colonial white supremacist death cult’.
A spokesman for The Apprentice said earlier this month: ‘After filming had taken place, we were made aware of concerns over social media posts that Asif had made after he had left the process.
‘As soon as we were alerted, we took immediate action and spoke to Asif in detail on this. Asif took part in specialised training to understand why his posts may cause offence.’
They added: ‘No formal or informal complaints were made about Asif’s behaviour, including about the alleged comment.’
Dr Munaf insisted ‘it was not my intention to offend anyone’, and added: ‘The beliefs I hold and have shared are based on the values that I was brought up with.’
However, he has since continued to make controversial remarks about the conflict in Israel and Gaza.
Towards the end of January, he wrote that the ‘Zionist mask is falling’ and accused Israel of weaponizing the Holocaust to ‘push another fascist ideology’.
On Monday, Danny Cohen – former director of BBC Television – claimed the training ‘clearly did not work’ citing further offensive remarks by Dr Munaf.
Writing in The Telegraph Mr Cohen said: ‘The BBC’s inaction sends a message.
‘You can be racist towards Jews and there are no consequences. You can enjoy fame on the BBC even if you are the kind of person whose views painfully remind Jewish viewers of Nazi propaganda.
‘Once again, the Jewish community has been failed by the BBC.’
Meanwhile, a spokesman for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: ‘How does the BBC think that Jewish people react when they turn on the television and see someone who has engaged in the most vicious rhetoric on their national broadcaster?
‘Asif Munaf has reportedly spoken of ‘the Zionist antichrist’, the ‘slimy Zionist PR machine’, ‘odiously ogre-like Zionists’, ‘Zionist doctors’, ‘weaponising the Holocaust’ and more.
‘These sorts of views should usually get you fired. At the BBC, they just put you on telly.’
Director of the board of deputies Marie Van der Zyl said: ‘The BBC’s response has been extremely poor. Our community feels as if viewing figures have been prioritised over combatting hideous prejudice.
‘The corporation should publicly apologise for its mishandling of this situation.’
Concerns about Dr Munaf were first raised by the Jewish News after Dr Munaf appeared on BBC show Dragon’s Den.
His now defunct University of Masculinity was also criticised for its controversial postings and retweeting posts by controversial influencer Andrew Tate.
In one post about women, he reportedly asked: ‘Have you ever met a beautiful feminist?’
Meanwhile, a video on his Instagram account is said to have been titled ‘Don’t Trust What Women Say.’
James Parker is a UK-based entertainment aficionado who delves into the glitz and glamour of the entertainment industry. From Hollywood to the West End, he offers readers an insider’s perspective on the world of movies, music, and pop culture.