Dave ‘Hughesy’ Hughes is SLAMMED online for mocking Joe Biden’s stutter in now-deleted Twitter post 

‘Sorry for my ignorance’: Australian comedian Dave ‘Hughesy’ Hughes apologises after being SLAMMED for appearing to mock Joe Biden’s stutter in now-deleted Twitter post

Dave ‘Hughesy’ Hughes has sensationally apologised after appearing to mock U.S. presidential candidate Joe Biden’s stutter in a now-deleted post.

The 49-year-old took to Twitter on Saturday night to say ‘sorry for my ignorance’, after he was slammed by fans following an insensitive Tweet about the 77-year-old’s speaking voice – after which ‘Dave Hughes’ began trending on Twitter. 

Dave’s initial post read: ‘Joe Biden just had a mad struggle stringing sentences together. Is it the autocue?’

‘Sorry for my ignorance’: Australian comedian Dave ‘Hughesy’ Hughes has apologised after appearing to mock U.S. presidential candidate Joe Biden’s stutter in a now-deleted post

Biden has always been open about his speech impediment, saying it began from when he was around four years of age. 

After Dave faced mass backlash from his abundance of followers, he quickly removed the Tweet – before writing: ‘I would NEVER mock someone’s stutter.  

‘I was commenting on Joe’s struggle to read the autocue. I didn’t think it had anything to do with a stutter. Sorry for my ignorance.’

But furious fans were still enraged by The Masked Singer star’s initial comment, with one responding: ‘Maybe you could try using Google a little more and do some investigation before sending some of your tweets out, that way you might avoid upsetting lots of people unnecessarily.’

Not on: The 49-year-old took to Twitter on Saturday to say 'sorry for my ignorance', after he was slammed by fans following an insensitive Tweet about the 77-year-old's speaking voice

Not on: The 49-year-old took to Twitter on Saturday to say ‘sorry for my ignorance’, after he was slammed by fans following an insensitive Tweet about the 77-year-old’s speaking voice

'I didn't think it had anything to do with a stutter,' Dave later wrote online

‘I didn’t think it had anything to do with a stutter,’ Dave later wrote online

‘This is what people that have stutters deal with all the time, though, isn’t it? They don’t typically wear a sign saying they have a stutter?’ another added.

‘I’ve overcome a stutter and this stings, not going to lie! What a bully Dave Hughes has turned out to be,’ a third wrote.

While a fourth chimed in: ‘No, you said he has a ‘mad struggle stringing sentences together’ then asked if it was the autocue. He didn’t struggle to string sentences together. He stumbled a couple of times.’

Others were quick to jump to Dave’s defence, with pal and The Project host Peter Helliar writing: ‘When somebody makes an honest mistake, realises it & apologises surely it’s time to move on.

Not happy: Dave's Tweet was met with a string of backlash online, with many branding it 'insensitive' based on Biden's known speech impediment

Not happy: Dave’s Tweet was met with a string of backlash online, with many branding it ‘insensitive’ based on Biden’s known speech impediment 

‘If you truly want the world to be a better place Hughesy is not your enemy. #IStandByDave.’

Hughesy responded: ‘Thank you mate. And you were the first to alert me to my mistake. You made an actual phone call. Very old fashioned.’

Dave later wrote: ‘I genuinely didn’t know Biden has always had a speech impediment. Good on him. Thanks for the heads up!’

'It's time to move on': Others were quick to jump to Dave's defence, including pal and The Project host Peter Helliar

‘It’s time to move on’: Others were quick to jump to Dave’s defence, including pal and The Project host Peter Helliar

Biden himself opened up on his lifelong struggle with stuttering in a candid interview back in April.

He said on CNN: ‘It has nothing to do with your intelligence quotient. It has nothing to do with your intellectual makeup.’

He also gave words of wisdom to others who suffer from a stutter, saying: ‘It is critically important for them not to judge themselves by their speech and not let that define them.’

Speaking out: Joe Biden himself opened up on his lifelong struggle with stuttering in a candid interview back in April

Speaking out: Joe Biden himself opened up on his lifelong struggle with stuttering in a candid interview back in April