Nobel Prize-Winning Scientist Resigns After Making Sexist Comments

Tim Hunt, a knighted British biochemist who won the Nobel Prize in 2001, has resigned from his position as honorary professor with the University College London Faculty of Life Sciences following sexist comments he made in regards to women in science. “Let me tell you about my trouble with girls,” he began, during a speech at the World Conference of Science Journalists in South Korea. “Three things happen when they are in the lab. You fall in love with them, they fall in love with you and when you criticize them, they cry.” The 72-year-old also said he was in favor of gender-segregated laboratories.

Hunt apologized for his offensive comments on BBC Radio 4’s Today program, saying he meant them as a joke. He referenced his own romantic experiences in a lab setting and how they were “disruptive to the science” reports The Guardian. “I’m very sorry that what I thought were light-hearted ironic remarks were taken so seriously, and I’m very sorry if people took offense. I certainly did not mean to demean women, but rather be honest about my own shortcomings,” explained Hunt.

UCL announced Hunt’s resignation on their website, adding, “UCL was the first university in England to admit women students on equal terms to men, and the university believes that this outcome is compatible with our commitment to gender equality.”