It was an invitation-only lunch in the honor of women in science at the World Conference of Science Journalists in Seoul, South Korea. Tim Hunt, the winner of 2001 Nobel Prize in medicine was delivering a speech. Sexism was the last thing anybody expected at an event such as this. But Hunt astonished the gathering on Tuesday by arguing for labs segregated by sex,  adding that he has a reputation as a male chauvinist.

“Let me tell you about my trouble with girls,” the British scientist reportedly said at the event. “You fall in love with them, they fall in love with you, and when you criticise them, they cry!”

This didn't go down too well even with the Royal Society, which soon distanced itself from his statement.

It had a more elaborate statement on its blog:
“The Royal Society believes that in order to achieve everything that it can, science needs to make the best use of the research capabilities of the entire population. Too many talented individuals do not fulfill their scientific potential because of issues such as gender and the Society is committed to helping to put this right. Sir Tim Hunt was speaking as an individual and his reported comments in no way reflect the views of the Royal Society.”

Following the debacle, Hunt resigned from his position as honorary professor at the University College of London and told BBC Radio  that he was "really sorry" but he was "just trying to be honest".

It wasn't long before women scientists began to express their anger about the Nobel Laureate  sexism.

Here's the result.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is not the first time that sexism by a popular figure has faced the wrath of social media users. Only a few days ago, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had unwittingly tried to praise his Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina's resolve to fight terror "despite being a woman" which had met with a similar response.

Many took the opportunity to call out the inherent sexism in that statement.