Stephen Gately Gives Jan Moir Her Susan Boyle Moment
JAN Moir is the envy of opinion journalists everywhere today as her comments on the “unnatural” death of Boyzone signer Stephen Gately go “nuclear”.
Every says hundreds of jobbing hacks watch the telly or study their kidzzz movements and homework in the quest for something to voice an opinion on. Little could Moir have dreamed that a frumpy, mentally negligible middle-aged woman could be so popular. As hacks have yet to put it, This is Jan Moir’s Susan Boyle moment”.
Yes, Jan Moir, they are listening. They’re really listening.
And let’s not be too hard on Jan Moir, who has only achieved what other papers and ahack dream of: she has caused a debate and enabled the media to overshadow the subject of their story. The story is not about Stephen Gately – the story is about the media looking at Stephen Gately. Job done.
I spoke just now to a well-respected gay journalist whose own anti-Moir tweets have been RT’d all over the place. He did make one interesting point: “You wonder whether the question of free speech has crossed these people’s minds. Is this really a matter for the Press Complaints Commission?” – Damian Thompson, Daily Telegraph
Hey, all journalists together, right, Damian?
Still, I’ve no sympathy for the ghoulish Ms Moir. And now excuse me while I turn on the telly to watch her squirm.
How the rivals gloat. But look at that coverage. Look at those hits. Read teh shockiong story. Unless you’re in Ireland:
No doubt anticipating a furious backlash in Ireland, it emerged yesterday ‘Daily Mail’ executives dropped the Gately column in its Irish edition. But it was carried on its website under the headline: “Why there was nothing natural about Stephen Gately’s death. . .” and in the paper edition as “A strange, lonely and troubling death. . .” – Irish Independent
What we need is a period of reflection, no knee-jerk reactions. It’s what Jan Moir wants in her non-apology press release:
It has been 20 minutes since I’ve read her now-notorious column, and I’m still struggling to absorb the sheer scope of its hateful idiocy. It’s like gazing through a horrid little window into an awesome universe of pure blockheaded spite. Spiralling galaxies of ignorance roll majestically against a backdrop of what looks like dark prejudice, dotted hither and thither with winking stars of snide innuendo – Charlie Brooker, The Guardian
In the Huffington Post, Adam Taylor wants you to join the debate:
What do you think of Jan Moir’s column?
* My thoughts exactly.
* I disagree, but fair points.
* Disgusting.
There is, sadly, no room to tick all three boxes. But vote now and vote often. And take the time to investigate Jan Moir, who has form:
At times, reaction on the internet became disturbing. Moir’s home address was reportedly posted, and the false allegation that the Daily Mail had claimed Gately had been murdered by his partner was repeated on Twitter. Moir has previously employed innuendo when commenting on homosexual public figures. In an article in August about Peter Mandelson, the business secretary, she wrote that “with his blue suede shoes, his peach mansion and his green tea devotionals, he is like a rock star camping it up on a farewell tour”, and said he has spent years “clawing his way up the soil pipe of politics” – Robert Booth, The Guardian
What says the gays, experts in spotting homophobia?
Meanwhile, the editor of the UK’s best-selling gay magazine Attitude, said Moir’s decision to link Gately’s death with that of Matt Lucas’ former civil partner seemed to be an “excuse to stick the boot in the gay population”.
“If that’s not homophobic, what is homophobia?” he told Sky News – Sky
You don’t have to be gay to spot homophobia, but it helps give your views credibility in the media:
Father Ted writer Graham Linehan put it best on Twitter, refuting Moir, the Mail, and their PR company’s claim that the reaction was a “heavily orchestrated internet campaign”; “No”, he tweeted, “you just united everyone in revulsion at your horrible words.” – Indy
Time now for a game of Tabloid Bingo, in which Jan Moir can be linked to other topical news stories to form a new news story.
Plenty of people will be repelled by the thought of Griffin on television, or of Wilders in this country at all, just as many have been shocked by Jan Moir’s callous allegation in the Daily Mail yesterday (based on no evidence she can have) that “the circumstances surrounding” Stephen Gately’s death “are more than a little sleazy”. But anyone who claims to love liberty should pause before saying that the two men should be silenced by law or edict, or that Moir should be hauled before some tribunal or another. The fact is that, for all our supposed traditional tolerance, free speech in difficult circumstances has rather few British champions – as opposed to American – Geoffrey Wheatcroft, The Independent
For those of you who have not read Moir’s words, the Indy thoughtfully reproduces them in its own pages. No need to give the Daily Mail more web traffic. Read on:
*”Fans know to expect the unexpected of their heroes, particularly if those idols live a life that is shadowed by dark appetites or fractured by private vice.”
*”The Gately family are, perhaps understandably, keen to register their boy’s demise on the national consciousness as nothing more than a tragic accident.”
*”Whatever the cause of death is, it is not, by any yardstick, a natural one. Let us be absolutely clear about this.”
*”If we are going to be honest, we would have to admit that the circumstances surrounding his death are more than a little sleazy.”
*”Another real sadness about Gately’s death is that it strikes another blow to the happy-ever-after myth of civil partnerships.”
*”The recent death of Kevin McGee, the former husband of Little Britain star Matt Lucas, and now the dubious events of Gately’s last night raise troubling questions about what happened.”
*”For once again, under the carapace of glittering hedonistic celebrity, the ooze of a very different and more dangerous lifestyle has seeped out for all to see.”
One thing to close with- Jan Moir is a woman. Does her being a woman shape how we view her words? Is misogyny the new homophbia. Debate and discuzzzzz….
How ‘Loathsome’ Jan Moir Buried Herself And Stephen Gately
Jan Moir’s Statement On Stephen Gately ‘Gay Bashing’ Article in Full
Stephen Gately’s Death Becomes A Tale Of Gay Sex, Homophobia And ‘Murder’
Posted: 17th, October 2009 | In: Key Posts, Reviews Comments (4) | TrackBack | Permalink
