It was almost two years ago that John Cleese addressed a Commons lobby event hosted by press campaigners Hacked Off, and caused many pundits to go into a howling, frothing rage as a result. His alleged sin was to demonstrate the folly of allowing the press to regulate themselves. This is what he said to the gathering.
“We’d all like to regulate ourselves, wouldn’t we? But it would mean without appropriate oversight … murderers would make a good case! They’d say ‘We’ve murdered a lot of people, we know people who’ve murdered people. We are best qualified to regulate (murder)’”. Hardly had Cleese said that, than Alex Wickham, newly anointed teaboy to the perpetually thirsty Paul Staines at the Guido Fawkes blog, was off and running.
Cleese had said that journalists were like murderers (he hadn’t)! Other pundits rallied to condemn Cleese and Hacked Off, notably (thankfully) former Tory MP Louise Mensch, the Mail on Sunday’s not at all celebrated blues artiste Whinging Dan Hodges, Dylan Sharpe of the Murdoch Sun, and Chris Deerin. All were suitably outraged. So they will all be similarly unhappy at former Screws and Daily Mirror editor Piers Morgan today.
Or rather they won’t: Morgan is Old Media, and his utterances are therefore Beyond Reproach for the rest of the press establishment. So thus far he has got away with very little scrutiny over his attacks on former footballer David Beckham. But his latest attempt to score More And Bigger Self Publicity Opportunities For Himself Personally Now should have anyone who condemned Cleese up in arms.
After Morgan once again claimed that Beckham was using his charitable work to “force a knighthood”, Oliver Holt of the Mail On Sunday showed he was unconvinced at The Great Man’s schtick: “I think he has done an awful lot more good than harm with his charity work. Isn't that really all that matters?” And then Morgan dropped his clanger.
Here’s his reply: “I think a person's motivation for charity work matters. Exhibit One: Sir Jimmy Savile”. Is he, or is he not, making a direct comparison of Beckham with Savile? That was how freelance Ewan MacKenna saw it, and he was not impressed: “That's an utterly nonsensical comparison in terms of people, motives, outcomes and pretty much anything else”. So what did Morgan have to say to that?
How about claiming that what he’d just said was not what he said at all? Here it comes: “Not comparing Beckham to Savile, just making the point that motivation for charity work matters”. In which case, why mention Savile in the first place? The adverse comment generated by Morgan’s latest attempt to tell the world what an important person he is shows that rather a lot of people are not convinced by his posturing.
But his pals in the press establishment will make sure that this latest gaffe does not get into the papers. After all, what are friends for, apart from being able to pull that kind of smear and get away with it? Piers Morgan, the true face of tabloid misbehaviour - and entitlement. Don’t you know who he is? Pass the sick bucket.
7 comments:
Yet another demonstration of why "journalists" are the most loathed creeps on the planet.
If you're ever introduced to one, immediately punch it in the mouth. You'll only want to do it later.
Lying gobshites and cowards the lot of them.
Oh come on, seeing Brand Beckham fall like a house of cards is hilarious. Three years ago I witnessed the Beckhams using charidee for their own ends and I was disgusted with them and the charity concerned. At last the truth is coming out and I wouldn't be suprised if the "hacking" is not all it seems.
I'm no great fan of Piers but I took his tweet to mean there are those who get into certain positions to do what they want to do?
I doubt he meant any resemblance to Beckham at all.
He's not that stupid.
If so, he could have simply said "Charity work doesn't automatically make you a saint" - there, that's within 140 characters. By chucking in Saville he ensured there would be outrage and hey presto, Morgan's won because people are talking about him.
Brand Beckham used the press for years to line their pockets. Used their millions to hide behind a super injunction and failed due a free press... and Morgan is to blame? Talk about shoddy work .
Working class lad makes good - doesn't need the moneyed class to sneer at him because the gobshite British public will tear him down fast enough. British working class the biggest begrudgers of anybody who escapes his or her beginnings because they know they don't have the talent or gumption to do the same. You've all been made into Establishment lapdogs and you don't even know it. Crying shame.
Piers making a Moggery of charity workers? (check out the Moggery rehoming centre).
Wonder what his motivation was? Possibly thought it a rehoming centre
for catty journos?
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