Dan Wootton Protests Too Much

After Zelo Street asked the question, wondering if Phillip Schofield’s apparently voluntary admission live on ITV This Morning that he was gay might just have been because a newspaper not unrelated to the Murdoch Sun was about to reveal his sexuality for him, came a Byline Investigates piece confirming that that was exactly what had happened.

In yet another slice of so-called “Blackmail journalism”, it seems Schofield was the first scalp of new Sun editor Victoria Newton’s reign, an act which will earn her lots of Brownie Points with News UK CEO Rebekah Brooks. But someone else was intimately involved in the grubby act of coercion, and that was the deeply unpleasant Dan Wootton.

Victoria Newton, editor in chief, the Sun

Wootton, who has recently, and inadvisedly, become a rather more high-visibility presence with his own show on Murdoch-owned TalkRADIO, has shown himself to be an obnoxious, aggressive and supremely intolerant individual, as well as his coarse Kiwi accent giving away the minor inconvenient fact that he isn’t British. But he’s white, so that’s OK, then.

Byline Investigates had a source telling them “Dan Wootton spoke to Phillip Schofield and told him The Sun titles had information about his sexuality and that a story was highly likely to be published”. Another source noted “Dan Wootton’s involvement has upset ITV as they have employed him regularly as a showbusiness pundit on Lorraine … That has given him access to inside industry information about Phillip Schofield … There was a lot of anger over that”. Wootton using other folks’ information for his own ends? Well, well.

But Wootton was not taking this lying down: he first came over all offended, calling the Byline Investigates piece “totally untrue”, claiming to have been “hurt” by its content, and asserting “I would never out someone or assist in it”. The sound of hollow laughter, chins being knowingly stroked, and shouts of “fuck off Dan” can only be imagined.

He then continued the denials in two Tweets, one of which included the pearler “I have never discussed Phil’s sexuality with ITV”, which had not been claimed. OH WHAT A GIVEAWAY! But then, he deleted both Tweets. Sadly, he did not delete them fast enough.

And in any case, Wootton’s involvement in “Blackmail journalism” is not a matter of dispute - he has boasted about it, and recently. Like last January, when he declared “How I REALLY broke the news of Megxit - and gave Harry and Meghan TEN DAYS warning to handle the situation before we published in The Sun. Plus, my view on why the Sussexes are becoming professional victims”. He did it to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, too.

What gives vicious creeps like Wootton the right to practice “Blackmail journalism” on whomsoever he chooses? He doesn’t need to ask permission to do it - he’s part of the Murdoch mafiosi. So he just goes right ahead and does it. Whether it’s Royalty, Slebs, or anyone else to whom he takes a dislike, the sense of entitlement is palpable.

What the boss thinks of objections to Dan's behaviour

But when someone point out that he’s an utter and complete shit, he begins to whine like a petulant child. Another example of the rotten state of journalism in the UK: the rest of the profession should have long ago cast out filth like Wootton. Instead, they cower in fear at the power of Creepy Uncle Rupe and invite him to piss all over their house.

Dan Wootton is the lowest form of journalistic life known. But you knew that already.

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