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[TV] Greg Wallace
- Thread starter Beach Hut
- Start date
- Jul 7, 2003
- 47,666
This did make me chuckle.
Greg Bobkin
Silver Seagull
- May 22, 2012
- 16,293
Er, I haven't...Well I'm not shocked you have found him guilty without a trial though.
Greg Bobkin
Silver Seagull
- May 22, 2012
- 16,293
I made it through two paragraphs before I couldn't take any more.
- Jul 7, 2003
- 47,666
You did get that it's a parody, right? I know it is exactly the sort of thing Johnson would write, so it's hard to tell, but...
Cordwainer
Well-known member
- Jul 30, 2023
- 593
Greg Bobkin
Silver Seagull
- May 22, 2012
- 16,293
Nope, that went straight over my head – to be fair I was only half concentrating while waiting to get my hair cut. I guess If I'd have read on it would've clicked but no – I genuinely thought it was guff submitted by that bellend.
- Jul 7, 2003
- 47,666
I did wonder. I did the same, read a couple of lines, thought "yes, this sounds plausibly Johnson" but there are some decent giveaways if you persist with it
Yep, that's Jeremy Vine for you. Biased to the core. I sent an e-mail to the BBC complaining about him once; shouldn't have bothered.
- Aug 7, 2003
- 8,128
I used to work with a guy who was a fellow co-owner and Director of the company and was and probably still is the most obnoxious piece of shit that I’ve ever had the misfortune of coming across in my life. He was always making lascivious comments in front of female employees, and did it while laughing his ugly head off. He tried to make it look like a joke but he enjoyed upsetting and humiliating them, knowing that they wouldn’t respond as they were frightened that if they did, they would lose their jobs. I never witnessed it myself, but was told by those affected, usually when they were in tears. I confronted him many times about it, but he always laughed it off as banter and none of the women were prepared to take it further. He got even more pleasure by sending anonymous letters to his victims husbands / partners saying that they were having affairs. No proof that he did it, but more than just a coincidence. At the time I insisted that the company do something about him, but the other Directors were frightened of what the impact of the resultant bad publicity would have on the company and would do nothing. I sold my shares ten years ago, but still hate the little weasel with every fibre of my being. It isn’t banter, it’s bullying.Middle class woman of a certain age here.
Some pretty simple points I'd like to raise here, largely for the "it's only banter" brigade.
(1) Nobody is suggesting- so far- that GW's alleged behaviour is criminal. But just because it doesn't cross the sort of threshold that Savile or Edwards' actions did, doesn't mean we shouldn't act on it. It's still likely misconduct under the HR policy of pretty much any company or organisation out there. Should he be prosecuted? Or course not, at least as far as we know currently. But that doesn't mean it's acceptable for his colleagues to have to put up with it.
(2) Which leads me to the "Can't a bloke make a joke any more?" thing, more commonly known as the Richard Keys Defence. The answer is yes, of course you can. But like anything, the key here is to KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE. It's one thing to make the sort of comments he's supposedly been making within a circle of your close friends, who you know are likely to appreciate them (or at least will openly tell you to f*** off if they don't). It's another thing entirely to do it in front of work colleagues, show guests and others, whom you don't know in the slightest, who may be junior to you in status, or feel intimidated by your position, or feel unable to push back for fear of being singled out for being frigid and humourless (which is a common occurrence for women who speak out against jokes they don't find funny, chaps). It's demeaning and uncomfortable for women who've worked bloody hard to get to their professional positions to be singled out with comments about their tits that men in equivalent roles would never be subjected to, or to feel like some sleazebag 30 years older than them is eyeing them up while they work.
(3) "It's only a misplaced comment"- it may well be, viewed in isolation, but if it's happening ALL THE TIME as part of his office banter routine, it gets tiresome and draining for the recipients. You don't want to be the one to stick your head above the parapet and complain for fear of it affecting your position (especially applicable for the more junior staff mentioned in these reports), or of being branded miserable harridans, as per previous). From the number of people coming forward, it sounds rather like this sort of behaviour was entirely normal for GW, that his everyday office routine consisted of making smutty remarks to show everyone what an absolute BLOKE he is. Sometimes it's not the act itself but the frequency of its occurring that's the problem. Anyone can f*** up: it's how you respond to that which is the issue. Apologise, learn, move on: no problem. Carry on making comments about wanting to smash it and you show yourself up as an ignorant, entitled idiot.
(4) "Why didn't they complain at the time/ why are they all crawling out of the woodwork now?". See previous points- perceived status of GW versus their own, fear of losing their own much cherished positions in the very competitive TV industry, concern about being labelled a delicate, over-sensitive woman who goes running to HR at every opportunity (you only have to see the reactions of the GB News brigade to this episode to understand why women often don't feel comfortable flagging up shit behaviour by certain men). Fear of not being believed often leads people to stay quiet about inappropriate or downright criminal actions. Once one person steps forward, it gives others courage to put their hands up, realising they might finally be listened to.
Anyway: evidently his agent has now got back from holiday, judging by his latest statement. That must have been a fun day in the office
My question is - where are the likes of John Torode and Marcus Waring when all this goes on? Don't they ever say "Give it a rest, mate"?Middle class woman of a certain age here.
Some pretty simple points I'd like to raise here, largely for the "it's only banter" brigade.
(1) Nobody is suggesting- so far- that GW's alleged behaviour is criminal. But just because it doesn't cross the sort of threshold that Savile or Edwards' actions did, doesn't mean we shouldn't act on it. It's still likely misconduct under the HR policy of pretty much any company or organisation out there. Should he be prosecuted? Or course not, at least as far as we know currently. But that doesn't mean it's acceptable for his colleagues to have to put up with it.
(2) Which leads me to the "Can't a bloke make a joke any more?" thing, more commonly known as the Richard Keys Defence. The answer is yes, of course you can. But like anything, the key here is to KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE. It's one thing to make the sort of comments he's supposedly been making within a circle of your close friends, who you know are likely to appreciate them (or at least will openly tell you to f*** off if they don't). It's another thing entirely to do it in front of work colleagues, show guests and others, whom you don't know in the slightest, who may be junior to you in status, or feel intimidated by your position, or feel unable to push back for fear of being singled out for being frigid and humourless (which is a common occurrence for women who speak out against jokes they don't find funny, chaps). It's demeaning and uncomfortable for women who've worked bloody hard to get to their professional positions to be singled out with comments about their tits that men in equivalent roles would never be subjected to, or to feel like some sleazebag 30 years older than them is eyeing them up while they work.
(3) "It's only a misplaced comment"- it may well be, viewed in isolation, but if it's happening ALL THE TIME as part of his office banter routine, it gets tiresome and draining for the recipients. You don't want to be the one to stick your head above the parapet and complain for fear of it affecting your position (especially applicable for the more junior staff mentioned in these reports), or of being branded miserable harridans, as per previous). From the number of people coming forward, it sounds rather like this sort of behaviour was entirely normal for GW, that his everyday office routine consisted of making smutty remarks to show everyone what an absolute BLOKE he is. Sometimes it's not the act itself but the frequency of its occurring that's the problem. Anyone can f*** up: it's how you respond to that which is the issue. Apologise, learn, move on: no problem. Carry on making comments about wanting to smash it and you show yourself up as an ignorant, entitled idiot.
(4) "Why didn't they complain at the time/ why are they all crawling out of the woodwork now?". See previous points- perceived status of GW versus their own, fear of losing their own much cherished positions in the very competitive TV industry, concern about being labelled a delicate, over-sensitive woman who goes running to HR at every opportunity (you only have to see the reactions of the GB News brigade to this episode to understand why women often don't feel comfortable flagging up shit behaviour by certain men). Fear of not being believed often leads people to stay quiet about inappropriate or downright criminal actions. Once one person steps forward, it gives others courage to put their hands up, realising they might finally be listened to.
Anyway: evidently his agent has now got back from holiday, judging by his latest statement. That must have been a fun day in the office
- Aug 24, 2020
- 7,457
I asked for that !
- Jul 7, 2003
- 47,666
I've wondered that. Perhaps people become immune to it if happens all the time, convincing themselves that, if the targets don't seem to be complaining, it must be "just Gregg being Gregg".
Or maybe they awkwardly apologise to the women afterwards. Or maybe he only does it when he thinks he's in a safe environment, ie when they're not around and it's only women he can isolate and intimidate.
I find it hard to believe that Monica Galetti would put up with it. She seems like quite a strong character. Not sure if she's made any comment yet.
nickbrighton
Well-known member
- Feb 19, 2016
- 2,178
i lost any time I had for Vine when the Amex amber lights visable from France and on all the time scandal was raging- he had made up his mind that the lights were on basically all winter and were bright enough to blind someone in France! despite the fact that any light pollution was dwarfed by that from Brighton, and he basically talked over or cut off anyone who actually tried to put the actual facts. After that I realised that most of his shows are very biased to one side and he wont have any counter arguments
mikeyjh
Well-known member
That, among other things, is what has been going round in my head for days - This isn't to excuse Wallace in any way but somehow the culture around him has allowed him to apparently behave like this for years. No wonder he can't see that he hasn't done anything wrong if none of his colleagues have said this, and his bosses haven't pulled him to one side and told him it's his last chance. He's living in a bubble where his behaviour has become normalised in his head. He must have some friends or confidants that should have spoken out right? It looks very likely that he's something of a wrong 'un but those around him who have stayed silent should hang their heads in shame.
TBH, I think 'we' are rubbish at handling these things overall. Nobody says anything for years then, almost overnight, there's a complete witch hunt without any fair and proper process which allows his defenders, and there will be plenty, to point out that Wallace is the victim of that witch hunt. It's all so bloody binary.
Greg Bobkin
Silver Seagull
- May 22, 2012
- 16,293
I've gone back in. I got as far as 'plucky pudding evaluator' last time - but just one more sentence would've given the game away, I'm sure!I did wonder. I did the same, read a couple of lines, thought "yes, this sounds plausibly Johnson" but there are some decent giveaways if you persist with it
Algernon
Well-known member
Reading the things he's supposed to have said, his alleged behaviour, and seen pictures of him posing he comes across as a sleazy perve.
Yuck.
Put it all away and keep it to yourself you dirty old man.
Yuck.
Put it all away and keep it to yourself you dirty old man.
- Jul 7, 2003
- 47,666
ROSM
Well-known member
I went to an Xmas party a few years ago. Middlesex cricket club were at the same venue (different function room) for theirs.
Mike gatting was drunk, lewd and offensive to women. Phil Tufnell did confront him. Pushed him out the room and made sure the ladies (and men) were ok. He brought drinks and was a calm presence. His buying drinks wasn't as in ' you will not say anything' way.
I heard him tell a suit from middlesex that something had to be done about MG and he was prepared to put it in writing.
I have no reason to doubt his sincerity. But I'm fairly sure there were many others who say it and didn't do anything
Right Brain Ronnie
Well-known member
Did they reply at all?