Jonathan Ross

Nor intelligence, at times.

In 2007 Ross, Brand and Noel Fielding were on the Big Fat Quiz of the year.

Ross is pretty revealing in what he says about Lily Allen, Brand and Fielding.

“You’ve put the only sexually attractive young lady – well, the only young lady full stop, she happens to be very attractive as well – near two of the best known cocksmen of the business.”
Ross then moved Allen to the other side closer to other guests Rob Brydon and David Mitchell in the “sexless zone”, because that way Allen “might go home with her dress still on”, Ross said.

Brand and Fielding then went on to make rape jokes.

Lily was 22 at the time. Ross was 47.

Ross is a shit bag of the first order

https://www.news.com.au/entertainment/celebrity-life/disturbing-clips-of-russell-brand-interviewing-female-celebrities-resurface-after-rape-conviction/news-story/d6b1feb492f65c9d80c992e85f4f112d

Nuanced observations and comments often don’t go well on AIBU, I find!

In the Guardian article about the allegations, you can see Walliams flattering, feigning interest - creating a dependency. He wasn't interested in the teenagers.

FFS I'm not defending Ross there. I'm commenting on someone saying the Mandy Smith/Bill Wyman thing was commonplace in the 80s and that it was far more commonplace 100 years previously.

Reading skills really are in short supply on some threads today.

Yes because women needed a man or they'd be destitute. Nothing about that is good.

Well it wasn’t an oddity - it was celebrated on the cover of a middle of the road magazine

Well said. I'm nearly 70 and I've thought this for years. We've been told to laugh along with these men, make allowances etc. In a way we've all been subliminally groomed.

Nobody thought Bill Wyman and Mandy Smith was normal, but iirc most of the vitriol was aimed at her

In the Victorian era it was very very commonplace that there were significant age gaps between men and women. Not saying it's right, just a fact.

I'm merely stating a fact.

And actually, I have known presenters not read a full autocue of every link before an awards ceremony. They've turned up, read the first few for sound checks and then done the job. I've no idea if that's the case with Ross at this particular awards.

It was ‘normalised’ then. Remember Bill Wyman and Mandy Smith. Their wedding was on the cover of Hello Magazine and their age difference was much bigger.

I'm not giving him the benefit of the doubt at all. I'm simply saying that we don't actually know what he did or didn't know, or what he may or may not have done.

I absolutely agree that we should stop enabling predatory men. There has clearly been a culture in which "talent" (sic) has been allowed to get away with things that nobody should have been allowed to get away with. I just think that there is a very real risk that throwing out allegations without any real evidence potentially undermines the credibility of real witnesses coming forward with actual reports of harm.

This is exactly the kind of behaviour which allows the apologists for these predatory men to allege that they are victims of a witch hunt.

If anyone has genuine evidence in relation to Jonathan Ross, then bring it on. I have no desire to defend him.

There's a lot to be said for the expression "judge a man by the company he keeps". Decent people with moral integrity tend to have similar friends. If you aren't a misogynistic creep, you tend not to hang round with people like them.

Ross was and remained good friends with Brand for a long time.

The Andrew Sachs phone call was in 2008.

In 2013, Ross said it had been a bonding experience for them.

Ross told how the incident had been a bonding experience for the two of them - and had been a "genuinely nice thing" which had resulted from the controversy."Russell and I went through an unusual experience together and even though we're both embarrassed by what we did, that's fair enough - but at the same time, the only genuinely nice thing that came out of it for me was the fact that we became very close," he said.

https://www.itv.com/news/2013-02-01/russell-brand-and-jonathan-ross-talk-of-their-regret-over-sachsgate

In 2017, Brand married Laura Gallacher and Ross was at his wedding

https://www.aol.co.uk/articles/celebrities-were-guests-russell-brand-110155000.html

I do agree that it’s possible to be awanker without being a criminal - can’t stand the bloke but I don’t think lots have come forward with similar accusations - there was a definite ‘nuts and zoo’ type ‘humour’ around at that time, be it Ross, Chris Evans, a whole bunch of them including a lot of magazine journalists and a fair few women in that sector too going along with it to be one of the boys- Not saying it was ok at all - it wasn’t- but it was fairly prevalent and not just one person.

My nickname for him has been “Uncle Disgusting” for many years - watch old footage of him interviewing young female stars like Britney and it is creepy as hell

You're on the Walliams thread defending him too, aren't you?

I’ve said this on another thread about association with a criminal shouldn’t make one guilty. Yes Ross isn’t up my street but I don’t think people can go around accusing others with no evidence. If there’s evidence out there it will be found in the end.

Jonathon Ross, one of the most sought after presenters on the planet at the time, could absolutely have refused to say it. Do you think the autocue, on stage, at the event was the first time he saw the script?

He's already stated he didn't write the script. Most award presenters don't, they just read it.

Whether he could have refused to say it is another matter.