Lessons come from all sorts of unlikely sources. Some people learn them from inspirational quotes on Instagram or from online influencers. I recently learnt one from a pop star you might have heard of called Sting. Not long ago I was commissioned to interview Sting for a freelance job. But then I was told I was being replaced by another writer — not because of a problem with my work, but because of my “controversial views about gender”. Never mind that it hadn’t even occurred to me to talk about gender theory with Sting (music, I thought, seemed a more obvious topic for conversation). I was out.
In Sting’s defence, I have no idea if this decision was made by him. It may have been decided by the phalanx of PRs around him, or perhaps by the person who commissioned me, who belatedly realised they’d hired someone worse than a murderous despot. If so, it would not be the first time I’ve lost work because I believe in material reality or, as the current terminology has it, am “gender-critical”. There was the PR who wouldn’t work with me on a project because, she explained, “What if my baby grows up to be trans and finds out I helped you?” There was the allegedly mouthy and fearless pop star who refused to be interviewed because I am too “controversial”. They always say they don’t want to be “dragged into the controversy”, apparently unaware that they are dragging themselves into it by tacitly endorsing censorship of those who disagree with gender ideology.
Not only finding out about something so absurd (and yes I dont under estimate the impact of women's employment) and her writing really cheered me up with all the bad news and the depressing weather.
And she finishes with this:
But I’ve learnt that it’s actually quite useful when someone says they can’t be associated with me, because life is too short to waste on cowards. And when those cowards U-turn like Starmer, women like me will welcome them. But we won’t forget.
@HadleyFreeman
Sunday Times https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/my-sting-interview-farce-shows-how-entrenched-trans-ideology-has-become-djwsftgph
Also available via https://archive.ph