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Original poster

How is Huw Edwards different to Philip Schofield

480 replies

user6482952 · 13/07/2023 08:57

Heard this question raised on LBC this morning and was wondering the same thing.

How are the two any different? Both older men engaged with younger men, both cheating on their wives, and both claiming mental health issues post revelation.

OP posts:
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6
TimesRwo · 13/07/2023 09:36

Greenbirdgreengrass · 13/07/2023 09:31

Is it because PS got loads of sympathy and an acclaim for coming out as gay after a tough life being in the closet, and then turned out to be a bog standard older bloke abusing power to shag younger colleagues. And people got pissed at that. Like he had used them with his crappy ‘poor me’ narrative.

Tbh I always thought PS was gay. When he came out, I was surprised he had a wife and children!

Cantstaystuckforever · 13/07/2023 09:36

Fourlegsandatail · 13/07/2023 09:19

I think Schofield’s situation looked a lot more like grooming and was based in the workplace.

He met the boy when he was 15
He got the boy work experience
He was in a position of power in the workplace

Also when confronted about it Schofield lied

I think both men seem utterly grim, in their sixties seeking sexual gratification with youngsters- even if they were over the age of consent it’s still grim.

Agree with this. Both grim, but can't understand how so many people are minimising what was both grooming as well as workplace abuse of power. And the argument that it's homophobia doesn't work when it would be equally alarming for an adult star to have an affair with someone he met a few years earlier as a 15 year old girl.

frozendaisy · 13/07/2023 09:36

Because HE still presents as straight.

And a certain section of the society internet is loving being homophobic anonymously nowadays. I mean not just homophobic you can add many despicable traits onto this list, but it's certainly part of it.

RedToothBrush · 13/07/2023 09:36

Yeahyeahitsgrest · 13/07/2023 09:24

How can you say HE wasn't a household name! He was the news face of the BBC, announced the death of the Queen, presented all the major Royal events etc. Far more respected and held in esteem than PS who just did silly shows as far as I'm aware

Show quote history

Apparently one in three brits know who Huw Edwards is.

(The other two in three people live under rocks)

EnjoyingTheSilence · 13/07/2023 09:38

PS knew the young person and befriended them when they were still a child

HE the young person was over the age of consent (just) so no legal issues

Both are morally hideous, the young person is young enough to be their grandchild let alone their child. Incredibly grim

Badger1970 · 13/07/2023 09:38

When Caroline Flack ended her life rather than face the consequences of her actions, poor mental health became a "get out of jail free card" for celebrities. #bekind everyone, no matter what they've done.

Now being used to cover up and excuse much much poorer behaviour.

It's appalling in both cases. Both men with wives and families but fuck all thought for them. It's them I feel horribly sorry for today. Not someone sat in a very expensive private hospital having their ego massaged and told there there it's ok.

Allthegoodnamesarechosen · 13/07/2023 09:38

Maybe you should all be campaigning to raise the age of consent, and to shut down OnlyFans and other such sites, rather than rushing to condemn someone who availed themselves of the climate of approval.

RebelR · 13/07/2023 09:38

I don't know if the response is that different?

I suppose of there is one regarding the behaviour it's that PS was already "out" when the bigger scandal broke. Also AFAIK no money involved with PS, although I might argue the promise of using his influence to gain job opportunities was worse.

Mostly though, HE is employed by a tax payer funded public service broadcaster and has made his career out of being "respectable".

But as I said, I don't think the public response now is that different to the early days of the PS story. I'm sure people will lose interest in this one too. Both careers are over.

Everafter20 · 13/07/2023 09:38

She won't- Well if they are also asking them for sexually explicit pictures whilst knowing how vulnerable their addiction makes them then yes! Also it's just not as simple as where the money comes from. It's the balance of power between them and the age difference.

TimesRwo · 13/07/2023 09:40

Badger1970 · 13/07/2023 09:38

When Caroline Flack ended her life rather than face the consequences of her actions, poor mental health became a "get out of jail free card" for celebrities. #bekind everyone, no matter what they've done.

Now being used to cover up and excuse much much poorer behaviour.

It's appalling in both cases. Both men with wives and families but fuck all thought for them. It's them I feel horribly sorry for today. Not someone sat in a very expensive private hospital having their ego massaged and told there there it's ok.

To be fair, HE has had issues with his mental health for years and has suffered with depression. It’s now new news so it’s not surprising this event has been a trigger for a relapse.

Cantstaystuckforever · 13/07/2023 09:40

@SoWhatEh are you seriously saying that grooming someone you've met aged 15 is better than paying for cam girls/boys on a site where they're meant to be over 18, because the groomer has helped them get a foot in the door in a competitive industry? 🤯

What's happened in your past to make you feel this way? (Or Phillip, is that you?)

WrongWayApricot · 13/07/2023 09:42

Because we only know about photos and text thus far. And HE wasn't hanging about with a soon to be convicted pedophile as far as we know. If that changes I'm sure he will be treated the same as PS.

SoWhatEh · 13/07/2023 09:43

IveShaggedSomeMingers · 13/07/2023 09:24

The HE story was a non-story used by the pro-Boris The Sun to deflect attention from other news and to damage the BBC.

PS has always given me the creeps.

This is certainly true.

Mrsjayy · 13/07/2023 09:43

TimesRwo · 13/07/2023 09:40

To be fair, HE has had issues with his mental health for years and has suffered with depression. It’s now new news so it’s not surprising this event has been a trigger for a relapse.

Show quote history

Of course he relapsed he was caught out. The family going to the paper .was always going to trigger a chain reaction.

RebelR · 13/07/2023 09:43

TimesRwo · 13/07/2023 09:40

To be fair, HE has had issues with his mental health for years and has suffered with depression. It’s now new news so it’s not surprising this event has been a trigger for a relapse.

Show quote history

I imagine living a lie for forty years or more will take a toll on your mental health.

Trying to be someone you're not (for whatever reasons and in whatever way) is incredibly stressful.

Whatonearth2021 · 13/07/2023 09:44

SoWhatEh · 13/07/2023 09:20

To me there are big differences. Schofield had a relationship with someone he knew and worked with. There was common ground and years of friendship and shared experience. Whether that was grooming or not, I don't know, but the younger man had a job at a prestigious place. His life was on track. However morally dubious the motives, Schofield was helping this boy's career progress.

Edwards presents himself as a model of probity. A pillar of the church, an earnest presenter, trusted to handle the biggest royal stories. Meanwhile he is paying thousands to a very young sex worker to perform on screen for him over a number of years. It would be evident from the boy's body and behaviour that he is in decline. And the fact he is on Only Fans of a similar platform at a young age suggests his life is on a downward spiral in itself. To not care, to have no compassion about this, but to pour money into it so the boy can fund a crack habit just to let your willy go hard for a few minutes? Repulsive.

Of the two I think one is a weak man and one is a wicked man. If the stories against HE are true. Which they are not yet proven to be.

Please can you state your source for:

  1. that this happened on only fans
  2. that the young person is male
  3. That HE paid thousands for repeated sex videos (don’t include the Sun as apparently they did not see evidence, only anonymous affidavits from the mother / step father).
I’m not defending HE - just trying to point out that so much is being stated that has no basis in any kind of evidence.
MrsPapadopolis · 13/07/2023 09:45

BlastedPimples · 13/07/2023 09:07

Does anyone apart from Huw Edwards and his associates know what actually happened?

Exactly.

MsFogi · 13/07/2023 09:45

And what about the George Osborne revelations in the wedding email - they seem extremely serious but that story happens to have been conveniently drowned out by the Huw Edwards story.

SoWhatEh · 13/07/2023 09:46

Cantstaystuckforever · 13/07/2023 09:40

@SoWhatEh are you seriously saying that grooming someone you've met aged 15 is better than paying for cam girls/boys on a site where they're meant to be over 18, because the groomer has helped them get a foot in the door in a competitive industry? 🤯

What's happened in your past to make you feel this way? (Or Phillip, is that you?)

No, I'm not. I think he is a lowlife. But I can just about imagine that the young man also found him attractive in return. It happens.

Nothing happened in my own life that mimics either of them, but if I had to choose between entering voluntarily into a relationship with an older man who had showered me with dubious attention and helped me professionally because he fancied me, or sharing my body with strangers on Only Fans to fund a crack habit, I would happily choose one over the other.

MrsPapadopolis · 13/07/2023 09:47

Allthegoodnamesarechosen · 13/07/2023 09:38

Maybe you should all be campaigning to raise the age of consent, and to shut down OnlyFans and other such sites, rather than rushing to condemn someone who availed themselves of the climate of approval.

I hope all the 'cool' Mumsnetters who think pornography is 'OK'. are reading this.🙄

SoWhatEh · 13/07/2023 09:47

Whatonearth2021 · 13/07/2023 09:44

Please can you state your source for:

  1. that this happened on only fans
  2. that the young person is male
  3. That HE paid thousands for repeated sex videos (don’t include the Sun as apparently they did not see evidence, only anonymous affidavits from the mother / step father).
I’m not defending HE - just trying to point out that so much is being stated that has no basis in any kind of evidence.
Show quote history

My sole source is MN threads. I am only chatting on yet another MN thread. I'm not in court giving evidence against anyone.

StellaAndCrow · 13/07/2023 09:48

Pandaparty · 13/07/2023 09:22

It feels important to say it’s nothing that men don’t do to young women frequently. The out cry does seem homophobic.

I thought this too, though I don't know if it's homophobia or good old-fashioned sexism - society expects girls and women to be targeted and predated on by men and to some extent thinks they've brought it on themselves, while when it happens to a boy or young man, that's bad because men don't deserve to be creeped on. I'm sure I've read that rapists who target men get longer sentences than those who target women.

Yes, I'd say it is misogyny/patriarchal society rather than homophobia.

Same as the sexual abuse of young male footballers by a male coach/trainer was taken much more seriously than all the abuse of women that goes on.

TimesRwo · 13/07/2023 09:48

MsFogi · 13/07/2023 09:45

And what about the George Osborne revelations in the wedding email - they seem extremely serious but that story happens to have been conveniently drowned out by the Huw Edwards story.

George Osborne’s best man was the former editor of the Times. Not surprising he had the means to keep the story quiet.

RedToothBrush · 13/07/2023 09:49

MsFogi · 13/07/2023 09:45

And what about the George Osborne revelations in the wedding email - they seem extremely serious but that story happens to have been conveniently drowned out by the Huw Edwards story.

The legalities are massively different.

There are no people coming forward saying they are victims in Osborne's case. And no media outlets are willing to stick their necks out as a result.

Rightly or wrongly.

The Osborne story was already killed before the Edward's story really broke for that reason.

MustardCress · 13/07/2023 09:49

I don’t see much difference either.

I caught a bit of News night briefly last night and couldn’t understand why anyone was defending him. Some people in the media clearly see him as ‘one of them’ whereas Schofield never was. Hanging on to the ‘it’s not illegal’ argument with some fervour… ‘it’s only online’ seems to be sticking in their heads as if what he did isn’t utterly sleazy and exploitative. His poor wife and family.

The Schofield grooming aspect coupled with him being a children’s TV presenter is a factor too, but actually there’s HE, a safe and respected educated newsreader behaving like a typical dirty old man, and more accusations coming out. I wish I was more shocked. I am a bit surprised by the differences in attitudes to Scofield and HE though.

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