Chris Evans after Gregg Wallace - too big to fail?

[mids2019]

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/4839335/chris-evans-sexual-harassment-bbc-flash/

Should we be looking again at Chris Evans since the quite right disgrace of Wllace?
Switched on virgin radio and Chris had apiece about the North East and Hadrians wall on his allegedly topical breakfast show. Someone definitely keeping his head down.

I agree with Gregg taking a step back but is fine for Chris Evans to address behaviour in the past or is he too big to fail?

I think Russell Brand really did cross the line and is now effectively cancelle d. I don't know what the police are doing or the CPS but it is all going slowly which seems to be the eternal pattern. With these things like Mohamed so Fayed you tend to have. Couple of brave women willing to push their cases and there the flood waters break and all the complaints come out when women feel they will be bwlieved.

I think GW is toast because we have a changing attitude towards sexual comments etc. which he has fallen foul of. As I said there are a number of ma or presenters probably hoping the spotlight isn't shine on them cu rrently.

Be careful not to conflate Russell Brand and Greg (I’m not putting that extra g Greg you can go fish) Wallace. Brand is accused of very very serious sexual offences.

I believe her (the teenager on The Big Breakfast)

Isn't that how justice works there is no time to it?

I think some offences do time out, but not all.

I am not sure what the statute of limitations is, but presumably if the police investigation in 2016 (?) about events of the early 90s did not lead to charges, then it wouldn’t if it was re opened now.

It's difficult because it's complicated. I think:

1. First and foremost there must be true justice not witch hunt justice
2. Just because something happened in the past doesn't make it ok, people absolutely need to be held to account for historical actions
3. But things were viewed differently then. I listened to his breakfast show, and laughed at things which would now appall me. That doesn't mean there's a legal case to answer
4. Most importantly is that we learn, and we can model better behaviour now to the next generation
5. I don't think he's specifically referenced behaviour towards women, but I know CE has been pretty open about things happening in the past which he wouldn't do again

CE always creeped me out. Even in the 90s he felt like an outlier. He, like Chris Moyles came across as sniggering bullies surrounded by enabling sycophants. I would not be surprised at all if allegations came out.

I don’t care if he’s cleaned up his act since, people knew right from wrong in the 90’s. This is why his behavior stood out because despite the Sun style ‘phwoar!’ type headlines, we could see lines being crossed by many of these celebrities.

I remember Harvey Weinstein used to be on the Chris Evans Radio 2 show every year when he was at the BAFTAs. I don't remember Chris Evans ever apologising for that. One year there was a young actress on at the same time (that tiresome friends round Friday that he did) and Weinstein offered to give her career advice, told her to come to see him later. I always wonder what happened to her.

With the TGIF thing about recording his producer on the loo. I clearly remember that as my ex thought it was hilarious and it made me paranoid in case he recorded me. Chris Evan's wanted to record people and his producer vetoed it so he contacted her partner and got a camera installed in their loo instead. He had film footage but only played the audio as the lawyers banned the footage.

I think he may have cleaned up his act now but in the past he was an absolute shit

From reading the post title, for one horrified moment I thought the OP was proposing Chris Evans as the GW replacement on MasterChef!

It’s not cancel culture if this behaviour would get you fired in literally any other workplace.

From the sound of it Gregg Wallace has been known as a sex pest for well over a decade and shouldn’t have been getting away with it for this long.

12 ago my colleagues went to a work event with GW. The next day at the office, all anyone was talking about was how they had to physically shield a newly-engaged, totally uninterested 25-year-old staff member from GW’s unwanted advances. The man wouldn’t leave her alone.

This is about more than double entendres. You can’t just go around making people deeply uncomfortable in a work setting and expect to still be employed.

Are we going to start to police people's personalities now? I don't like Greg or Chris but I expect they wouldn't like me either. As someone who grew up last century I am not particularly outraged by dodgy remarks and a bit of bum pinching. He didn't rape anyone (as far as we know), just pushed things a bit too far on occasion like a large number of ill mannered men do. Really with all the terrible things going on in the world to have so many hours of news devoted to these minor misdemeanours - that's the real outrage for me.

To be fair to BBC, they have no way of investigating CE or what happened because they didn’t employ him at the time.

It’s the equivalent of saying a Sainsbury’s manager was sleazy when he worked for Tesco 30 years ago.

The police investigated it, as they should, but the woman dropped her case, as is her right.

I don’t think BBC can drop CE on the basis of this. However, if another ten complainants come forward, as they have for GW, there might be a valid case for bringing employer into disrepute?

I have experienced sexual harassment in the workplace like many women, and it’s never OK. It’s about the power imbalance. We do need to proceed with some sense of caution though.

Im surprised MN is letting this head stay up

The toilet filming prank horrified me even at the time - I still think of it sometimes if I’m out in a public loo somewhere. Obviously a whole production team thought of this as a great gag but FFS it was his show.

AFAIK, the BBC haven’t “employed” CE for several years - he works for Virgin Radio now and has done since 2019.

So your bar is whether someone was raped?

Sexual harassment is awful. And that's what it is.

I started working in the 90's. Sexual innuendo was still fairly commonplace but was still awful, to be the but of people's jokes. Nothing short of bullying behaviour at best, sexual harassment at worst.

No one deserves to be harassed in the work place.

Why?

I'm really not saying sexual harassment isn't wrong but get a sense of perspective. Harassment would be an ongoing issue. Not the odd distasteful remark.

@SheilaFentiman Because its riddled with implications/suggestions that CEs lawyers would find interesting

And see my previous post re Caroline Flack

Is it? It seems to me to be commenting largely on public domain stuff.

@OneNiftyPoet so as long as the perpetrator only makes one distasteful remark/action to each woman that is okay? And why should bum pinching be okay?

By the way a huge percentage of girls in schools have experienced some form of sexual harassment, is that okay? This behaviour is not last century it is still happening

He’s always been an arsehole. When its former girlfriend was having his first child, he went off on holiday with a mate. He said he was sitting talking to his friend and said, “she’s in labour now,” and his friend thought his girlfriend was having someone else’s baby but Chris said, “no, it’s my baby.” Apparently his mate couldn’t understand why the hell Chris wasn’t there and had come on holiday instead and Chris said that at that age, he just didn’t even consider that he should be there.
Now whenever his wife gives birth, he’s very public about getting there on time by helicopter from a gig or rushing there from being in the pub. I just think what a dickhead to have gone off on holiday when your first born was due.
And he had lost a few jobs and paid some money out for some of his behaviour. Seems a bit of a dick really.

@SheilaFentiman There’s a lo of speculation and name calling IMO

Then feel free to report those posts to MNHQ if you are worried for them.

@SheilaFentiman Yes I know that. That’s why Im saying surprised its still here

Caroline Flack was an abuser who killed herself rather than face the consequences. If a man had done that, there wouldn’t have been the ridiculous “be kind” movement which a lot of people, on here and in the real world, consider navel gazing bullshit.
I don’t have any sympathy for a domestic abuser.