Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To be gutted about Jimmy Savile

118 replies

mrsrosieb · 07/10/2012 12:42

I have just watched Jimmy being interviewed by Louis Theroux on YouTube. He seemed childlike and lonely.
I grew up watching this guy and thought he was some sort of saint-raising £40M for charities. I cannot believe what I am reading in the press and I really hope it is not true.

OP posts:
Svrider · 07/10/2012 12:43

I think you should be more concerned about his young victims tbh...

SammyTheSwedishSquirrel · 07/10/2012 12:43

I can well believe it. I've always found him creepy and never liked him.

germyrabbit · 07/10/2012 12:44

i grew up watching him too but i never thought he was a saint

Original poster
mrsrosieb · 07/10/2012 12:45

@SVrider

That is IF there are young victims-seems like a trial by media to me.

OP posts:
BunnyLebowski · 07/10/2012 12:45

"Childlike and lonely."

Or predatory and abusive.

And it is true. So start believing.

Toombs · 07/10/2012 12:45

You should be more concerned about his victims and the organisation that covered it up for so long.

aldiwhore · 07/10/2012 12:45

You can separate his good deeds from his seedy private life (allegded) in fact I think that's all you CAN do.

Its horrible (though I am not at all surprised if it turns out true, but how can it ever be proven if he's dead and cannot defend himself?).

My friend has very fond memories of Jim'll Fix It, she was on the show, it meant the world to her and she's now struggling with the conflict between a very precious memory and the deeds of the man.

YANBU to find the whole thing disturbing. He did some great things, he may have also done some vile things. Very sad.

LadyBeagleEyes · 07/10/2012 12:45

That was his public image Op.
That's why he got away with it for years.
There were rumours about him for years, the only thing I am gutted about is he was never charged when he was alive.

Original poster
mrsrosieb · 07/10/2012 12:46

Such an odd character..

OP posts:
SoupDragon · 07/10/2012 12:46

I grew up watching this guy and thought he was some sort of saint-raising £40M for charities.

I agree. However, I can well believe what I am reading and will not be surprised if it is true. In adulthood, I realised he was a little bit strange and creepy.

PerryCombover · 07/10/2012 12:47

I think if you watch the Exposure documentary you might feel he was altogether less childlike.

I think it's normal to feel cheated if someone you believe in turns out to be different than hoped for or portrayed. It would seem that his behaviour was an open secret within certain circles and the claims made against him are similar in detail.

dottyspotty2 · 07/10/2012 12:47

Seriously, my sister met him when she was working in a hospice for disabled kids they where out somewhere and he was absolutely horrible towards the kids. He was investigated about the Jersey abuse but no evidence against him unsurprising considering it was decades ago, historic abuse is very hard to prosecute.

SoupDragon · 07/10/2012 12:47

You should be more concerned about his victims and the organisation that covered it up for so long.

Alleged. At the moment.

scrablet · 07/10/2012 12:47

Agree LadyBeagleEyes

Bilbobagginstummy · 07/10/2012 12:49

Someone on another thread posted an article quoting from an early autobiography of Savile's where he pretty much lays out what happened.
www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/uk-world-news/jimmy-saviles-autobiography-shock-as-pages-1359536

dottyspotty2 · 07/10/2012 12:50

LadyBeagleEyes they will probably always be alleged unfortunately most victims of abuse never speak out because of the fear/shame that is felt by them.

FreudiansGoldSlipper · 07/10/2012 12:51

Trial By Media really?

With so many who knew and worked with him admitting they knew, they were suspicious, the feared him this is not the media twisting facts this is the truth coming out the truth that had been hidden from the public for so long

BurlingtonBertieFromBow · 07/10/2012 12:52

Well it will always be alleged because he is dead so can't be tried. But it's looking pretty conclusive.

And as for all this 'he's dead, leave him alone'... what? Yes, let's lay off Hitler, he's dead, he can't defend himself...

ShirleyRots · 07/10/2012 12:52

How many more people need to come forward before people will stop saying "alleged"?

He'd dead, and even if he wasn't he'd still have denied it. There are family members coming forward to say that they were taken to parties where abuse occurred, there are many, many women coming forward, people are claiming that they heard "rumours" throughout his lifetime.

LeeCoakley · 07/10/2012 12:57

I thought that the climate we lived in now meant that predators would find it hard to be protected, not only from people who know them but from the media. How could the tabloids have been silenced so effectively for so long? To know that someone well-known could stay protected is frightening and makes me think there are others out there carrying on these revolting practices confidence they can't be touched.

dottyspotty2 · 07/10/2012 13:00

Was years ago though things have changed for the better BUT these predators will always find a way to worm their way into families but most abuse still occurs within families.

Rosa · 07/10/2012 13:01

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

aldiwhore · 07/10/2012 13:03

I don't doubt most allegations are true, but when someone is dead they cannot have a fair trial, the victims can never get justice. It's a crying shame that so many knew and no one said anything (and the few that did were brushed aside)... I AM angry that so many people NOW come forward saying they knew, or it happened to them. I understand the why the victims didn't come forward sooner, I never reported my attacker after all, so I cannot criticise them for their reticence... but ifyou don't come forward (understandable as it is) whilst the perpetrator is alive, then there is NO POINT coming forward after they're dead, because 'justice' can never be done.

When a victim makes a choice to be silent (as I did) they are making a choice for it to be a crime that someone gets away with.

I am pretty sure Jimmy is as guilty as hell, but at the same time I believe in the justice system, the right to a defense, trial by jury, and punishment. He cannot defend himself, there can be no justice, he can't be punished if found guilty. He's dead. The boat has very much been missed. It's enraging.

I'm also feeling awful I never reported the crime against me, so maybe if there is any 'good' to come from this, then it's that point alone. (It wasn't Jimmy Saville in my case, but a random sterling upstanding member of the community I thought was untouchable).

DreamsTurnToGoldDust · 07/10/2012 13:03

Rosa, how do you know for a 'fact' that what the woman said was bullshit?

YouOldSlag · 07/10/2012 13:04

That is IF there are young victims-seems like a trial by media to me.

Should we risk many victims not being believed because somebody's calculated and manufactured public image is so saintly?

One of the cruellest things you can say to a rape or abuse victim is "I don't believe you".

Don't underestimate how powerful JS was. He was extremely well connected and powerful. One young victim-vs-universally popular and famous TV star who raised millions for charity? you can see why they didn't come forward. He was just too powerful. It would have been too hard. They wouldn't have won.

It's THEM I feel sad for, not Jim'll Fix It fans who don't want to believe it.