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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Michael Barrymore

585 replies

ChairsAndStairs · 06/02/2020 21:29

I’ve always wondered why his career was so badly damaged by what happened at his house.

It was awful that a man died, but he was never found guilty and it was never proved that he was in any way involved - as far as I remember.

He was so popular before and had a really strong career. AIBU to wonder why people turned against him so quickly?

I don’t mean this to be a goady thread, just generally wondering why he was the ‘only’ fall guy for what happened.

OP posts:
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6
contentedsoul · 09/02/2020 19:23

I too saw the documentary
Dear god, what a vile man Barrymore is.
Being drugged, raped and then drowned.
I felt sorry for the victims dad. Can't imagine what the poor man has gone through.

As for MB and his "mates" Karma to each of you.

MulticolourMophead · 09/02/2020 19:34

I looked in Wiki and it says it was confirmed he died from drowning? And apparently the anal injuries were only 4 hours old even though he had died 12 hours before or something

I've only just read this thread, but remember Wiki has many editors, and time and again we find that people have edited for dishonest reasons.

Wiki is useful, but should always be taken with a pinch of salt.

NemophilistRebel · 09/02/2020 19:36

Even Barrymore himself could be editing they wiki page

aroundtheworldyet · 09/02/2020 19:39

I’m sure his legal team are editing Wikipedia

lynzpynz · 09/02/2020 19:52

I'm still astonished how badly the case was handled forensically that with a limited suspect list and known murder site there has never been a formal charging which has proceeded to a trial and resulted in justice for poor Mr Lubock who must have suffered terribly.

CherieBabySpliffUp · 09/02/2020 20:00

According to the bbc new evidence has been uncovered after the media appeal. Hopefully it proves useful.

Flagg · 09/02/2020 20:17

Re bent coppers, McNeill and Spooner were criticised for bungling the crime scene, but a decision was made not to discipline them:

www.standard.co.uk/news/eight-mistakes-by-police-in-barrymore-pool-death-case-6920659.html

I wouldn't be surprised if at least one of those cops knew Barrymore 'socially'.

longwayoff · 09/02/2020 22:24

Funny handshakes always a possibility. Still, let's hope the Lubbock family get some justice. Remember how it was impossible to prosecute in Stephen Lawrence case until, suddenly, it was.

Fedupwithmyhouse · 09/02/2020 22:46

I was also very young when this happened and just remember a man drowning in MBs pool and until this documentary I hadn’t given it any more thought really but obviously now know it was much much darker than that. Had also pictured huge party with lots of guests and MB possibly not even knowing who was all there.

I don’t know how the other guests live with themselves. Imagine one of them was someone you knew or worked with, knowing they had been there and must know what went on.

A couple of others have said this but I totally agree if this had been a 30 year old woman the whole thing would have been handled entirely differently or even if it had been a man from another family. I don’t think the fact that his family appeared a bit rough around the edges will have helped things.

jakeyboy1 · 09/02/2020 23:15

I only just watched it. Left me feeling cold re Barrymore. I am amazed however that-
1 - he hasn't run out of cash yet for legal fees
2 - he hasn't got coked up and blabbed to anyone yet, surely only a matter of time.

That poor family.

Patroclus · 09/02/2020 23:32

Rape is a statutory offence in England and Wales. According to the law, rape is sexual penetration of the vagina, anus, or mouth of another person, with or without force, by a sex organ, other body part, or foreign object, without the consent of the victim.

Rubytinsleslippers · 10/02/2020 07:32

Documentary was horrific. Poor man. Why were the other guests not talking?? And why are pathologists allowed to keep peoples medical reports in their sheds?? Hope justice is served.

Roussette · 10/02/2020 07:44

Apart from MB, I think the other guests have got away extremely lightly. Maybe it's because it's a long time ago but as a PP mentioned, look at the Stephen Lawrence case... the press were all over those suspects/ murderers, and their names were prominent.
Yet we barely know these men at the party, why hasn't the focus been on them more? I presume the high profile of MB has helped them in this respect.

ChazsBrilliantAttitude · 10/02/2020 08:36

One of the many things that really concerns me about this case is that the person or persons who did this is still out there.

Somewhere, thanks to the cloak of silence, is at least one probable murderer and rapist living freely.

SouthWestmom · 10/02/2020 08:54

Ruby I thought that. The wife was keen to emphasis the locked away in the shed bit.

Iamthewombat · 10/02/2020 09:32

I can remember how this story was presented in the news when it happened, in 2001.

The implication was very much that Stuart Lubbock was a star-struck gay man who had gone back to Barrymore’s house for some post-club fun and, well, we’ll spare you, the delicate public the details because it’s a bit, you know gay and seedy and you don’t want to know, OK?

I found that weird at the time: as if the events were inherently shameful and secret in a way that they would not have been if a 31 year old woman had gone back to the house of a famous person, post club, for a ‘party’.

I concur with the poster who said that if the Lubbock family had been, say, solicitors or teachers, the case would have been viewed very differently. Instead, because Stuart worked in a meat packing factory and the Lubbocks were emphatically not middle class, the story was presented as if he were a bit of rough trade who kind of brought it upon himself. Distasteful.

I’m glad that the real details are coming out now, and that the people present at that party have been publicly named. They all know what happened. The CPS may not get a prosecution, but I hope that those people carry the stigma for the rest of their lives.

One thing is certain: Michael Barrymore’s career is finished.

Spidey66 · 10/02/2020 10:08

I felt so sad for the Lubbocks, especially Terry who looks so frail. The poor guy is likely never going to know the truth about his son.

MB knows, I'm sure of it. He came across as a self pitying shovelling piece of shit.

I'm old enough to remember Barrymore in Strike it Rich etc. Some of those scenes from his old shows were cringeworthy looking at them in today's eyes. The one where the guest said 'you're so handsome' and MB (for want of a better word) started dry humping her? And I saw the post where he was looking up a young Susan Boyle's skirt?

Vile man.

Spidey66 · 10/02/2020 10:11

Shovelling, not shovelling.

Also meant to add, compare his coming out and treatment of his wife to Philip Schofield.....PS does appear to give his wife some dignity and respect, unlike MB. Poor Cheryl.

Spidey66 · 10/02/2020 10:11

SNIVELLING
Damn autocorrect

ItsAllTheDramaMickIJustLoveIt · 10/02/2020 10:14

Even if it none of this had happened- as in Stuart hadn’t died or even been assaulted and there were no other major controversies, I think MB’s career would have hit a roadblock before long anyway. The way he behaved (practically assaulting his guests or humiliating them, his obsession with himself) and his type of entertainment is outdated now. He’d literally only be hitting the reality show circuit and that’s it. Some career.

But it all did happen, and whether MB had anything directly to do with Stuart’s assault and murder, he doesn’t deserve a comeback due to how he’s behaved since.

Roussette · 10/02/2020 10:19

I'm curious as to how he's funding himself. Surely the money ran out a long time ago.

Hairydilemma · 10/02/2020 10:27

He was working at a garden centre near me a year or so ago, which strongly suggests that the money had run out.

aroundtheworldyet · 10/02/2020 10:46

I guess he gets money from interviews etc? Probably got a lot for piers Morgan

I’m surprised he was working in a garden centre though!

Does he still live at that house?

Hairydilemma · 10/02/2020 10:48

www.google.com/amp/s/www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/michael-barrymore-working-garden-centre-1862683.amp

Apparently not doing it for money but ‘as a favour’ so maybe less about running out of money (if we believe him obv).

Spidey66 · 10/02/2020 11:10

@aroundtheworldyet
I did a quick google after the programme and it was sold in 2005 and again since then. Though why anyone would want to live there is beyond me.