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Original poster

Is Esther Walker just as bad as Giles Coren?

115 replies

cousingregsgal · 28/03/2022 07:09

There have been lots of threads about Giles Coren already, but I read an article on Ukraine written by his wife, Esther Walker, and I think she’s just as bad as him.

I know this was published last week but I’ve been catching up on news after a big work deadline and was totally shocked at this article Esther wrote about the “emotional labour” of talking about what is happening in Ukraine with her 8 year old. This is a week after Giles’ article about being totally bored of Ukraine. What is The Times thinking? It’s completely tone deaf and the worst sort of first world problem for Esther to complain about her “emotional labour” from the safety of one of the Corens’ multiple residences while Ukranian families are being shelled as they try to escape cities that are being bombed. Can’t she put Newsround on if she finds the “emotional labour” of it all so unbearable? Bloody hell, lady. Go and volunteer for the Red Cross or something rather than whinging on about your “emotional labour”!

Is Esther Walker just as bad as Giles Coren?
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Original poster
cousingregsgal · 29/03/2022 16:38

She is a columnist who writes very revealingly about herself and I am saying this is something I would be interested to know about. Are you saying that everyone should just politely ignore the way Giles behaves because it’s “mean” to mention it? I think he is pretty mean to people on Twitter, and showed no consideration for Dawn Foster’s family when he abused her after she died, or for Michael White when he publicly accused him of being a paedophile. I’d be interested in how Esther feels about the fact her husband called a young writer, “a barren old hag” and how you navigate those kind of outbursts if you have young children.

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Schools2023 · 29/03/2022 16:41

If you disagree so strongly with him writing horrible things about people on the internet why are you doing it too?

TooBigForMyBoots · 29/03/2022 16:50

You might well find the Coren thread funny but imagine if it was you they were writing about. You only have to have 10K followers on any platform to be considered Tattlelife fair game. A couple of viral post and apparently it's okay for anyone to say anything horrible they want about you?

I'm not on Tattle, but I expect that even they would do something about creating a Polish sock puppet to send yourself antisemitic messages. Or calling people who disagree with you paedophiles. Or crow at the untimely death of an actual journalist, tell lies about her and hope she would rot in hell.ShockShockShock

TooBigForMyBoots · 29/03/2022 16:54

Or threatening to beat people up or rape them.

As unpleasant as Tattle is, it isn't nearly as unpleasant as the RL Giles Coren.Angry

Soffit · 29/03/2022 17:11

He is nice. Always has been nice. It's just a personality he adopts to maintain a following. It's easier to do it if you are notorious than if you portray yourself as kind because there would not be much interest in yet another bland, nice columnist.

Doubleraspberry · 29/03/2022 17:18

@Soffit

He is nice. Always has been nice. It's just a personality he adopts to maintain a following. It's easier to do it if you are notorious than if you portray yourself as kind because there would not be much interest in yet another bland, nice columnist.
But why does a genuinely nice person want to make money from writing things that hurt others? I'm genuinely asking that because it's not a way I'd like to live my life. He writes things that read as discriminatory, sneering and offensive. Why?
TooBigForMyBoots · 29/03/2022 17:28

It's just a personality he adopts to maintain a following.

I understand his writing "persona", but you've got it the wrong way round @Soffit. He is not nice, he is a nasty, racist, misogynist arsehole. His writing persona is actually a nicer version of his real self.

Original poster
cousingregsgal · 29/03/2022 17:54

Why is commenting on someone in the public eye’s behaviour horrible? I think Giles Coren’s behaviour is horrible and the pair of them have been totally silent about it. There was never any apology to Dawn Foster’s family.

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Original poster
cousingregsgal · 29/03/2022 18:02

@Soffit When Dawn Foster died at the age of 33 Giles’ first Tweet read “ When someone dies who has trolled you on Twitter, saying vile and hurtful things about you and your family, is it okay to be like, "I'm sorry
for the people who loved you, and any human death diminishes me, but you can fuck off on to hell now where you belong"? An hour later his second tweet read: 'When someone dies who has trolled you on Twitter, saying vile and hurtful things about you and your family, is it okay to be like, 'I'm sorry for the people who loved you, and any human death diminishes me, but, HA HA HA HA HA HA'?' What a nice man.

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Soffit · 29/03/2022 18:43

@TooBigForMyBoots

It's just a personality he adopts to maintain a following.

I understand his writing "persona", but you've got it the wrong way round @Soffit. He is not nice, he is a nasty, racist, misogynist arsehole. His writing persona is actually a nicer version of his real self.

Perhaps I deliberately used the word "personality" rather than "persona" for a reason @TooBigForMyBoots. I won't elaborate any further.
Doubleraspberry · 29/03/2022 18:51

@Soffit I'm afraid I just can't reconcile someone who is genuinely kind at heart with someone who wants to make their living hurting others. It doesn't work. It's not a good or honest way to make a living, stoking prejudice and snobbery.

Original poster
cousingregsgal · 29/03/2022 19:08

@Soffit How does using Twitter to abusing a 33 year old woman who has just died constitute adopting a “personality” to build a following? What sort of following would that attract?

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Original poster
cousingregsgal · 29/03/2022 19:18

Does the “personality” that Giles adopts to maintain a following include these Tweets? Who are these followers? They must be total c*s.

Is Esther Walker just as bad as Giles Coren?
Is Esther Walker just as bad as Giles Coren?
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Zotter · 29/03/2022 19:24

I find GC v unpleasant.

I read EC’s article, I didn’t think it was tone deaf.

Soffit · 29/03/2022 19:25

Perhaps a psychologist will come along and explain it.

It takes more sympathy to understand the plight of a "bully" than it does of the obvious "victim".

Soffit · 29/03/2022 19:26

He is not being "nasty" on purpose, that's all.

Original poster
cousingregsgal · 29/03/2022 20:04

How do you know whether or not he is being nasty on purpose? Surely as an adult he should have enough compassion and empathy not to behave like this? Writing a really horrible tweet and then revising it to something just as horrible an hour later very much suggests that he is acting on purpose. He is in his 50s. The fact he doesn’t do these things on purpose seems ridiculous. He’s not a child. Not that anyone would accept that excuse from a child. If a teenager behaved like that and was attacking other students on social media like he does they would be suspended or excluded.

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somewhereoverthechipshop · 29/03/2022 20:08

Nope. She can’t be as bad as that ignorant fool Giles Coren.

somewhereoverthechipshop · 29/03/2022 20:10

@cousingregsgal

How do you know whether or not he is being nasty on purpose? Surely as an adult he should have enough compassion and empathy not to behave like this? Writing a really horrible tweet and then revising it to something just as horrible an hour later very much suggests that he is acting on purpose. He is in his 50s. The fact he doesn’t do these things on purpose seems ridiculous. He’s not a child. Not that anyone would accept that excuse from a child. If a teenager behaved like that and was attacking other students on social media like he does they would be suspended or excluded.
Absolutely. It’s completely outrageous that he has got away with so much, so many times.
VladmirsPoutine · 29/03/2022 20:14

Didn't Giles write something about the most sexual holiday being abroad with his then toddler? Didn't he mock the death on one of the most astute and erudite leftist journalists? So if his wife's job then is to pop along and say "lol he didn't really mean it" she is as bad as him.

Perfectlystill · 29/03/2022 20:27

@cousingregsgal

I like MN and Tattle. I wasn’t aware that the two were mutually exclusive. Who are you? The bouncer of MN?
I do, too. I also dislike Giles Coren and feel mild irritation towards Esther.
TooBigForMyBoots · 29/03/2022 21:37

@Soffit

He is not being "nasty" on purpose, that's all.
He tweeted crowing about Dawn Foster's death.Shock Then deleted it and tweeted an edited version.ShockShockHmm Seems pretty on purpose to me.
Doubleraspberry · 29/03/2022 22:50

@soffit is hinting that they know him personally. Things he’s written in the last suggest that he is quite a tortured soul. But there does come personal responsibility. Lashing out at everyone around him when he has such a loud voice (national media) is really not decent behaviour and a difficult childhood doesn’t justify it. Many of us have really horrible experiences in life and we manage not to take it out on others.

Original poster
cousingregsgal · 29/03/2022 23:07

It’s interesting that Giles lies about his height and tries to pass himself off as being 5 foot 9 when he clearly isn’t (according to Tattle). That in itself suggests he is extremely insecure, as well as being volatile because he is so thin skinned. He seems like he has a classic case of Narcissistic Personality Disorder.

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Habbyhadno · 29/03/2022 23:18

I LOVE Esther Coren, she's honest and funny and I've read so many of her blogs, columns and I want to say a book (I'm sure I read a book of hers years ago) and agreed with every word. Not sure why you're hating so much here OP.