Fiona Bruce

[MayThe4th]

If Fiona Bruce had just clarified what was being referred to when talking about Stanley Johnson being guilty of domestic violence that would have been understandable. But to then go on to say that it had only happened once? Did that really need saying?

we all know domestic violence doesn’t start with a broken nose…

I'm glad Refuge are standing by her.

She was quoting what Stanley Johnson's friends had said. She said his wife hadn't commented on it but his friends said it was 'only once'. Suggesting that they were confirming it happened but minimising it. Those were the words that they used which is why she used them. I think she was trying to make the point that they were the ones trying to minimise/excuse it.

I wonder why she felt the need to clarify that his mates said it only happened once rather than that his victim said it he had hit her many times over many years?

Yasmin Alibai - Brown has also retweeted this form Carol Vorderman:

Stanley Johnson hit his wife often, once so badly she was hospitalised
This is proven & was not the political debate on the BBC when a host should put the 'other side’
Big difference
If this had been a racist attack, would Fiona Bruce have said "his friends say it was a one-off"?

She was quoting what Stanley Johnson's friends had said. She said his wife hadn't commented on it but his friends said it was 'only once'.

Why? Why did she cite his friends??

You are wrong in your second point. She said he hasn't commented/

His wife had commented on the abuse and said it had happened many times over many years. Fiona Bruce didn't feel the need to mention that though.

Surely adding the final sentence makes it far more damning. It takes it from "she says he broke her nose, he hasn't commented" to "she says he broke her nose and his friends confirm it but have tried to minimise it."

Also this on Twitter

The factor that is ignored is that there was no need for Fiona Bruce to provide balance as Kenneth Clarke had already told us that he found Stanley Johnson likeable - indeed at that point she maybe should have said "though we know from his friends that he broke his wife's nose"

I'm struggling to quantify how left wing you must be, to suffer from the delusion that the BBC never spreads a left wing narrative.

I'm looking and I think YA-B has deleted that Tweet. She has , however, tweeted a link to BBC complaints.

She doesn’t look like a DV apologist IMO.

And sadly the way the world works is she can’t say he broke his wife’s nose as fact because he hasn’t been convicted. That’s how words in the media worked. She was right to say his wife claimed it because that’s exactly what happened. She was very professional in that she didn’t risk any sort of defamation (before anyone starts I believe he broke his wife’s nose but people in the public eye can’t risk stating that as fact when he hasn’t been convicted) and she didn’t bring her personal opinion into it.

Id rather look at the fact she’s been aDV ambassador for 15 years and merit her on that, not on the fact she gave context to someone else’s comment ie did her job

Stanley’s ex-wife was a close friend of a friend of my mum’s. It wasn’t “only” once.

how was she supposed to know a factual statement was gonna bring out the drama llamas and hysterics?

Nope. Not buying that. Literally no one has heard it that way. Well, almost no one...

DV campaigners are drama llamas and hysterics?

That's not ebon internalised misogyny.

Let's not bring logic and common sense into this please, it is our duty to be outraged by everything.

I watched it and didn't interpet it as others, I always wonder how much are peoples actual thoughts and how much are people rallying together after seeing people dissect it on social media. A member of the audience said he was a wife beater, she gave some context to that so they wouldn't be sued for slander as he was never formally charge. I read it that she absolutely rightly believes her account to TB and used the part about his friends as a way to add further gravitas to the fact he did it; sadly we know the accounts of women aren't always believed. The 'only once' comment is probably true in the case of breaking her nose, which although I'm sure FB knows is the tip of the iceberg, is the thing that's in public. Its not fionas place to speak on behalf speculating about things, she also has to be mindful of what's okay to say and what opens them up to the possibility of being legally challenged.

If people really think she meant it as in its fine it was only once then perhaps they're chronically online a bit. Refuge responding is likely to the social media backlash rather than anything else.

*even

It's never 'only' once. Sadly.

FB also, for the purpose of balance, felt she needed to tell Professor Robert Winston that some people disagree with him that you can’t change sex.

A member of the audience said he was a wife beater

It wasn't a member of the audience!

It's not been disputed by anyone.

Eh?

Is that a hard and fast rule?

Because Im not criticising BBC or FB and I’m still appalled at SJ and the thought of him getting a knighthood

Politics should have nothing to do with minimising domestic violence.

However, I suspect that a lot of the criticism of FB comes from a position of wanting to criticise her for her perceived affiliation to the Tories.

Have you read the quote? She did say his wife disclosed the abuse to Tom Bower

Ugh I hate it when people make things up.

Did I say DV campaigners? No. I’m saying the cancel culture lions who are going nuts because she said a few words they don’t think she should have said as part of her actual job.

Seriously some of you are bloody scary with your exaggerations and misinformation and complete inability to see things in the context they’re being portrayed in.

The panellist said along the lines of 'Stanley Johnson is a wife beater, he broke his wife's nose'. I could understand if the interjection was 'allegedly', or 'I have to mention that he is not here to defend himself', that kind of thing... but his friend said he did it once, it was a one off

This

What's left wing about not condoning domestic violence?