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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To think the media need to be careful...

199 replies

apairofjeanstharfitjustright · 27/05/2023 07:17

Whatever Philip Schofield has done, I think the media need to be careful, look what happened to Caroline Flack. Completely vilified in the press and the same is happening to Philip.

Regardless of what I think of him, I think the media need to back off and tread lightly here.

AIBU or do you think he deserves all of this?

OP posts:
PoussinBoussin · 27/05/2023 07:20

This reply has been deleted

This has been deleted by MNHQ for breaking our Talk Guidelines.

OrangeFleece · 27/05/2023 07:23

This could have been dealt with years ago before the media got hold of it and all the gossip spread.

lollipoprainbow · 27/05/2023 07:29

Agreed, he'll now be hung out to dry by the media, that's what they do though build celebrities up then tear them down. Vicious.

Sirzy · 27/05/2023 07:30

These things always turn into witch hunts sadly.

yes it’s right he has stepped down but now the whole thing doesn’t need to be played out in public. Nobody is going to benefit from that.

GoodChat · 27/05/2023 07:31

He's being outed as a criminal.
Hopefully there'll be a police investigation and it'll be dealt with properly.

AlisonDonut · 27/05/2023 07:32

FFS not another Schofield thread.

At least put it in the title so we can avoid it.

Chchchchchangesss · 27/05/2023 07:32

By his own admission he groomed a child and later started a sexual relationship with him, so i think he deserves everything he gets.

Wavescrashingonthebeach · 27/05/2023 07:33

I dislike the man but I do agree that in the black and white world of the media once they have decided to tear him down they will go with both barrells, everyone is seen as All Good or All Bad, no in-between or nuances of personality. Best thing to do is avoid giving clicks to tabloid sites.

Gtsr443 · 27/05/2023 07:33

His wife and daughters. I can't imagine how they're feeling.
People on here and on social media playing fast and loose with rumour and gossip and relishing every second of it. It's very grim.

GABakingShow · 27/05/2023 07:34

It's quite shocking the way they all decide when it is fair game to have a go, after being silent for so long. Like watching vultures circling around a wounded beast.

I don't like power imbalance relationships and I couldn't understand why he was untouchable for so long. But I'm not enjoying watching him being broken.

And his poor mum...

realityhack · 27/05/2023 07:34

I don’t agree with the way the British media behaves. But this young man has been treated terribly by PS. He was 18, it was his first proper job and his 50 something “boss” had a sexual relationship with him and then got him fired when he no longer served his needs.

That doesn’t mean I think the media coverage is acceptable but no one seems to be concerned about how the young man feels in all of this.

Partytastic · 27/05/2023 07:36

Chchchchchangesss · 27/05/2023 07:32

By his own admission he groomed a child and later started a sexual relationship with him, so i think he deserves everything he gets.

Where did he admit he groomed a child?

TeaYarn · 27/05/2023 07:37

The press have no duty of care to PS. If he didn’t want this to happen to him and his family then he wouldn't have behaved the way he did.

The press need to take into account the young man he groomed but by all accounts he’s been silenced as wants to talk about it.

Kazzyhoward · 27/05/2023 07:37

lollipoprainbow · 27/05/2023 07:29

Agreed, he'll now be hung out to dry by the media, that's what they do though build celebrities up then tear them down. Vicious.

No, the "slebs" cause their own destruction by their actions.

The vast majority of "slebs" behave properly and live a relatively normal, relatively hassle free, life when they're not performing.

realityhack · 27/05/2023 07:37

Partytastic · 27/05/2023 07:36

Where did he admit he groomed a child?

He first met him via his charitable organisation when he was 14 I think. Maybe nothing sexual happened then but if it was my son I wouldn’t be happy about it.

SchoolShenanigans · 27/05/2023 07:38

People are strange. They don't just want justice, they want blood.

He's lost his job for non illegal activities. But that's not good enough for some. People won't stop hounding him until he either kills himself or hides away for a long time.

He's obviously not an overly moral person from what I can see. Probably a bit of a bitch and definitely doesn't make good decisions.

But that could be said for lots of people.

He didn't rape the guy he had a relationship with, albeit he was in a position where the power dynamics were probably off - but who really knows if you don't actually know them both.

People need to just move on and leave it be. The police will investigate if a crime took place. It's turning into a witch hunt. I guess some people are just bored and love the drama.

Thighlengthboots · 27/05/2023 07:39

Kazzyhoward · 27/05/2023 07:37

No, the "slebs" cause their own destruction by their actions.

The vast majority of "slebs" behave properly and live a relatively normal, relatively hassle free, life when they're not performing.

I agree. Maybe don’t have inappropriate relationships with teenagers if you are so emotionally fragile and can’t handle the fallout. Plenty of us manage not to behave like this. It’s not difficult.

Emmamoo89 · 27/05/2023 07:39

YANBU I agree. X

SchoolShenanigans · 27/05/2023 07:39

realityhack · 27/05/2023 07:37

He first met him via his charitable organisation when he was 14 I think. Maybe nothing sexual happened then but if it was my son I wouldn’t be happy about it.

But that doesn't mean anything! Unless you know how it all went down, how can you say it's grooming?

And he's already lost his job. What else do you want?

Theunamedcat · 27/05/2023 07:39

He could stop releasing statements?

It looks like he is giving as good as he is getting right now

Alwaysworryingoversomething · 27/05/2023 07:39

GoodChat · 27/05/2023 07:31

He's being outed as a criminal.
Hopefully there'll be a police investigation and it'll be dealt with properly.

What crime has he committed? (Genuine question as I have only read the headlines at this stage).

Chickenkeev · 27/05/2023 07:40

I think he deserves everything he gets. But people talking about 'the media', lets not forget that this happens because people buy the papers, people want it. It's a societal responsibilty to not feed the beast. But that ship has sailed. His family are collateral damage sadly.

TeaYarn · 27/05/2023 07:40

Partytastic · 27/05/2023 07:36

Where did he admit he groomed a child?

Since we’ve got the usual apologists on the thread here’s a quote from PS to help them out.

I met the man when he was a teenager and was asked to help him to get into television, it was only after he started to work on the show that it became more than a just a friendship. That relationship was unwise, but not illegal. It is now over...
'I am painfully conscious that I have lied to my employers at ITV, to my colleagues and friends, to my agents, to the media and therefore the public and most importantly of all to my family. I am so very, very sorry, as I am for having been unfaithful to my wife...

realityhack · 27/05/2023 07:41

SchoolShenanigans · 27/05/2023 07:39

But that doesn't mean anything! Unless you know how it all went down, how can you say it's grooming?

And he's already lost his job. What else do you want?

I don’t “want” anything at all. I’m merely answering your question about where these allegations stem from.

Partytastic · 27/05/2023 07:42

realityhack · 27/05/2023 07:37

He first met him via his charitable organisation when he was 14 I think. Maybe nothing sexual happened then but if it was my son I wouldn’t be happy about it.

But @Chchchchchangesss is making a big statement saying someone has a groomed a child. A statement I don’t think you should be banding about in public without evidence. If people have concerns they should make a complaint to the police.

PS has admitted he failed to report such a crime himself and failed to apologise for this he should lose his job. But I don’t think we should be labelling people a paedophile without the evidence to back it up or in general people shouldn’t be doing. We have the police and court system for that.