To think Phillip schofield scandal is homophobia?

[ivfregret]

Have I missed something in that the guy Philip had the affair with was not a minor?

He was a minor when they met, as was Cheryl Cole and Liam Payne for example and no one has anything bad to say about that relationship.

I'm not sticking up for Philip and really dislike him, and also think even if the runner was above the age of consent is most definitely questionable behaviour but I can't help think of it was a heterosexual affair it would not be treated in the same way?

The clip I saw of yeh interview was odd. I need to watch it full though. Him claiming the usual signs of grooming weren’t there, just chatting (publicly) on twitter. And at that point he was just trying to help someone wanting to be in the industry.

He seems to completely ignore that, even if the young man was an adult when he got him the job, that there was a huge imbalance of power. He seems to ignore that even though the young man was an adult, someone in PS position did have power. He even used that power when it was over and is still denying he had that power.

I have no idea what PS contact with this man was, when the man was a child. I still think he groomed him. He used his position of power over this man.

The same as any CEO showering the new 18 year old admin with attention, opportunities, promises of how they can help them, promotes them, takes them out to places they would never get to go, introduce them to people they would never usually meet, give them opportunities they wouldn’t usually get, at other peoples expenses would also be grooming. Might not be illegal. But it’s wrong.

Although I have seen a few things on social media today. One being that PS wanted Fern off TM because he wanted HW in, because he felt HW made him look better. It feels like he used a similar technique on HW. Got her opportunities she may not have got, opened doors for her etc for his own gain. And the relationship developed on that basis.

Also, one of the loose women was being interviewed and said that the young man in question came across as very vulnerable to the women on loose women. But I think that was post split.

That’s because abuse of young girls has for some unknown reason become normalised. It’s a disgrace in our society, they are the ones being wronged not PS.

Abuse and grooming should be equally bad for both male and female, not have shoulders shrugged because it’s an older male and young female.

This is true. People say ‘there wouldn’t be the fuss if it was a woman he slept with’ and assume homophobia. Rather than misogyny

This is true. People say ‘there wouldn’t be the fuss if it was a woman he slept with’ and assume homophobia. Rather than misogyny

So true. As if #Metoo never happened.

This is exactly what I was about to say —inappropriate predatory behaviour towards young women is tolerated and normalised to the point of open leering at female teenagers - look at the Charlotte church 16th birthday countdown clock or the school uniform fetish – however that doesn’t mean it’s ok or the benchmark to aim for.

People are just more inured to girls being treated in this way.

And it’s tied up with all sorts of negative cultural attitudes towards women and girls.

but it doesn’t matter that he had an affair. You could also say Cheryl and Liam were a heterosexual relationship. Is that relevant too?

I think the only reason people are saying homophobia is because if they only steered a sexual relationship when he was 20 and it lasted around six months, then it really isn’t as big a deal and there would be less fuss if she was a woman. Yes there is a potential abuse of power, but that’s it.

The underlying concern of grooming ‘if’ it is true, well that’s the real concern.

And I’m sorry, it is similar to Cheryl in some ways. She was his mentor and knew him from a young age. If Cheryl Cole was a man I can tell you now he relationship with Liam will have been seen totally differently!

I think if Holly had an affair with a much younger male staff member, the reaction would have been the same.

@Newnamenewname109870

I don't think that there was really a power imbalance for Cheryl and Louis when they got together - both were stars. There's no evidence that they kept in touch, with Cheryl biding her time and showering him with gifts until he was "legal", whereas that is exactly what PS seems to have done. I also don't really think that Cheryl was really a proper mentor - she did a bit of encouragement for a TV show, but she never really had power over his career, which was in the power of others. The age gap is also miles better - I mean, Blake lively and Ryan Reynolds have a bigger age gap. It's plausible. So the two relationships are really not comparable.

The ONLY mistake I made in a 41 year career

😮Throwing down the gauntlet much?
'Tell me what you know and I'll bulletproof against it before you damage me any further'

He is lucky that he was only publicised around his retirement age. It has been no loss to him, no impediment to raking it in.

I think he upset so many people for so long that his (justified) fall from grace has led to a feeding frenzy of payback.

Definitely the impression I get

He was a minor when he met phil. And Phil was in a position of power throughout. Men doing this to girls should be judged just as harshly, the reaction is appropriate. And in fact it's probably misogny that they aren't judged (because women/ girls are just there for men's sexual whims right) rather than homophobia meaning they judge this.

I think this is about intimidating MM to stay quiet. Getting his story out, trying to turn it into a pity party for him. The 'one mistake' in 41 years is a very telling statement. Ignoring lying to everyone, the power imbalance, the damage he has done to this boys life, the continual pressure on MM to lie, and deny what happened. Then apparently chucking him out when he declared his love. The decision to help this one boy, for no apparent reason, into a career in TV like it's normal for someone of his power and influence to propel a young man into such an intimate relationship and to dangle a career in TV in front of their eyes (rather than the normal hiring via HR which is one big question ITV have to answer). It must have been a whirlwind for MM and PS see's it as one mistake?

He seems to completely ignore that, even if the young man was an adult when he got him the job, that there was a huge imbalance of power. He seems to ignore that even though the young man was an adult, someone in PS position did have power. He even used that power when it was over and is still denying he had that power.

This. He thinks his only sin was being unprofessional. Even if every word he's now saying is true he's a creepy old man who took advantage.

The problem is that it's really hard to credit his version of events.

The idea that he just happened to come out to the sun a while after the guy got moved away and as form evidence had surfaced seems unlikely.

Why was the kid moved show if no-one else knew? Why did his career get tanked? How did this kid get all these opportunities which all seem to connect to Phil?

If his version is true then he's been spectacularly unlucky in terms of events validating the rumours and spectacularly stupid in lying when telling the truth would have evaporated the rumours.

I think this is about intimidating MM to stay quiet. Getting his story out, trying to turn it into a pity party for him.

MM has already decided to be quiet or he'd have spoken sooner. That seems a very odd choice if Phil treated him well, as claimed, and he's not been paid or subject to an NDA.

Older man in position of authority.

Met a child and offered that child opportunities that would not otherwise have been available.

Stayed in touch with that child (details as to how much contact I'm not sure)

Despite age gap and work circumstances, engaged in a physical relationship once that child was legally old enough, regardless of emotional maturity.

Did all of this while married to someone.

Potentially allowed wife to live decades in a lie of his making.

Used "ok I'm gay" as a cover to hide the rest of the issues.

Shows no remorse for serious lapses in judgement and potentially abuse behaviour.

I couldn't care less about whether anyone is gay or not. I object to the abuse of power, and the lying.

Plus, if I was gay, I think I'd be livid that yet again there's someone using their sexuality as a defence against some really serious accusations.

This latest interview by PS turns my stomach. The reference to Caroline Flack, his daughters keeping him safe, flashing his marriage ring at the cameras. I think he has done a "Prince Andrew Car Crash" interview. Saying he had sex with this young man in the changing rooms and it was never an affair - my goodness.

I'm baffled how it keeps moving in status to now just 6-7 times of "mates" having a sexual encounter, from "an on-off relationship", and prior "an affair"; none of his timelines of it match what others have witnessed, either.

He makes it sound as if it was his one dalliance, when others say he is notorious for these sorts of much younger man/boy scenarios and into the scene.

But frankly, I don't want anyone killing themselves over this. I hope MM has good support, and I hope PS does as well.

I think this is about intimidating MM to stay quiet.

That is an interesting and rather chilling thought.

Fair enough but did PS actually do all that’s been claimed?

Personally I still find CC and Liam a bit off and if Cheryl was a man I’m sure it would have been viewed as a scandal.

Of course you cannot know who is tasked with defending him online and on what terms. However, those parents doing so should ask themselves whether they would find it normal for their underage teenager to become "mates" with a man in their fifties and keep it going for five years leading to a job with perks. The work experience advice could not have lasted more than a few days on and off. The rest is probably unrecoverable and deleted.

As for being "mates", that is not the right word for it once you hit the sack, in any context. You become a FWB or a boyfriend, affair partner, fling, whatever... just not a "mate" anymore (not that I think it was the right description in the first place).

Fair enough but did PS actually do all that’s been claimed?

Nobody knows except him and his victim. The problem for PS is that he did enough to classify him as a creepy and then he lied incessantly.

It makes his threats to commit suicide and his requests not to speak to his victim seem manipulative.

If Cheryl was texting 15 year old Liam then that is dodgy but nobody has suggested that she was in contact between first meeting and when they started dating.

I think they are talking about the #MeToo movement and it is a very important conversation to have. Too many men and women have been abused in the entertainment industry and I doubt it will stop any time soon.

Tweedy and Payne was definitely not a healthy situation but fundamentally different. They were both wealthy and successful when the 'relationship' began. Sam Taylor Wood and Aaron Johnson would be more concerning even if they went the distance.
Tweedy never came out in a better position. She went from being viewed as young and gorgeous to being seen as the sleazy older woman who had ensnared a teenage heartthrob. He has not been positive about her and damaged her image even further through his silly comments.