to think it matters whether Phillip Schofield met the runner when he was 12 or 15.

[couldanyoneexplain]

I've seen and heard both.
Obviously getting someone a job at 18 or 19 with exploitative intentions is sleazy in the extreme. 15 is underage and deeply concerning, but 12 is deep into paedo territory.

@bellac11

I do think it's distasteful for a 60 year old to get off with a 20/21 year old.

Regardless of their sex or gender.

And in the workplace, where the older is more senior, yes that's a problem, as the junior may feel under some obligation to go along with it.

And we have all heard of unscrupulous seniors taking advantage of juniors, though I genuinely don't this that was the case here.

But, as I said earlier, no crime has been committed. It was unwise for sure. But no more than that.

The media frenzy, and misrepresentations like the opening post here are grotesque.

What I find ridiculous whatever the age of the man, is that he is calling homophobia and saying that the only reason he’s so vilified is because he’s gay, if it had been a woman it would have been fine blah blah blah. I think the opposite though! It’s not fine - look at how, for example, Matt Hancock (rightly) got pulled over the coals in the press due to his affair with a woman and being unfaithful in his marriage. However, when Phil came out as being gay initially he was a ‘hero’ despite being unfaithful and lying to his wife all this time. If he’d sat in the sofa and said ‘oh I had an affair with a 15 year old girl and lied to my wife for my whole marriage he also would have been vilified. 🙈

This is MN though. People are happy to call an 18yo a little boy unless they’re talking in an entirely different context when 18yo’s can be ‘grown men’.
Context matters though because teens don't suddenly become responsible adults with maturity and life experience the second they hit 18.

An 18 year old in 6th form college can in many ways be a silly and immature teenager, which is relevant in some situations. It's less relevant that a boy is 18 if his girlfriend is 16/17 and in the same college, or in situations where teens being teens and having poor judgement comes into play, or (shockingly) the idea that an 18 year old might need parental support still.

An 18/19 year old in university sniffing around 14/15 year old girls is creepy and it makes total sense that an adult at university shouldn't be sniffing around schoolgirls. The fact they're legally an adult matters.

I understand what you're saying.

I agree with you about the OP

I dont know if I think that age gap is distasteful, its not my cup of tea but I know that people do have relationships with massive age gaps. Not sure what I think of that

Im confused by this to be honest, why would the relationship be a 'mistake'?

I dont get the bit about lying to ITV, what have they got to do with who he has a relationship (I get they were both employed by ITV). Is it that you cant have a relationship with a colleague or something?

Apparently there was an internal inquiry into this a few years back (which presumably us what romped him to come out as gay). He and the runner both apparently totally denied any relationship, Ie both of them lied to the HR investigators.

That is purportedly what has led to ITV sacking him - the lying to HR.

Absolutely. Smacks of a casting couch.

It isn’t just the age gap…….it’s the combination of the age gap, the fact there was contact before any relationship would have been legal and we only have a proven liar’s word nothing was happening then. But the main thing is the power imbalance.

Didnt Stephen Fry have/had a much younger boyfriend and nobody cared? Difference was as far as I know Fry’s partner hadn’t worked in a very junior position for his organisation. That type of relationship would often be frowned upon in any company even if there wasn’t an age difference.

Casting couch and abuse of power - sums PS up perfectly in my book. The man is abhorrent and disgusting and that simpering interview was awful - totally self serving and woe is me!

Didnt Stephen Fry have/had a much younger boyfriend and nobody cared?

His husband is 30 years younger and they've been married 10 years.
There was an almighty shitstorm when they got together - they suffered incredible abuse.

Harry Styles and Flack as well 😯

What do people get out of calling PS a paedophile? A 20 year old is not a child. Nor is an 18 year old for that matter.

Sure, PS is unlikeable and probably quite creepy. And a liar. But we have a legal age of consent in this country. Those over 16 are considered adult enough to consent to sex.

Those in certain positions of power have to be careful and follow specific rules, of course, but it doesn’t actually make you some sort of deviant if you’re attracted to a 20 year old FFS.

I didn’t see him simper. I saw a guy whose life has been torn apart by media hysteria. Anyone would think he was a mass murderer. The over reaction is insane.

Well his story in his interview makes it sound very straightforward. If that's exactly what happened, why did he fail to mention the nights out he had with him, including the video circulating of just Philip and the boy at a restaurant where he clearly looks to be a young boy of 12/14?

He didn't mention 'we had 1-2-1 contact including lunch out when he was younger' it was all spun to make it seem like there was no connection or contact until he was older. It's there for anyone to see- why not try and clear that up? Why avoid it when it's a 'my side of the story' interview?

When asked about his sexuality, he spun the line that it was a later in life realisation, yet said 'this isn't the interview' when asked about relationships/ experiences. Of course he has a right to privacy but again, if you're doing a tell-all, why conceal areas when you've done a big story of 'I didn't know I was gay'?

He used the fact he'd seen a therapist as ammunition (I'm fragile, I've been working through things with a professional because I'm honourable) and turned to interviewing more when he started trying to bring the interviewer in 'in television- as you know etc' trying to illicit compliance/ empathy.

Why should he have to account for his sexuality to the nation though? Does anyone else have to? The obsession with a Philip Schofield is really is getting way over the top.

Why should he have to account for his sexuality to the nation though?

PS chose to come out years ago, there was no issue. However if their is any suggestion of impropriety in the workplace, concerns around the safeguarding of a young person we are all accountable and PS is not immune. The fact he lied years ago, questions must be asked and he needs to be held to account.

What was the reason he liked to follow 15 year olds on twitter?
Deffo is attraction element I would think.

I think PS should have publicly come put years before he did.
It seemed too late and too far gone at the time.

Out*

If you’d bothered to watch the interview you’d know the guy in question asked him to follow him. Since he already followed 11k accounts, he said he would. Do we know if any of the other 11k were 15 or did you just make that up?

Exactly.

Its just ridiculous hysteria and detracts from ACTUAL pedophiles which I’m sure there are plenty of in showbiz.

In that video the runner was 19.

Someone has already mentioned the runner was born in 1995/1996. Jack Jones made that video in 2015. So he’d have been 19/20. Not 12 FFS.

And gay people owe nobody their coming out story.

I’m pretty sure the mouth crotchets are 40% homophobia 10% jealousy and 50% still furious he jumped an unreasonably long queue. People are weird.

If you jump to “he must be a pedophile” that says more about you TBH. Often it’s a good tactic to follow people back especially in the same circles and I believe he was a member of a group where PS was the patron

Eh??

So he should have done it sooner or stayed in the closet? Why?

and too Far gone for who? There isn’t an expiration date on being gay.