Jonathan Ross

[Undahpressurah]

Is he next?

thought this could be a good place to discuss his ‘jokes’ about a 15 year old going home with Walliams. He clearly knew far more about Brand and Walliams than he let on.

Repulsive.

@Redbags my husband is my age (both late 30s) but when I was 16 I dated a 24 year old and at 18 I dated a 32 year old.

I didn't sleep with either of them, but likely would have with the man I dated at 18 if we'd have been together a bit longer. It was absolutely common in the circle I was in at the time (rock scene, bands etc) and one couple are still together now, several were long term relationships. I'm not even saying it's "ok" but it was absolutely a common thing in lots of circles back then.

There’s footage of Stephen fry resurfacing being quite unpleasant about child sexual abuse survivors. I think unless you’re a squeaky clean individual in the public eye it’s must be a very worrying time.

Good.

I am old and have always been a fuddy duddy. I saw that clip the other day and thought it was awful. I am also baffled by the idea that NF and RB were sexually appealing. Clearly some women disagree with me, and I know I am not the right age or the right personality type but I'd rather have been celibate for my entire life than have to spend ten seconds with RB. Skin-crawlingly nasty. Don't find NF even slightly attractive. The intelligent, funny, genuinely talented self-deprecating decent men, on the other hand - and obviously in this context I mean David Mitchell and Rob Brydon - very, very attractive. Surely I'm not alone in reacting this way?

Well, I didn't know that.

I wouldn't consider myself a 'fuddy duddy' but in my opinion Rob Brydon and David Mitchell are much more attractive men than RB and NF.

I didn’t know that either!

100%

Back in the 1970s, people would have been astounded to hear 16yos referred to as children. Minors, yes, but very much on the verge of adulthood and treated as such, with a lot of independence and resilience expected, and not much of a safety net for those who couldn't cope, sadly. Very few kids stayed at school beyond that age. Of those that did stay on, an even smaller number went on to university, polytechnic or some sort of professional training, and those of us who did get that opportunity were treated as fully adult. No adults at university open days, no expectation that parents would be involved in our lives at all beyond (if we were lucky) a financial contribution to top up the maintenance grant. Lots left with no qualifications. I don't know if most had jobs in their early teens, but lots of my schoolmates had Saturday and holiday jobs then, as I did. Nobody bothered much about 16yos going to pubs or 18 films. As we have seen on this thread, it was widely accepted that 16yos could be sexually active and some of them ended up married. I may be wrong, but I think you could join the armed forces at 16.

I honestly think those of you who were 16 far more recently have little concept of how infantilised teenagers are now by comparison with all previous generations. I'm absolutely not saying that it's a great idea for 16yos to get married, but plenty of us have formed extremely successful long-term relationships at not much older than that (I did myself, 6 year age gap, we've been married for 44 years).

David Mitchell attractive!?!

Yes. For me attraction is founded in personality, decency and intelligence.

I think he's perfectly lovely. Someone I'd enjoy talking to, and self deprecating, which more attractive to me than the over confident more burly men many women seem to favour.

I have always thought JR was a filthy bastard and was sickened when he took over the Film programme from the lovely Barry Norman.

So when Alan Bennett wrote of a similar scenario in his play The History Boys, was he ripping off his protege?

I entirely agree. Jonathan Ross’s wife left school at 15, and was working full time when they met. Her life experience was very different from a 16 year old now, particularly a lot of the pampered ones of MN parents.

'Children' can still enlist in the Army at 16 and get paid whilst attending foundation college. Albeit they now need parental permission to do it. My husband joined at 16, went to Welbeck and was then sponsored through uni. Those 5 years all count as pensionable service.

Well,.for starters about 10000000x more attractive than RB.

I've seen things crawling out from under stones that would meet that description!

Spot on. Even young adults in their twenties are completely infantilised.

That's a fair point! I always just thought he looked like a walking STD. I never understood the appeal.

Oh certainly not.

There's a picture in the news today with Walliams arm round a teen he's accused of grooming. Surprise surprise, Ross is in the picture too.

Infantised or now recognised that all those oh so mature 16yos were acutely vulnerable?

I mean, it used to be OK to send 5yos up chimneys.

absolutely, not sure how this was even thought to be funny at the time

It really wouldn’t surprise me. It’s not even just the “hilarious jokes” that makes me think these people’s hard drives need checking. It’s the apparent casual acceptance that this kind of behaviour (sexual assaults, harassment, grooming of children) is completely normal, to be expected and a “perk”.

Even if it’s a slow burn I really hope that the time is up for all the creeps and sexual predators out there and they all get what’s coming to them- justice for their victims and prison time for them.

This is actually a point I find very interesting.

My MIL is in her late 70s and she thinks children today are horrendously babies. She left school at 15, married at 22 and thinks the idea of 18 year olds still being kids as bizarre.

DH’s Granny (her MIL) is 103 and she thinks children should be children until 18. She thinks things are starting to go a bit far with people babying their children in their late 20s, but she left school at 12. She met her husband when she was 17 and they married when she was 19 and he 25. They had delayed marrying for a long as possible as she loved her job (they worked together) and she had to quit as soon as she married. She thinks the balance is better now than in her generation.

My thoughts exactly.