Feedback, today: Tom Sutcliffe defending comparing JKR with Hitler

[Pluvia]

In a recent episode of Front Row

www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0015lxw

Tom Sutcliffe talked to a US philosopher about the question of whether an artist's personal beliefs or private life does or should influence the way we see their work. I think it starts about 10 minutes into the programme. Hitler was discussed in terms of his mediocre watercolours. Sutcliffe brought up the paedophile sculptor Eric Gill who had sex with his daughters and whose sculptures adorn the BBC's iconic building. Sutcliffe then went on to mention JK Rowling. He didn't have to go there. I've listened to it a couple of times. I don't think he intended to compare JKR to Hitler and Gill, but he did imply that the majority of people found her views unacceptable and it did seem to someone listening with only one ear at home as if he was comparing JKR to Hitler. I had to go back and listen again to try to work out what he meant: I suspect it was a bit too subtle. He compounded the problem by bringing up Daniel Radcliffe saying something along the lines of 'Don't let the fact that JKR is a Hateful Bigot ruin your memories of Harry Potter.' Neither speaker questioned whether JKR is actually a hateful bigot: I believe Sutcliffe says 'the majority of people' find her view unacceptable. Neither mentioned what JKR has actually said.

Sutcliffe has form for this. Last year he conducted a long interview with an academic expert on the work of lesbian painter Joan Eardley in which the academic referred to Eardley as 'queer' throughout and did nothing to question her about this. The word queer was an insult in the 40s, 50s and 60s when Eardley was a same-sex-attracted woman.

Today on Feedback he's being taken to task by women who were as horrified as I was to hear him apparently comparing JKR to Hitler and a Paedophile. Radio 4 listeners may be interested.

www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0015vm1

Thanks, will try to catch up with this later.

The majority of people don't think JKR is a hateful bigot though - certainly not as soon as they hear what she actually said!

Yes: I think there is a possibility that he thought he was being ironic, or would be understood to be ironic, but I missed that. I know two friends who tweeted him to ask what he thought he was playing at. Before Covid he presented a show called Saturday Review for years, and I don't recall them ever covering trans stuff — and I can remember him making a few remarks that gave the distinct impression his wife was one of the vipers.

I find it difficult to be too hard on him because he's a man who enjoys doing his own ironing and has always been rather good with older, opinionated women. But no one made him mention JKR so wtf did he think he was doing?

It's on at 4:30 pm

This will be interesting. Roger Bolton makes a point of challenging the BBC people put in front of him and does push them. Normally he wouldn't stand for any nonsense. But here he will be pushing at something that many in the BBC hold as a foundational principle.

Feedback isn't made by the BBC but is made by an outside production company. However, they do need to rely on the BBC to renew their production contracts.

Here we go.

It looks like there were some very lucid and effective complaints made.

RB: Did you bracket JKR with Gill and Kelly?
TS: No, it was all about a spectrum from crimes to unpopular.

TS gave ground, realising that giving the impression that this was a consensus view, and that he didn't challenge what was the echo chamber view, ie the one from a college in Massachusetts. He said it was a mistake not to give a voice to a counter view. I'm surprised, but good on TS for not being a weasel.

Roger excellent. Sutcliffe admits he got it wrong.

Callers also excellent.

Interesting and relatively balanced: TS did admit that he knew there would be reaction on social media and that was in his mind. He also said his original question as written in his notes was much more wide-ranging. Interesting that when it came to being live, it wasn't. Do wonder why.

Men complained, not just Hateful Bigots!

So it was all a terrible mistake in the heat of the moment and it was live and he's sorry for the impression he gave...

I think he probably was being honest but wtf is going on at the BBC that they are so insensitive to this?

I heard it live and it wasn't clear to me that what was being discussed was what was normal and acceptable only in the US.

Tom Sutcliffe.

But never mind, it peaked a couple of women who've been trying so hard to sit on the fence they have splinters. Straight down on the side of JKR. No going back now.

I'm a fan of BBC people and listeners beginning to realise that voicing bigotry and/or misogyny about JKR and others just because "everyone" does it actually carries risks.

Maybe there needs to be relevant unconscious bias training at the BBC.

Maybe there needs to be relevant unconscious bias training at the BBC.

What an excellent idea! Please please suggest this to them.

Roger Bolton said that many people at the BBC frightened to discuss S&G issues. We heard that from Nolan too.

It was a bit of a jaw dropper for Front Row. Quite a lot of criticism on Radio 4 - it's not just for the middle aged 2.0. A very good FB page .