Richard Coles embarrassing himself

[LadyBracknellsHandbagg]

Why do these mediocre men need to keep speaking? You’d think this was written by a 12 year old, who uses the word ‘baddie’ ffs? 🤦‍♀️ It’s so full of virtue signalling, ‘look at me with all these young people showing them how cool I am’ it’s absolutely tragic.

What's weirder is that no-one would ever have known (apart from the friends involved at the time) if he hadn't revealed it in his autobiography. I would have been too mortified.

Yep JKR is a baddie

https://www.merriam-webster.com/slang/baddie

Whats the issue? He is stating some facts about the people he is working with?

He's filming his sailing show, to be shown on more 4. He's just bigging up his crew there on Instagram, and pointing out that despite being old enough to be some of the crew's grandad that they get on regardless of the age gap.
He doesn't realise that baddie can mean badass for some. He uses the conjunction but which shows the disconnect between liking someone's work but not the artist...but nor does he say which side of the debate he falls (I would imagine live and let live tbh).
He's a pleasant enough chap and he did not have to include the hiv lie in his memoir. He lied about his status and says perhaps he was attention-seeking or that there was almost a glamour there. But in other interviews, he has spoken of being terrified and abstaining at the time, well before he became a priest.
I did a lot of research into hiv attitudes a few years ago (before It's A Sin) and whilst I do not condone the lie, I can understand it to a certain extent - it fits in with some of the interviews and work I read from others: so many men were being cut off in their prime that some men were reckless almost - in a I'm going to get this anyway so I may as well bareback/others were so hurt from the gay plague demonisation they were promiscuous/carpe diem, then there were those where their hiv status meant they were a tribe/in it together/activists fighting. Finally, you had some men who wanted to catch it illogically, out of survivors' guilt.
Richard may have had his own motives, one of his friends did not speak to him for a year over it, but humans are complex. Perhaps it was to still feel connected to those on the scene, who were positive, perhaps it was because he had lost lovers and felt guilty that he was negative, perhaps he wanted to make sure potential hook ups would use condoms. There could be a myriad of reasons.
I'm not going to judge him for something from three decades ago. His husband was an alcoholic and died from his addiction. Richard then received hate mail saying his partner's death was deserved, because they were gay.
He's been through enough. Leave him alone.

A quick Google suggests Richard Coles likes JKR, so I think this is just a difference he's citing, alongside the film crew liking different music and drinking cans of pop (whereas presumably his generation would have been on the booze).

He talked a lot about his life, his mental health and his addictions. I thought it was honest and impressive. And his book about grief is also worth a read. His novels-less so, although they are quite pleasant to listen to while doing mindless housework. I think he is generally a good egg.

He’s also in a relationship with Richard Cant, son of Brian, for the older members of the group.

Ugh. He is a smug git

He tweeted about the podcast the witch trials of JK Rowling saying it was thoughtful and informative (or something like that). My favorite response was "No T vicar?" It made me chuckle.
I think he's just pointing out that differences don't need to be divisions.

P L A Y, playaway, play, play away ...😆

Richard Coles turns out to be Marmite. I did not see that coming.

When I last read the comments on the article (sometime yesterday when I first saw it) the vast majority were choosing to comment on the piece in support of JKR. So that is good. I agree with those who think what he is meaning to say is that the young people think JKR is wrong in her views and that he disagrees with that.

I know! Maybe people haven’t heard him being quite tough mon social issues.

Different strokes for different folks. At least we won’t fight over him. 😜

I just found out it was him who accidentally shopped his creepy brother, with a throwaway line in his autobiography. What a colourful life!

I think you've misunderstood OP and are, in fact, embarrassing yourself.

He's previously said that he found a podcast with jkr very interesting and informative, basically code for I don't mind the things she's saying. Devina McCall also said a similar thing about the same podcast. I know he can be a luvvy, but I don't think he's making a massive statement with this tbh.
And the person who's posted about his dodgy brother, what does that prove? I have a really horrible sister but I'm not horrible.

Except JKR isn't a "hateful woman" at all. Unlike those who hate on her obsessively, send violent threats, spread lies and disinformation about her, her politics and her motives, and more often than not appear a) to be incapable of even reading what she's actually said b) to be largely factually, historically and scientifically illiterate c) to be unable to give the tiniest shit about equality, the actual law, or human rights for women and girls in the real world.

But, sure thing, some of us are clearly "hateful" in observing that the JKR-fixation is basically a propagandist witch-hunt by lazy bigoted people who erroneously imagine they're righteous and clever but seem to demonstrate few critical thinking skills, let alone ethics or intelligence.

You’re in a bubble of people who say they’re against JKR without explaining why.

As for the Rev Coles, he appeared from that comment to be sitting firmly on the fence. Merely saying it did not suggest he agreed with them, but I think it's vile that they have clearly been so indoctrinated to hate her. He's kind of feeding it by posting that comment, unless he's questioning it with them.

Or perhaps he does and is a secret fan…!?

I’ve got the impression before now that he’s on our side actually (I think he might have endorsed the Witch Trials podcast?) and this hasn’t changed my mind!

Nor mine, I wouldn’t be at all shocked if he knew full well what “baddie” means in Gen Z terms…

I believe he has also apologised for the incident you mention OP and has said it was one of the worst things he has done.

He has addressed it many times!!

And how on earth is his brother being creepy anything to do with him? They are adults??? He isn’t his brother’s keeper - is he??

You have far too much time on your hands!

I think one of his (terrible) books is being turned into a TV series. Maybe these people are working on it?