Pundit-Gate: Meet Charlotte Jackson ...

[Flat_Eric]

[IMG]http://img247.imagevenue.com/loc480/th_17568_charlottejackson7_123_480lo.jpg[/IMG]

... the shy and retiring, shrinking-violet wallflower now at the centre of the Sky Sports "Pundit-Gate" affair.

She's a presenter on Sky Sports, and it's now emerged that she's the bird (ooops, sorry .... I mean "female colleague") to whom Andy Gray made the "just help me tuck this in love" comment that ultimately led to him being shown the door.

Of course one can argue till the cows come home about whether what he said was "sexist" or "inappropriate".

But I find it quite ironic that he should be handed his P45 for making a throwaway, off-air comment to a woman who (a) hasn't even made a complaint (at least not as far as I'm aware) and (b) is quite happy to be paid handsomely to get 'em off for photoshoots in downmarket lad-mags aimed squarely at the 'Clarkson' fraternity and chock full of features to fuel the "sexist" and "demeaning-to-women" masturbatory fantasies of hormonally-charged blokes.

I mean, it's not as if he flashed his tackle at a busload of nuns is it? Or dropped his strides down the local WI and said in that lilting Scottish brogue "gather round ladies, there's plenty for everyone". I'm sure that the glamorous, "siliconally-enhanced" Ms. Jackson is more than capable of fighting her own corner and laughing it all off.

So perhaps there is some mileage after all in the suggestion that his firing from a certain Murdoch-owned TV station isn't totally unrelated to his existing legal case against a certain Murdoch-owned newspaper over illegal phone tapping.

"Dark forces at work" indeed.

- Eric

[BigStu80]

What? Because she's done a bit of modelling in the past it's fair game to be sexist and use inappropriate behaviour towards her. As you say, we can argue if it was inappropriate, but if it was unwanted attention (unwanted being the key word), then yes it's inappropriate. I've watched the Charlotte Jackson clip and she completely blanks Gray when he says that line which suggests she's probably heard it once too often.

[David Johnson]

Agreed.

I dont know anything about Grey and Keys in terms of their show on Sky. The clips shown though are far more than a "bit of banter" about women assistants and Karen Brady.

Rightly or wrongly, the info coming out of Sky Sports would suggest that the two were a pair of bullying, sexist tossers who a lot of people would appear to be chuffed to see them get their come-uppance.

Cheers
D

[Essex Lad]

Are they not allowed to have an opinion? What they said and did was off-air and that's the key. I don't believe there is one person on this forum who has never said something that they would not want broadcast.

And as for sexist remarks...Loose Women anyone?

[Flat_Eric]

I've seen the clip as well, and to me it looks like it was water off a duck's back.

If it was "unwelcome" then sure, it can be said to be "inappropriate". And if she made a complaint then fair enough. But as far as I know, she hasn't made any such complaint.

The point is that we have no idea if it was (a) unwanted, (b) welcome or (c) she really wasn't bothered about it one way or the other.

My money is on (c). Of course I don't know her personally (do you?), but she comes across as a fairly confident, ballsy type who's not going to loose too much sleep over a throwaway comment like that.

The hand-wringers are just assuming that it was "unwanted" and getting all hot under the collar.

It's a myth perpetrated by feminists and the paragons of political correctness that *all* women are bound to be "offended" by comments like that *all* the time. Which is why the hand-wringers are now just assuming that it was "unwanted" and getting hot under the collar about it.

Another myth is that so-called "sexism" is only one-way, that it's only blokes who engage in such behaviour and that no "respectable" woman would ever dream of it (which of course is complete bollocks).

I wouldn't go up to a woman I didn't know or had only just met and ask for her assistance in shoving a mike down my strides. There are also women I know well that I wouldn't talk to in that way.

But there are also a few who I know well and have known for many years who I could, would (and occasionally have) made suggestive comments to **purely in jest** and who've been able to take it in the spirit it's been delivered because they haven't had a sense of humour bypass.

And more to the point, I've been on the receiving end of exactly the same from them.

For all we know, Gray and Jackson could have a similar sort of relationship (speculation of course, but so is the assumption that she must inevitably have been mortally offended by a bit of daft, off-the-cuff banter).

Of course nasty sexual bullying, sexual pestering and any forms of physical sexual molestation are to be condemned.

But as a society we ought to lighten up a bit and not be so fucking po-faced about things like this all the time. As I said above, if she'd made a complaint then fair enough. But all this constant obsession with "-isms" and "-phobias", and the morally-conceited taking it upon themsleves to be offended on other people's behalf as they climb aboard their high horses really grinds my gears.

- Eric

[Flat_Eric]

Essex Lad wrote:

> Are they not allowed to have an opinion? What they said and did
> was off-air and that's the key. I don't believe there is one
> person on this forum who has never said something that they
> would not want broadcast.
>
> And as for sexist remarks...Loose Women anyone?


Exactly!!!!!

"Loose Women" is about as sexist (against men) as it gets. And they even get paid handsomely to do it!

But can you imagine a TV show consisting of a panel of 4 blokes banging on about how useless **women** are at this, that or whatever?

No? Actually neither can I, because it just wouldn't be allowed to happen.

Long live double standards!

- Eric

[Flat_Eric]

>>


Indeed.

Seems to me that there's a lot of hypocritical, self-righteous shite being spouted on here (about which I commented in the other thread but can't be arsed to repeat here again).

- Eric

[Sam Slater]

Deary deary deary me.......

This post could have been copy 'n' pasted straight out of a Daily Mail article. It's like the '50s dad who thinks women who've been raped, that wear short skirts were 'askin for it!'

As I said in my reply to you on the other thread, Andy Gray wasn't sacked based on this one incident. It was just the straw that broke the camel's back.

I'd also like to add that having seen the video, I see no bantering back from her. Just a little sideways smile (out of embarrassment maybe?) and a quick change of subject. Not everyone who's offended, or embarrassed, makes a scene.

[spider]

I think what's happened here is that over the years they have really pissed off their "underlings" and these people have though "right, payback-time".

That's why all these tapes are being leaked.

I work with a lot of people who I often think "one day, you are going to get your comeupance", so good luck to these "underlings".

[David Johnson]

Never mind.

Sky Sports have just announced that they have been replaced by Mel Gibson and Ron Atkinson.

That's alright then

Cheers
D