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Gregg Wallace’s class defence just doesn’t work. Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty
“I’ll munch the living daylights out of your little tart.” It’s the sort of thing a woman might expect from the local park-bench drunk, not a BBC star paid £400,000 a year. Yet that’s exactly the remark Katy Brand received while appearing on a 2013 episode of Celebrity MasterChef, after Gregg Wallace decided to test out his charm on the 45-year-old comedian.
Suspended and disgraced, the host’s future already seems in doubt, especially now that several other women have accused Wallace of unseemly sexual conduct. Yet if he’s since apologised, albeit partially, what’s striking is less his vulgarity — and more the eagerness of powerful men to blame women for their own misconduct, relying on cynical class justifications as they go.
Though the scandal is only a few days old, it seems clear that Wallace has form in the crassness department. Quite apart from the “tart” innuendo, 13 other people have accused him of inappropriate behaviour, including senior BBC presenter Kirsty Wark. At one point, Wallace allegedly talked openly about his sex life. Elsewhere, he apparently took his top off in front of a female worker, saying he wanted to “give her a fashion show”.
Wallace’s conduct for other channels is also being scrutinised. During the filming of one Channel 5 series, a female co-worker claims he often made inappropriate sexual comments, including discussing spanking and domination.
These allegations aren’t exactly surprising. If true, Wallace would only be the latest male celebrity to treat female colleagues with disdain. Yet whatever the truth — and investigations have been launched — I’m most struck by his defence. “In the newspapers, I can see the complaints coming from a handful of middle-class women of a certain age, just from Celebrity MasterChef,” is how he put it on Instagram. “This isn’t right.”
And though he’s since abandoned that line, Wallace’s apology for the apology doesn’t feel much better. “I wasn’t in a good head space when I posted it,” he said of the original video. “I’ve been under a huge amount of stress, a lot of emotion, I felt very alone, under siege, yesterday, when I posted it.”
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SubscribeI just thought Gregg Wallace was annoying. Turns out he’s crass too.
I’m afraid I’m with Brendan O’Neill on this one. Rude and crass behaviour from a TV celebrity seems to be getting a lot more scrutiny than some other far sinister goings on.
But hey it’s TV land so we must go over it again and again and again. Maybe it’s some sort of redemption for Saville, Edwards, Harris… and then maybe not.
The BBC is a cesspit of crude smut and that is why many enjoy watching some of its smuttier programmes. Why should we be surprised if that liberated attitude spills onto relations between those presenting and taking part?
It seems Julie Bindel is transitioning into the late Mary Whitehouse. Gregg Wallace may be crass, perhaps crasser than most but this is not abuse along Jimmy Saville lines. The current BBC denigrates proper gentlemanly standards of decorum. Vulgarity is part of its modern DNA.
Yeah it’s weird.
A rude and crass joke is what now?
Sexual abuse?!
Really?!
Is that where we are now?
I find the world of TV and celebrity so baffling. On the one hand we have sexuality rammed down our throats at every opportunity. And in the same moment we have a new desire for prudishness. It’s very odd.
Take the Sports Personality of the Year awards. An all female presenter cast. The very lovely Alex Scott is wearing a red dress with most of the front missing showing a fair degree of cleavage and skin. She looks great. But it is sexually…. interesting to say the least. Are we supposed to not be stirred by that? Are we supposed to not notice and pretend that there’s nothing to see?!
Perhaps the institution of Shariah law would be helpful
Errrrr. No that’s not what I’m saying.
I have no problem with sexuality on display. Alex Scott can wear whatever she likes.
I also have no problem with Greg Wallace being a %#$¥. I wouldn’t have him on TV for various reasons. The fact he’s crass just adds to the list.
I would just prefer people to be a bit more adult. And a lot less sensitive.
And the programme ‘Naked Attraction’ where contestants appear completely naked and have the most ‘explicit’ conversations. Fellow presenters and staff don’t need the smelling salts for all ‘this’ smut? No, this is about the power grab. Getting more of the males out to replace them with females
I can see your quibble about what constitutes sexual abuse, but you miss how dehumanizing it is to boil down women to sexual objects. With the medical journal Lancet referring to women as bodies with va***as and Johns Hopkins calling women non-men (both call men men), it’s easy for women to feel dehumanized. Maybe it’s not sexual abuse, but it hurts anyway.
I thought Greg was accused of being embarrassing and vulgar to women not that he actually boiled them down to make them into sexual objects. I would jolly well think boiling women down would hurt. Is the Lancet and John Hopkins implicated in encouraging such extreme practices?
It’s more than crass and sexist, it’s abuse of power.
Couldn’t agree more. The level of attention to this is bizarre. I find Gregg Wallace very disagreeable, unfunny and a complete dinosaur. As a young woman I can remember coming across his type on any number of occasions. Such encounters were embarrassing, I blushed easily and didn’t have the confidence or quick wit to snap back at them. I must confess I thought they were long gone the whatever afterlife there is for lairy, vulgar men. That kind of ‘wit’ only works when it’s done without any hint of aggression, Wallace is not in that category. However he is far from the same league as the groomers and rapists.
Good points.
The only thing I would say is that viewing figures suggest such dinosaurs are still popular, and apparently popular with women. And personalities do come in packages – it’s no surprise that behind the scenes someone is the same as they are in public: just less inhibited.
BTW – you don’t have to be witty. Faced with this at a conference an old girlfriend of mine stood up, said simply and loudly “I’ve had enough of this basic conversation” and walked off.
Amerikans love that behavior and just elected the best representative .
Perhaps Mr Wallace can become White House chef.
Prince Andrew should move here also
They all equally deserve scrutiny and censure. Failure to deal with one doesn’t excuse the other.
Yesterday we learned that the “culture” secretary, Lisa Nandy, had been in discussuions about this “issue” with the BBC. After all, its a national crisis isn’t it?
I just don’t understand this overreaction. Master chef was a double act and Wallace played up the role of the working class cheeky chappie to the other guy’s straight man. I hate lewdness but for goodness sake it seems to be everywhere these days so this suddenly shocked reaction to a behaviour that had been tolerated for some time does appear very strange. Why wasn’t he immediately slapped down? O’Neil’s point is a valid one and shared by many.
That the PM has commented on this piffling matter that should have been handled far earlier by programme makers etc is absurd. It’s all a huge and very stupid distraction from far more serious and threatening matters afflicting this country.
It’s annoying that a gay man can be as lewd as he likes and no one has a word of criticism – Graham Norton’s every word is laced with innuendo. I don’t enjoy it, but more to the point I hate a double standard when I see it. Greg Wallace certainly lacks discretion and good judgement, amongst other things, but I fear it is that his kind of bawdy sexuality is currently considered unfashionable and he is a soft target, whilst the red chair innuendo is untouchable.
Good point – and I’m guessing both programmes have a mainly female fan base – like that other den of iniquity Strictly come dancing.
So true. Also if you watch YouTube there are a quite a lot of pretty naff ads which are full of double entendres. They make me sick as does blatant hypocrisy.
Nu Britn convicts without trial, no presumption of innocence until proven guilty, and Starmerde will only increase this seditious movement, but actually backed by law- Interesting as to how with the world close to world war, the ” meeja” makes this story the main news item.
That it was on the front page of so many paper. as if it was the worst thing that is happening in the world tells of the depths we have sunk to.
Totally agree. If he had been slapped down few times, he would have been forced to adapt his behaviour and control what came out of his mouth. For the govt to be making high level comments is ludicrous.
Man tells off colour joke. That’s basically it
Which is described in the article as “abuse”.
Bit of Pot and kettle here I think
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sCRohDqWDcw , it’s a BBC documentary ( I know, I know) but JB is in it, her and the interviewees are quite open that when they were younger they were using the feminist movement to “guide” confused middle class / student activist women between their legs “Political Lesbianism” they called it or grooming as it would now be known. This is the time stamp for the part of the documentary, https://youtu.be/sCRohDqWDcw?t=370
Are you to the left of Clinton-era liberalism as I’ve just heard the fake conservative podcasting community described?
Man takes liberty?
Tasteless man cooks with Hairy Chest .
If the allegations are true then Wallace is clearly a crass arsehole (quelle surprise) with little understanding of appropriate boundaries between professional colleagues.
But that doesn’t make O’Neill’s point less valid. Wallace’s clumsy innuendos and somewhat tragic middle-aged sexualised posturing (which as far as we know is all that he is accused of) has been all over the BBC and Guardian for days. Much more attention paid by them to this than, for example, the somewhat more serious allegations recently levelled against a famous, very talented, and faultlessly progressive fantasy writer by his former female employees.
——
Wallace seems like the kind of tone deaf fool that is incapable of reading the room and accepting that you have to adjust the tone of the bants to who you’re with.
If it was a private situation with a friend or colleague that’s overstepping the mark, then a good mate or HR will probably give them a bit of a nudge back in the direction of acceptable behaviour. Maybe being a celebrity puts you a bit out of reach of such subtle reminders.
The acceptability of racy jokes and humour also depends on your relationship with the person. I’ve got a very good friend – he’s exceptionally polite and well-spoken, but has the bawdiest, most ribald British boarding school sense of humour in the world. He fully lets rip with me – we’ve known each other 20 years, he knows I’m not offended. But he sure doesn’t do that at work and I would be horrified if another guy I didn’t know that well said things like that to me.
It speaks of Wallace’s arrogance that he thought he could force his crass sense of humour on everyone regardless of relationship or situation.
Perhaps such men could be described as having female phobia. If they aren’t liberation-adjacent they must have something wrong with them. It would helpful to have a female phobia week?
Now this conversation about a TV presenter is being extended by our Jess into one about sexism in every institution and across all walks of life in the country. The TV presenter seems to being held up as a typical example of what women endure in the presence of men in the workplace.
The Prime Minister couldn’t find time in his schedule to meet a woman campaigning for pension equality, but he can have his office issue a statement over a TV programme. The estimable President Zelensky was previously known for some grotesque TV ‘comedy’.
Male banter is always a form of unattractive self-advertisement. Performed among a gathering of other men, it is a way to avoid them fighting each other. Their default setting is competition. The sharp edges of this have to be smoothed by some process.
Additionally, there’s no more successful a way of making something acceptable than treating it as a joke, and asserting that anyone who doesn’t find it amusing is deficient in humour. Among some American men ‘of a certain age’ it’s still possible to find the ghastly late Benny Hill regarded as ‘a funny guy’. I’ve had conversations with them. Though to be fair to them, it’s his character of Officer Dibble that is most remembered. Though even that could be regarded as demeaning people who are neurodiverse.
Couldn’t make head nor tail of this.
On Benny Hill, I used to dismiss him as simply crass – but have discovered recently that some of his sketches are a lot cleverer than they appear. By no means all, but some.
Much of his humour hinges on a kind of desperate, hopeless male sexual longing in the face of attractive young women – perhaps a kind of humour that middle aged men increasingly “get”.
https://youtu.be/myRjJmu6ass?si=8mJrUhrOEP-Cqjdj
One of his best skits was when he was standing by the bed looking over at his frumpy wife. He says with a sneer, “Good night, mother of six,” and she replies,” Good night father of none.”
Brilliant.
Its often the man who is the real butt of the joke.
Julie Birchill, I would read an article by Julie Birchill on Greg Wallace, less so one by Julie Bindel. One B seems to have lived, and enjoyed, life, acted disreputably and in the process probably told some off colour jokes, amongst other things. The other B seems to be a sour faced scold, who doesn’t seem to much like men, on several levels.
Seems to me that Brendan O’Neill was right.
Yes.
Let’s face it. The women who went on the TV had made lifestyle choices…..
The BBC would describe one abuser who had got a 14 year old girl pregnant, as a ‘boyfriend’
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/1607307.stm
Sounds like B O’N is just another of JBs pet hates. Any word from Billy Bragg on the subject.
The trouble with B O’N and the Spiked stable is they produce the same articles again and again and again, just with different subjects. It’s so predictable that I know what line an article is going to take before I read it (middle class hyprocrites etc etc). It’s not that they’re wrong; it’s that they rarely have more to say.
B O’N’s youtube interviews, on the other hand, are very good.
If Gregg Wallace is a working class hypocrite, then so is the toolmaker’s son. The self-appointed head of Mary Harrington’s morality industry who thinks his job is to micro manage this sort of thing and bravely took time out of his busy schedule to speak up about this yesterday.
Gregg Wallace almost certainly went well over the line.
But any remotely competent organisation would have handled this all in house when it occurred.
And Gregg Wallace probably wasn’t the only person engaging in whatever off colour behaviour went on. Probably the worst. But unlikely to be the only one. And plenty of people had to turn a blind eye for years. Until they all suddenly care about it now.
Isn’t about time some one outed 2 Tier Keir Mugabe or is there a super injunction keeping everyone silent
Agree. They always seem to be happy to tolerate these people – whether dirty old letchers like Wallace or more serious actual physical abusers – until someone decides it’s time to throw them under the bus. Wonder what they’re trying to distract us from…?
What interests me in all this is “why now?”.
Were complaints made many years ago and ignored/hidden by the BBC or has something happened recently to make old complaints relevant?
Another Grauniad article masquerading on Unherd. Part of the show’s charm (and the reason women watch it more than men) is the old-fashioned set up and nature. If the double act of Wallace and his co-presenter works then it is because one is straight-laced and “professional” while the other is more empathetic and funny. You can’t have two serious presenters or the show loses its charm. Are all the times Wallace comforted or went soft on contestants, after they had been given a rollocking, to spare their feelings being taken into account? The only charges that should be laid against him are the comments/actions towards staff members on set. The puritanical contestants who have got on their high horses clearly didn’t realise what the show was about when they went into it. If he overstepped the line a few times – making a joke to a comedian is one of the examples – is it surprising for a show that has been going on so long? I was hoping that there would have been a more nuanced take from the author. Her claim that he is disreputable for having left school at 15 or being cheeky or coming from Peckham (or perhaps all three) was particularly jarring for someone claiming this has nothing to do with class.
I will agree that his video wasn’t particularly edifying and damaged his case. He should be let go (based on the interractions with staff members) but the producers will probably kill the show.
Good post. Not my kind of show, not my kind of humour. Are all women repulsed by it? Not at all, many go in for it themselves and really seem to enjoy it. To be honest, not my kind of women either. I find it crass and unintelligent.
But it’s a big world and people are OK with different things. Unless there is much more to see here it is silly to describe a social faux pas or lack of taste as abuse.
Have you seen his other shows, unbelievably crass unless watching machines turn out malt loaves in their millions is what interests you! As for Masterchef, primetime bilge in my opinion. Anyone can be a food critic, it only needs tastebuds. It has no recognition of important food issues like healthy nutrition, sustainable food production or reducing food waste. It will be good if GW is cancelled by the BBC then they may have to think of some better programmes to fill our airwaves. Programmes that do not elevate beyond criticism obnoxious characters with little talent who appear to get gratification from their power over others.
Hard not to agree. I did once watch “is it cake?” Don’t think it’s one of his though. Contestants have to decide if an object is real or made of cake. I kid you not.
It’s not quite clear what kind of men JB does approve of. If they lean too far feminine that’s clearly a big problem. Too far masculine likewise. If they disagree with her at all that’s a major problem.
One thing is for sure: absolutely none of her approved type of men would get anywhere in the entertainment industry. And especially not in the branch of the entertainment industry which targets the specifically female demographic shows like this are aimed at.
I am no mathematician, but I understand that the notation for that set – based on reading many of her articles – is Ø or { }.
It seems clear that there is no type of man that Bindel can bring herself to approve. She has said, “put … all [men] in some kind of camp” and that “unless men get their act together, have their power taken from them and behave themselves.” (Source: “Radfem Collective” website)
It’s regrettable that so much media attention is paid to such repellent people as both her and Wallace.
Am I the only one suspecting that behind the middle age, middle class jibe was the suggestion that these women were feminists of a certain age rather than old fuddy duddies. That is, that they were being professionally or ideologically offended.
That would explain JB weighing in on this one.
It was my take too. Women who believe men should behave in a way that they dictate. While his comments were inappropriate, this should’ve been handled by a quiet word in his ear rather than a full on vilification!
Maybe they were initially, and he didn’t change his ways.
That’s what’s been reported.
Then they should’ve replaced him and it would’ve been his own dumb fault. But they didn’t and so it’s the Beebs own dumb fault.
If your point is that he should have been cancelled years ago, I have some sympathy with it.
I don’t watch the show, but it sounds like part of the dynamic was to bring on people who would rub up against him in a way that would entertain the viewers. If so, then they are bound to tread quite close to causing genuine offence.
Was JB never invited to take part?
To be replaced by women saying similar things to and about men with impunity. There even appears to be a suggestion that this kind of thing happened on the show itself.
My Father said to me “What is acceptable in the rugby club is not acceptable when ladies are present. ” Irish foremen told the site that there would be no swearing or inappropriate language in front of the lady engineers. One man said something inappropriate and was taught manners by a foreman: he was off carried on a stretcher by n ambulance crew.
A friend’s father worked his way up from a Birmingham slum to be a MD of a large metal company and apart from studying for a part time Batchelor of Commerce from Birmingham University, he bought a book on Etiquette by Debrett . He said learning etiquette was as important as learning law and accountancy and no one was promoted to manager if they failed in etiquette. He said etiquette was too important to allow a manager to lose a business deal because of poor etiquette.
What is ignored is that the middle class left have mocked chivalry, gentility and good manners since the French Revolution. Along with the American influence post 1960s it has come to be viewed that politeness, good manners and chivalry are signs of weakness by men. As boxing is no longer taught to boys, few men undertake tough manual work and or been in combat, many men feel insecure when confronted by physical violence or the threat of it. Hence the success of Saville, Weinstein, Epstein and the rape of white working class girls in Northern England. A combination of cowardice and greed prevented men confronting Saville, Weinstein, Epstein, the Pakistani Muslim men , etc.
A Father who boxed in his youth, played rugby league and undertook heavy manual work or been in combat would be unlikely to allow another man to insult women in his family. Men mind their Ps and Qs when they know they will receive a beating if they do not. An example are the women who worked( some were run by women ) in pubs in tough parts of towns, especially the docks where they were protected by men’s chivalry.
Amazon.co.uk : debrett’s guide to entertaining etiquette
The high dudgeon middle classes might be shocked to hear that swearing in Household Division officers messes, the Hunting field, the shooting field, and London’s smartest clubs is considered quite normal… its part of the social horseshoe that links the upper and working classes, and misses out the middles.. and also so amusing !
It is learning what is appropriate in any situation. Some ladies are easily shocked, others are not. Officers who box and play rugby in the Armed Forces are tough which helps them being relaxed in the presence of tough men.
I have known several ladies who prefrerred working on construction sites because they did not receive unwanted attention but were also very good at put downs. One very good fit engineer who played hockey, was buxom and was wearing a tight jumper that day on site and a man said ” You do not get many of those to a pound “. She replied ” You do not get any”, then laughed. She was highly respected. She clambered around a very muddy, site, carried heavy loads up ladders and was technically very good and quick.
My Father said to me “What is acceptable in the rugby club is not acceptable when ladies are present.
Women played hockey and mixed with the men, both rugby and hockey players. We all got on. Funnily enough I cannot remember the feminists playing sport . I can remember friends who read very difficult STEM subjects, played hockey and were spotted by talent scouts for top publications such as Vogue, but I cannot remember any feminists with such accomplishments.
The lazy ( or terrified?) BBC just looks at the viewing figures and if they are good it sticks rigidly to a “winning” formula – which then leads it into protecting ( and projecting) its “stars” – whereas in truth there are countless people out there who could do the job ( of eg show hosts, newsreaders and football pundits) equally well. However the BBC – and also ITV – repeatedly makes “celebrities”’out of rather unexceptional and easily replaceable people – who then turn out, unsurprisingly, to have their flaws. Why not spread the work around a little more, keep everyone better grounded, more reasonably paid and less likely to go off the rails?
Hey! Stop it with your sensible arguments.
Wallace may have behaved in an offensive manner. But it is hard not to get the impression of a bunch of #MeToo feminists hunting him down to seek his cancellation and destruction for offending them, though he has not apparently committed criminal offences. If he has then why no action until now? And why have so many of these females gone public about this after such long intervals – e.g. Kirsty Wark complaining about an inappropriate joke in 2011 – 13 years ago. Why did she not go public then? She’s hardly a shrinking violet! And where were all these Woking Class Wimmin when their sisters were being horrendously abused in Rotheram, Telford and elsewhere? I don’t recall a public crescendo of outrage and disgust from their quarter at the time. Brendan O’Neill is absolutely right in proffering his perspective on this tawdry subject and pointing out that Wallace is not in the same league as these revolting monsters.
Offence? I take afence out hunting and on the gallops… but no where else…
At least Unherd are alowing comments, but that’s about the only positive I can attribute to this article. You are part of an ugly pile-on based on a man making some racy jokes. You are one of the pitchfork and torch crowd now.
To be honest it’s more of a return to form. Expect more anti male stuff now that the trans war seems to have been largely won
Crass he is – Jimmy Saville he isn’t
The reaction to Wallace is well over the top. At worst he was inappropriate. He should be able to move on from this. And it is awful for Bindel to make light of O’Neil reference to the rape jihad against English girls. Of course, feminists of one kind or other are very keen to point out even minor indiscretions as long as the alleged perpetrator is a white male. And they invariably support the policies that made atrocities that occurred in Rotherham and elsewhere possible.
https://theheritagesite.substack.com
On reflection Wallace’s PR advisor should have told him to come out as a trans-woman.
She/they/ze could then be as abusive as she/they/ze liked to middle-class women of a certain age and the BBC/Guardian wouldn’t even notice.
Plus if she/they/ze fancies it, she/they/ze could even dress up in bondage gear and a fright wig then parade her/their/zer junk in front of kids to gasps of admiration about how stunning and brave she/they/ze is from the sort of person who will happily throw their own kids on a bonfire if it means they receive social status for their inclusivity.
Honestly, this public relations stuff is a piece of p1ss.
If an entitled unreconstructed geezer is placed in such a frontline job then there must be covert agreement to his views for which he is an embarrassing fall guy.
He is a boorish middle aged man who clearly should have been pulled up for this crass behaviour a decade or more ago in the workplace.
This not about wokery or being a prude, it is about respecting people. When you work with people especially in a transitory situation err on the side of caution and keep the locker room talk to your mates or people you know well. It isn’t the 1990s anymore.
His outburst at the weekend and subsequent non-apology smacks of total arrogance.
Also not sure the Whataboutery Brendan O’Neil (usually more thoughtful at least) comment has got to do with this. A famous well paid presenter ‘scandal’, especially on Beeb after all that has gone on will always get more ‘coverage’ than Northern crime issues. Shit but the way of the world.
No-one argues that the police and mainstream media acted disgracefully over the grooming gangs which is of course a much bigger issue in the grand scheme of things. Only Labour MP Ann Cryer tried to highlight the issue upwards.
A famous well paid presenter ‘scandal’, especially on Beeb after all that has gone on will always get more ‘coverage’ than Northern crime issues.
That’s a bit off-kilter, don’t you think?
Gregg Wallace has always struck me as dull, coarse, and to be honest, not overly bright. That said, he is unlikely to die of loneliness at the BBC or among the galaxy of other “celebrities” promoted for our “entertainment”. It seems to me that many of those now accusing him of “abuse” are toughened self-publicists who recognise a rolling bandwagon when they see one.
The history of Feminist Thought
Men hate women.
Women are victims.
Men hate women.
Women are victims.
REPEAT
… until a male writer is allowed, in the mainstream press, to point out the flaws in the argument.
13 years ago?
Why wasn’t she offended then? Any of them, for that matter. Why are they suddenly all victims now? This offence archaeology is baffling.
He is a bit rough and ready, Benny Hill like, both of whom are unacceptable in the overly sensitive, let’s all take offence, age. Of course, little direct evidence, other than hearsay. The rule of the mob, focus of hate and poverty of spirit writ large. Let’s cruicify the guy. His accusers are just as bad as he is, but one would think there would be more important things to discuss this week.
Well what a surprise a feminist writer piling in on men
“…the local park-bench drunk… Suspended and disgraced… his vulgarity…the eagerness of powerful men to blame women ( a typical feminist invention I suppose)…treat female colleagues with disdain… an abuser…the terrible pressure on women…sexual harassment…the offending man…violating their self-worth… ”
And to finish it all. in case you haven’t got the message
“to reflect on who the victims really are”
Where have I read all this before? In the thousands on feminist articles in the press. Women, victims, women, victims, repeat, repeat
Have you got the message?
July 2024: Douglas is cancelled by a female BBC presenter for telling a rude joke… in a TV show.
December 2024: Gregg Wallace is cancelled by a female BBC presenter for telling a rude joke… in real life.
Life imitating art.
Wallace was initially cancelled for mimicking a s e x act to a production assistant trying to remove a stain (no laughing) from his trousers. That’s way beyond a rude joke. Would you like that to happen to a daughter, your wife or sister?
Two people (I’m guessing men) disagree with this? You’re fine for this to happen to your daughters, wives or sisters?
Man does what alpha males do as it’s perfectly normal and some middle class people dont like it. Nothing is “right”. This puritanical leftist nonsense is so funny to watch.
Women are victims, women are victims, women are victims….
Unherd readers have you got the message?
Indeed. Yet Unherd relentlessly provided a platform to numerous feminist writers and no anti-feminist ones.
Brendan O’Neill a ‘proud anti-feminist’? Evidence please?
I say that in his opposition to trans lunacy alone, he’s a better friend to the female sex than a lot of soi-disant feminists.
Thanks Caroline. The idea that Brendan O’Neill is an anti-feminist – ‘proud’ or otherwise – is absurd. He has been openly critical of anti-feminists, most notably Men’s Rights Activists.
Mike Buchanan
JUSTICE FOR MEN & BOYS
Gregg Wallace has over many years been enabled, if not downright encouraged, by the powers that be to adopt the persona which now all of a sudden is getting him into trouble. I find it despicable that he is now the victim of a witch hunt because I don’t think him unintelligent and he could easily have been steered into less provocative behaviour decades ago. He is yet another victim of the industrial scale hypocrisy which plagues this country where individuals are fashionably acceptable then become unfashionable and then are persecuted. “Use every man after his desert, and who shall ‘scape whipping?” And add in “…every woman” as well.
When is Unherd going to invite a male contributor to counter the feminist mainstream narrative?
The name “Unherd” is just plain ridiculous. We never hear from the unheard.
And the so-called Missiom Statement is a downright lie.
“we make it our mission to challenge herd mentality wherever we see it”.
Feminists seem to have got a foot in the door because of the trans issue, but are now using the platform for their stock in trade male bashing.
BTW – Excluding KS from this. She can write, she’s bright, and she can see more than one side of an argument. And it’s not just the same old story.
“Victims”? Can one really be a “victim” of a vulgar comment? I’m fully supportive of the dismissal of an unprofessional and vulgar boor who’s ignored warnings – hell, I’ve fired such people myself. But using the term “victim” – it’s all a bit of a concocted and theatrical mortal affront. Just be angry for a bit and then move on.
If he broke the law, then it’s a matter for the police, if he broke workplace rules then it’s a matter for HR. Senior men and women need to step up at the BBC, report allegations like this and stop protecting the ‘talent’. The ‘stars’ overpaid and over protected, and again and again it leads to the alleged behaviour and worse. Contracts need to be tighter, with clawback clauses (how many shows might end up in the bin unaired due to this) – but really this should be handled by an employment tribunal not trial by media. In the UK and abroad there are much much worse things going on that need addressing.
Yet if he’s since apologised, ——-> For the life of me, I have never quite understood the hyper-reliance that is placed on apologies, typically expected of people accused of or known to have engaged in lousy behavior. “I’m sorry” doesn’t make it okay; it doesn’t erase the board. It may be a step toward rehab and redemption, but it’s just that – a step, not the entirety of the journey.
At the same time, O’Neill raises an important point. Where was the uproar over that activity? There seems to be a gross disparity in the level of heartburn on display here. A person can say that both things are bad and that would be true, yet one of those things is generating more concern than the other.
The problem with apologies in the current age is that they are not seen as evidence of contrition, but as confession of guilt. The social pile-on is often worse after an apology.
It was Kirstie Allsop not Wark who made the complaint that he informed her of his sexual exploits shortly after meeting her for first time in studio.
I suspect it comes down to this. A question of Character. There are way too many people in many walks of life, MP’s, Councillor’s, Lawyers, Journalists TV and media personalities, and all the way down to the lowlife men who though abuse of teenage girls was ok. All of questionable character. Until they are all called out and brought to book, stories like this will continue.
There are way too many people who can’t tell the difference between a bad joke and genuine abuse.
So many more important things to concern ourselves with. Women portrayed as poor little victims once again. Try writing about what’s happening to women in Iran. Yes, he was crass, but who hasn’t been? Let he who is without sin etc.
Only just subscribed, so don’t seem to have a name yet – oops! But I am a woman, in case someone assumes I’m a man.
To be fair, O’Neil is factually correct, at least in my experience.
Sorry Julie,
But your brand of feminism where men are something to be feared and hated is well past its sell bye date.
If your lot hasn’t been so misandrist in the past and screamed to high heaven every time a man wanted to open a door for you, or complemented you on your clothes; I might have had more sympathy.
No one with an IQ higher than a plant thought Greg Wallace was anything other than he was. A rough chippy bloke who got lucky.
Like the men on building sites before him, yelling “get yer baps out for the lads” to any passing woman is part of what they do.
The response should be either a quick one in the nuts or a withering remark about their family jewels.
It should not be sobbing all over the press saying how they had to leave tv because they were so traumatised. As for Kirsty Wark; how would she know? She spends most of her time drunk from what I hear.
Your rant about Brendan is very distasteful.
Those girls were not only helpless, but treated like trash by the police, social services and the Labour Party. Not the same thing.
Check your own class prejudice before you accuse others.
It’s the BBC that I detest most of all, as they created celebrities out of Greg Wallace, Huw Edwards, Rolf Harris, Jimmy Saville – and rewarded them with huge salaries paid from our licence fees.
Tot tip for Julie : NEVER watch a Carry On film .
Wallace is a player and a success. The middle aged tarts aka middle class he annoys deserve it. We need more of Wallace and less cat ladies.
“Yes, a few of Wallace’s accusers are “middle class” — not, of course, that that matters. But others, young women in junior positions, certainly aren’t, especially compared to the man himself. Let me put it differently. Who, in the end, has more power: a veteran male presenter earning hundreds of thousands of pounds a year, or a female colleague on a zero-hours contract and no job security? Faced with these plain economic facts, that Gregg Wallace drops his aitches becomes utterly irrelevant.”
the obsession with so called ‘power’ is mental. men have it, apparently, women don’t, apparently. What a load of bollocks. a gigantic word salad to cover up the fact that wallace is basically a nob and nothing else; but then he’s a white male so it has to be more. love the way she marginalised and belittled the groomed girls. Go Sisterhood!
As others have mentioned, I take the Brendan O Neil POV
Everyone up in arms about some pervy, crass tv presenter
Systematic & (In some cases) murder rape of young & underage girls in towns & cities around UK by grooming gangs – For decades
Many of the same establishment commentators – tumbleweed.
Tells you all you need to know.
Why does Unherd provide a platform for numerous feminists (Julie Bindel, Mary Harrington, Kathleen Stock, Sarah Ditum…) but a platform for NO anti-feminists, who could provide well-informed balance? My recent open challenge to Freddie Sayers (Executive Editor) and Sally Challerton (Editor):
https://j4mb.org.uk/2024/11/15/why-are-freddie-sayers-and-sally-challerton-promoting-feminist-narratives-in-media-outlets-owned-by-a-christian/
Mike Buchanan
JUSTICE FOR MEN & BOYS http://j4mb.org.uk
CAMPAIGN FOR MERIT IN BUSINESS http://c4mb.uk
LAUGHING AT FEMINISTS http://laughingatfeminists.com
Basically agree – we need more balance.
But MH is not a feminist in any straightforward way, and KS is a feminist who is also critical of many aspects of the movement. It’s the ranting, unthinking stuff which is annoying – though it does seem to attract the most clicks and comments.
Because women are 51% of the population.
I can’t stand that women are made by Bindel’s sort of faux outrage to act as victims of this boring t**t. None of them told him where to get off? None grimaced and left? WTF has happened to feminism? If she really had to write something, and I guess she kinda does, Julie would do better writing an article with practical and novel suggestions on how to respond to such men who commit the crime of being old fashioned.
Wallace committed the crime of abusing his power. That can’t go unpunished. Aren’t there helpful courses for you?
Never seen this character on, as I don’t watch much TV. Sounds like one of many at the BBC, now and down the years, some found out, no doubt plenty not.
But O’Neill is near enough. There was no loud outcry – there is still none – about the hundreds of young girls systematically raped and abused by the grooming gangs. This is still happening , and the police still look the other way
Wallace has been quoted as saying that he ‘was in a bad head space’ when at least some of his misdemeanours occurred, and now we all are.
Is there some legal reason why the media almost universally ignores the likelihood that Wallace is on the autistic spectrum? His son is autistic and his behaviour is classically autistic, totally failing to recognise the effect that his alleged behaviour (which is crass, inappropriate and unacceptable) has on others.
In age when neurodiversity and mental health concerns are high on the public agenda is it not gross hypocrisy of the media to conduct a witch-hunt on somebody very likely suffering from a neurodiverse condition which could lead to mental health issues?
If that’s the case, he shouldn’t be in that position. He should’ve been out after the first incident.
If a chef no longer can speak about tarts, what are we going to do with the spotted dicks and the faggots?
Can we also have a think about this magical word ‘inappropriate’. If I disagree with something you have said I can tell you so, but deploying ‘inappropriate’ implies what exactly? That important third parties also disagree with what you have said? What third parties? 99% of civil society, 51% of civil society (evidence please), God, the Koran, my mum?
Ditto the word ‘offensive’.
I hold no candle for the likes of Wallace, but to describe his background (grew up in Peckham, left school at 15, presented himself as a cheeky Chappy) as disreputable, utterly destroys for me the credibility of this contributor.that description reveals a set of attitudes behind which lies goodness knows what unadmitted agenda/s.
As an American, finally, after many decades of wondering, the definition of “tart” as used as a pejorative by the Brits, has been revealed. Thank you Greg Wallace.
Yeah, I see him as the dark little paradigm of media liberalism, the unspoken point de capiton. The power handed to these freaks and fanatics on TV and their disproportionate influence on the ordinary population.
Boring, boring! Next!
Men and boys can do beautiful things, but sometimes they don’t. Abuse of power is abuse of power, whatever the sex of the perpetatrators or victims. It’s got nothing to do with feminism, and it’s plain wrong.
I’m disappointed with the misogynists showing up here. This is 2024. Sure, I just said “no” or “go away” – but I was lucky none of them got violent – and I wasn’t desperate enough to do it to keep my job.
Some celebrities, for example footballers, think they can do whatever they like. Occasionally they get away with it – but that’s not right.
What a tool this guy is. What an egotistical bully, because he knew he was abusing his power.
There’s a been alot about the manosphere last few years, It helps in a way that Wallace’s behaviour ended up in public domain. His attempt to ‘Trump-it-out’ with the middle class women retort deservedly ended up with him tipping a bucket of the proverbial over his own head. Useful example he’s made of himself.
This stuff goes on less now than it did, but it’s still there with pathetic men thinking it’s clever or defendable.
If people cared about who the victims really are, the Palestinians would not now be facing extinction.