Brits and Aussies - Did you see this coming?
Asked by
OpryLeigh (
25305
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July 4th, 2014
from iPhone
Many of you will be aware that over the past few years there have been some high profile cases of famous people being on trial (and, some, found guilty) for sexual assault/abuse, often dating back to the 60’s and 70’s.
Some of them probably weren’t really that surprising but the most recent case involving Rolf Harris really shocked me. I can honestly say that when the assault charges came to light last year I was genuinely quite gutted that someone who, as a young child watching Animal Hospital, I had ‘trusted’ as being ‘one of the good guys’ had such a dark side. For me this was the ultimate case of looks can be very deceiving. I even found myself hoping that it wasn’t true because I didn’t want my idea that Rolf really was a nice guy to be shattered. That’s not to say I wanted him to be found not guilty if he actually was, I am pleased for the women involved that justice has been served.
Did you see this coming? Have you ever been disappointed when someone in the public eye has turned out to be a bad egg?
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9 Answers
Read the article.
“Rolfie deserves a cuddle.”
LOL.
Yes. I’m disappointed that some famous and good people turn out to be bad guys.
But that’s only my feeling toward celebrities who are genuinely good at their jobs. For more “spoiled” celebrities like Justin Bieber, I’m not so much surprised.
I was very disappointed to learn that Marian Zimmer Bradley was abusive, even sexually abusive, to her daughter. It wrecked my love for her writing.
Rolf Harris always creeped me out, something about him just made my skin crawl.
I wonder who is revealed next, Jimmy Krankie probably shudders
@ucme If it is revealed that David Attenborough is just another dirty old man then I am leaving the fucking country!
@Leanne1986 Fear the fucking Chuckle Brothers I say, “to me, to you” :(
I’ll just say ‘Jimmy Savile’. The general public didn’t see him coming (well unfortunately some of them did but that’s another discussion). What I find disturbing about these two cases is that people closer to them must have known what was happening. To not have seen this behaviour or heard rumours of it, they must have been literally blind and/or deaf. So many of them must have turned a blind eye and that’s unforgivable. How many people would have been prevented from abuse had someone spoken up in both of these cases? While Harris does not appear to be in the same league as Savile, he shares similar attitudes. The contempt for those he abused, the belief that he had a right to treat people that way and that he was above the law.
If any good comes out of these situations, perhaps it’s that more mechanisms will be installed to ensure people who are victims of sexual abuse or suspect such crimes are happening can safely speak up.
I note Cameron has tasked a senior civil servant with the job of finding out what happened to a file naming politicians from the 1980s with child sex offences. It will be interesting to see what happens there. There seems to have been a major problem with blindness during the 1980s and 1990s in the UK and much has been shoved under the proverbial carpet.
@Earthbound_Misfit What annoyed me greatly about the Saville case in particular was that a number of people (Esther Rantzen being one) claimed to know about his behaviour all along. If they knew, why did the keep schtum?! In many ways this makes those people as guilty as Saville himself because their silence allowed it to keep happening.
I’d be upset if Johnny Ball turned out bad and Tony Hart also. The rest I won’t be surprised. Someone at work asked a while ago who, of the 70s stars, we thought would be next and I just thought: “every single one of them”. I’m convinced they were all of the same attitude – we can do what we like with impunity. Well, I hope they are all quaking in their boots. They ruined people’s lives.
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