Hooby

Has this been confirmed? (The gay son bit, I mean...)

I know there was a "tweet", supposedly from her, which claimed this, but that's generally accepted to have been a hoax.
See http://onlinejournalismblog.co...ccount-a-case-study/ (actually quite an interesting article in its own right.)

I bet her son and his wife are at home right now screwing like rabbits and videoing it to disprove the statement.

oops lol...sowwy

she's still a homophobic bint though those words she wrote in the article were not fake-twittered

Too right. For those who are still unsure why many people are angry about her article (but, understandably, don't want to earn any more money for the Daily Mail), Charlie Brooker's written an excellent breakdown of it here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/comm...phen-gately-jan-moir.

(Apologies if this has already been posted.)

it has but it's well worth a second mention..and a third, forth, fifth etc

Has anyone counted the neighbours and is that a spliff in the ashtray downstairs?

Haven't read the replies and only by watching the news did I hear what she said. I've not followed the Band's career as it's not my type of music, but, since his death and hearing on tv what many have said about Stephen what I've learnt from so many people's comments is what a lovely guy he was, positive, happy, kind and caring to others, personally involved in charity work and not just someone who donated money but he got personally involved. That he regularly stayed in contact with those in his local community. All I've learnt about him since his passing is what a very nice and likeable human being he was who didn't have a bad bone in his body.


So from my perspective who cares what some ignorant journalist thinks or writes, it's dust in the wind, and I hope his family and friends dismiss it for the ignorance it is.

  hiya Yellow Rose.  Like you, I have heard that SG was a very nice person.  He was kind and gentle, with a very caring nature.  I think that this showed in his face.  Without knowing someone personally it is hard to judge but witnessing his bandmates' and his family's devastation at his death, it is easy to assume that Stephen was a gentle loving soul.  I don't think he had a nasty bone in his body.  It is for that reason that most people are offended by the article because it cast aspersions on him as a person.

Now that I can understand - I have always been a huge Boyzone fan!!  The article was in very bad taste and cast huge presumptions about what he got up to that last night - but I just cannot see the homophobia in it - but in fairness all of the major newspapers have hugely speculated about his lifestyle not just this column!!  For example I have heard stories saying he had cannabis in his body, him and his husband were intimate with the third man, he had been drinking heavily etc - all of these are also presumptions but no-one seems to be batting an eyelid at them!!

I haven't read any other articles from any other papers prettyP but it seems that it is open-season on anyone famous who dies.  The media want to pick and dissect everything about their private life without being able to substantiate any of it.  The Daily Mail is not the only paper who is prone to this type of character assassination either because they all want to sell papers and a salacious headline always leads to a big circulation.

I can only therefore comment on Jan Moir's article which I read in the Daily Mail yesterday.  As I was reading it, I definitely got the impression that she was expressing generalised homophobic opinions about civil partnership relationships.  Unfortunately, she used Stephen's death as a vehicle to express such opinions, inferring that gay relationships are somehow different from straight relationships and that his death was as a result of such.  Her co-writer Amanda Platell, who I cannot stand, also has a tendency to express such opinions.  Perhaps they will be more circumspect in future about what they say because opinions like this can seriously offend.

Hiya Twee  The journalist's remarks must have come across as extremely thoughtless to all those close to Stephen who were/are grieving his loss. I wonder if she knew or ever met him. The public rarely know what anyone in the public eye is really like behind closed doors, but occasionally we get glimpses of what's really known about them. Personally I know nothing negative about Stephen, and haven't heard anything negative from those who knew him so prefer to believe what I've heard others who did know him say about him, so my thoughts are with his family and all those close to him who are deeply grieving his loss.

hi YR.  Like you, I am always a bit ambivalent about media personalities and whether or not they are genuine.  There was something gentle about Stephen G though, and it showed in his face.  Elton John said he was a gentle soul and I would believe this about him.  I never followed Boyzone as such but I read about SG coming out and how afraid he was to do so.  That's sad.  I am Irish myself and it must have taken a lot of courage for him to come out in Ireland which is basically a Catholic country, so I know how difficult it must have been for him.  Having said that, he seemed to have reached a contentment in his life at last, and was happy.  It was sad that he died so young, it is sad for his family, and it is sad for all his devoted fans.  Stephen is at peace now and as Ronan said 'he is an angel now'.   A fitting tribute.

http://newsarse.com/2009/10/16...ctly-natural-causes/

Amanda Platell makes me feel violent

It's nice that you can view it like that. I find it totally abhorrent to be honest .........................I'm pretty sure that his family are highly offended too. Not really dust in the wind at all ..........not by a long shot. it is just nasty, bigoted rantings ...............my God that woman must have a pretty poor quality of life that she can spend time creating a vitriolic column like that.

Dear *fracas* Thank you for sending us your complaint about the Daily Mail article on the subject of the death of Stephen Gately. We have received numerous complaints about this matter.I should first make clear that the Commission generally requires the involvement of directly affected parties before it can begin an investigation into an article. On this occasion, it may be a matter for the family of Mr Gately to raise a complaint about how his death has been treated by the Daily Mail. I can inform you that we have made ourselves available to the family and Mr Gately's bandmates, in order that they can use our services if they wish.We require the direct involvement of affected parties because the PCC process can have a public outcome and it would be discourteous for the Commission to publish information relating to individuals without their knowledge or consent. Indeed, doing so might unwittingly add to any intrusion. Additionally, one of the PCC's roles is dispute resolution, and we would need contact with the affected party in order to determine what would be an acceptable means of settling a complaint.On initial examination, it would appear that you are, therefore, a third party to the complaint, and wemay not be able to pursue your concerns further. However, if you feel that your complaint touches on claims that do not relate directly to Mr Gately or his family, please let us know, making clear how they raise a breach of the Code of Practice. If you feel that the Commission should waive its third party rules, please make clear why you believe this. Press Complaints Commission

I'm not related to him so I can't be offended?

Anyone want to help me write a  response? 

Fracas are you on facebook? There's a brilliant group on there http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=151083562155

Yesterday had 2,000 odd members just after it was launched, now over 18000 and counting.

I'm also sure I just heard on the news that the police are now investigating the Daily Mail after over a 1000 complaints to the PCC.

I hope you don't think my comments were uncaring for all those who are mourning his passing as that wasn't my intention. From what I've observed is that those who really knew him, whether those in his community, or others who also knew him who've reached out to his family whether they lived in the UK or many other countries around the world, have given his family the strength they need that will be enough for them to dismiss or ignore the words of some unknown journalist who obviously has no clue about so much

I'm the same.  Actually, I think the whole article thing is quite funny really.  I love the idea that people have such power now to collect together when they want to and make their views known.  It's like an electronic direct action thing.

I'm sure the family have enough contacts, money, and industry advice to decide whether to ignore the article or not if they're aware of what happened.  I would ignore it if I were them. But I'd probably be quite pleased to see what other people have done over it.

The article's mere fluff as far as homophobia is concerned.  We're seen it all before, and much, much worse.  From my point of view, it's just something to take the piss out of.  I doubt the article has had any impact on Stephen Gately's reputation, he's so well thought of by most people.

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/21/20...y-story-6323e80.html

Police have received a complaint about an article written by newspaper columnist Jan Moir concerning the death of Boyzone singer Stephen Gately, Scotland Yard said. Skip related content

The article, published in Friday's Daily Mail, also prompted more than 1,000 complaints to the Press Complaints Commission (PCC).

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: "We have received a complaint from a member of the public."

The interesting thing is on what basis the complaint is made.

Tonight, in London the Stonewall Awards were held.
Stonewall  is  an organization working for equality and justice for lesbians, gay men and bisexuals.

A late addition to the "Bigot of the Year" award was Jan Moir.

Lo and behold!  Jan Moir won it.

So according to Stonewall -

Jan Moir is "bigot of the year".

Boyzone were nominated "Entertainers of the year".
(Pity, I wanted Russell Tovey to win it.)

So some justice there