Good news*, Australia: we’re not the only nation whose right-wing commentators are called out for confusing and disgusting attacks against a national broadcaster.
Kevin Myers, a Sunday Times columnist whose latest piece was lambasted for its unrelenting anti-Semitism and sexism, has been fired from his post.
The piece, entitled ‘Sorry, ladies – equal pay has to be earned,’ intended to address the BBC’s apparent gender bias in its top roles, after it was revealed that no less than two-thirds of its presenters on wages above £150,000 are male.
To make that point, Myers made the incredibly shitty call to invoke the religion of two high-earning female presenters, Vanessa Feltz and Claudia Winkleman. They both happen to be Jewish, and Myers wrote “Good for them.
“Jews are not generally noted for their insistence on selling their talent for the lowest possible price, which is the most useful measure there is of inveterate, lost-with-all-hands stupidity.”
He went on to hang shit on women in the workforce more generally, plaguing the pages with the words “only one woman is among the top 10 best-paid BBC presenters.
“Now, why is this? Is it because men are more charismatic performers? Because they work harder? Because they are more driven? Possibly a bit of each.”
A little later, he wrote that “men usually work harder, get sick less frequently and seldom get pregnant.”
Responses to that article were as swift as they were furious, with many readers in disbelief that such garbage could make it through so many layers of editorial scrutiny before appearing both in the Irish print edition of the paper, and online.
In an attempt to make up for a pretty reprehensible piece that shouldn’t have ever been conjured, let alone deemed fit to print, Sunday Times editor Martin Ivens apologised for the “lack of judgment” in publishing the piece.
Statement below from the editor regarding today’s Kevin Myers article: pic.twitter.com/Tqdk8bhbTw
— Times Politics (@timespolitics) July 30, 2017
In addition to that statement, Ivens has also apologised to Feltz and Winkleman.
Frank Fitzgibbon of the Irish edition said the paper “abhors anti-Semitism and did not intend to cause offence to Jewish people.”
Statement below from the Irish editor of The Sunday Times regarding today’s Kevin Myers article: pic.twitter.com/bqeEO6iNw1
— Times Politics (@timespolitics) July 30, 2017
However, it’s been pointed out that both of the apologies miss the broader issue – that Myers’ bigoted take was invoked to justify another bigoted take.
He was in such a rush to apologize for the anti-semitism, he forgot all about the misogyny that was being justified with ant-Semitism.
— PoppyWrites (@poppy_writes) July 30, 2017
A spokesperson for News UK, the company behind The Sunday Times, confirmed Myers wouldn’t write for ’em again. That statement also covered his “unacceptable comments” on “women in the workplace.”
An apology is also set to be published in next week’s paper, but really, it would have been so easy not to publish that trash. So damn easy.
https://twitter.com/PRHRoy/status/891586152997806080
https://twitter.com/ConorGallaghe_r/status/891689091116531712
*It’s still not good news. Not at all.
