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Brand X
After the MTV Awards, what a couple of months ago, now? I was rude about Russell Brand, who I called a tosser.
A fair number of people suggested that I was mistaken in my opinion and that he is a decent bloke and a clever comedian and that it shouldn't be held against him that a significant percentage of Americans didn't like his humorous stylings at the expense of Dubya.
Be that as it may, he's still a tosser and his prank phone call to Andrew Sachs proves it.
In the meantime, his companion in arms, Jonathan "Woss" Ross should be taken out and given a lesson or two in career development. His 'cheeky chappie' approach worked 20 - even 10 years ago, but now he's deep into his 40s, his tactile and lascivious approach to interviewing female celebrities has moved from being funny to edging on creepy, especially since the amount of TV make up he wears is beginning to make him look like one of the less tasteful drag queens out there.
Or maybe I'm just getting old. I dunno; it just doesn't seem funny to me anymore.
Edited to add: If anyone still cares, there's a transcript of the prank phone calls here.
A fair number of people suggested that I was mistaken in my opinion and that he is a decent bloke and a clever comedian and that it shouldn't be held against him that a significant percentage of Americans didn't like his humorous stylings at the expense of Dubya.
Be that as it may, he's still a tosser and his prank phone call to Andrew Sachs proves it.
In the meantime, his companion in arms, Jonathan "Woss" Ross should be taken out and given a lesson or two in career development. His 'cheeky chappie' approach worked 20 - even 10 years ago, but now he's deep into his 40s, his tactile and lascivious approach to interviewing female celebrities has moved from being funny to edging on creepy, especially since the amount of TV make up he wears is beginning to make him look like one of the less tasteful drag queens out there.
Or maybe I'm just getting old. I dunno; it just doesn't seem funny to me anymore.
Edited to add: If anyone still cares, there's a transcript of the prank phone calls here.
it's always about context
I do have issues with the way it's being reported though which haven't in my opinion reflected what happened (eg the whole thing did not start out as a 'prank call' but a genuine call to AS to ask him why he had cancelled at the last moment, which happened before anything was said about his granddaughter, of whom the less said the better) and unconnected to this I don't like the way the press manipulates 'the court of public opinion' and especially get cross by people like Murdoch (who'll print *anything*) holding up others to standards they themselves have no respect for.
"The problem here is that where most of our opportunities to laugh at the expense of other people are sanctioned by the butts of said jokes the opposite was the case here."
I'm sory but in the vast majority of cases that is utter nonsense, watch any comedy programme, to pick one 'Have I got News for You' (very popular I believe) and tell me how many of the individuals sanctioned the ribbing they get. Remeber the time the generally very light and fluffy Paul Merton suggested that Princess Diana looked sad in a photo because Charles wouldn't 'take her up the Gary Glitter'. I don't remember any outcry about that. Some people have it in for JR and RB and sadly they've given them the ammo to take them down.
Over the last couple of days I've heard other DJs (while obviously trying not to break the BBC party line of 'THIS IS AWFUL') clearly distressed at the idea that the BBc would roll over like this on them.
What really riles me though is that Mark Thompson couldn't just say he thought it was inapprpropriate he specifically cited the thousands of complaints of people who didn't even listen to the show and possibly only know who these people are because they read about them. As mentioned he ignored such people on the matter of JS:TM so it's clearly something he can do, I just think he's throwing a bone to the dogs so when he criticised in the future he can say 'see I do listen!'. I think the man is a craven coward.
PS: I don't enjoy RBs stand up either by the way, I do like his broadcasting
Did your children see the broadcast ?
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=E7gP1xgRDJ4
Aaaah, if only!
Re: it's always about context
I have listned to his show on previous occasions and it is engaging and amusing. Russel Brand is not particularly nasty or vindictive, he just doesn't know when to stop, and the same can be said of Jonathan Ross. But it is the job of the producers to ensure that they if the cross the line they are told.
From previous comments it sounds like the
Re: it's always about context