HAPPY birthday, Wynne Evans! The Welshman faced yet more wall-to-wall coverage of his latest faux pas as he turned 53 yesterday.
The opera singer was caught on camera making a sexual remark about his co-stars during the Strictly Come Dancing live tour launch.
RexWynne Evans faced more wall-to-wall coverage of his latest faux pas as he turned 53[/caption]
He was caught on camera making a sexual remark about co-star Janette Manrana during the Strictly Come Dancing live tour launch
The Mega AgencyWynne said he wanted to ‘spit-roast’ professional dancer Janette Manrara during the photocall on January 16[/caption]
Between eating his Colin the Caterpillar cake and opening his presents, presumably the tenor read more calls for him to be axed — not only from the tour but from Go Compare (the insurance comparison website he has fronted since 2009), his regular BBC radio show and his own charitable foundation, the Elizabeth Shaw Trust.
Front page of the Mail on Sunday, Wynne was hung out to dry for making a stupid, crass comment about wanting to “spit-roast” professional dancer Janette Manrara during the photocall on January 16.
For those not familiar with the term, Google it . . .
It is gross, it is pathetic and it’s peak schoolboy humour.
Except, as already mentioned, dad-of-two Wynne is now 53, and really should know better.
And yes, if I were his girlfriend, I’d be absolutely raging.
Doubtless she is.
But that’s a matter for her, not the nation.
Instead, Wynne was forced to make a grovelling public apology for his “inappropriate and unacceptable” sexual remark.
The BBC’s PR team was also forced to come out to bat of a weekend, stating: “We have made it very clear to Wynne that we do not tolerate such behaviour on the tour.”
It is the sort of lazy thing uttered by teachers of errant schoolkids on parents’ evening.
But the Beeb also made it crystal clear that absolutely no official complaints had been made.
In other words, “this is all a trumped-up fuss over nothing”.
This “controversy”, though, comes three months after Wynne was embroiled in another non-drama drama.
Carefully curated
On that occasion, his wandering hand was slapped away by dance partner Katya Jones.
It was a (weird) joke the pair had pre-planned, and it backfired spectacularly.
Both were mortified, and Katya publicly came out to defend her mate in the resulting backlash.
Over the past 48 hours, his Strictly pals have come out in force, posting supportive messages for Wynne on Instagram.
In contrast, not a soul (bar Shirley Ballas) came out fighting for the show’s former dancer Giovanni Pernice after he was investigated for inappropriate behaviour.
And similarly no one defended Graziano Di Prima when footage emerged of him kicking his dance partner last year.
Which tells you everything you need to know about this latest row.
In a world of manufactured influencers whose every word is carefully curated behind a screen, and banal reality TV “stars”, where would celebrity be without a few live wires?
This isn’t North Korea.
We shouldn’t be gagging those there to entertain.
Snooty trend of snubbing Melania
WHATEVER you think of her politics, or choice of husband, unquestionably Melania Trump is a beautiful woman.
But that didn’t stop snooty fashion houses from refusing to send her free clobber to wear to Donald Trump’s inauguration last week, for fear of being branded Republican.
The Mega AgencyMelania Trump at her husband’s inauguration last week[/caption]
Kim Kardashian, meanwhile, lost nearly a quarter of a million followers on Instagram after posting a photo of the glamorous 54-year-old on her stories, which many took to be an endorsement of the new US President.
Of all the empowering political statements people could make, this is not the one.
Pathetic.
MINI PET, BIG BILLS
THE pet insurance for my miniature dachshund has gone up by more than a hundred quid.
She is just four years old and a rippling 4.65kg of pure muscle.
(Touch wood) she’s had not so much as a sniffle, let alone required any veterinary treatment.
So why, yet again, do I find myself at the behest of an insurance company and forking out yet more money?
Vets and insurance companies both need more regulating.
At present, it feels wildly unfair for pet owners.
THE VOGUE DIET
(1970s style)
FORGET the fat jab, let’s all give this a bash . . .
A diet first published in Vogue in the 70s has gone viral online and, well, it sounds a hell of a lot more palatable than a needle in the stomach and a spot of vomming.
A GAIL FORCE QUERY
ANOTHER day, another storm.
With the aftermath of Eowyn’s vicious tendrils still being felt, now Storm Herminia is preparing to kick right off, and bring with her some flooding.
ReutersThe aftermath of Eowyn’s vicious tendrils is still being felt[/caption]
But why is it these temperamental, hugely destructive weather phenomenons tend to be named after women?
(Eowyn was named after a noblewoman in Lord Of The Rings while Herminia derives from the Greek goddess Hermione.)
Since 2015 – when the Met Office started naming them – we have had Storms Katie, Lilian, Agnes, Betty, Isha, Hannah and, in 2020/21, Evert, a gender-neutral name meaning “wild boar”.
It seems only the odd token blokey name has been thrown in.
And fun fact: From 1953 to 1978, hurricanes in the US were solely named after women . . .
IT seems extraordinary that King Charles is the first British monarch to visit Auschwitz.
As he joined world leaders yesterday to mark the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazis’ largest concentration camp, in Poland, the King’s trip serves as a timely reminder that anti-Semitism is on the rise – and should not be ignored.
King Charles is the first British monarch to visit AuschwitzAFP
The war in Gaza, which has revived awful slogans like “From the river to the sea” and seen synagogues targeted, has shown that prejudice isn’t disappearing any time soon.
We should never again turn a blind eye to evil.
SORRY STATE
TIM SHERWOOD has had his knuckles rapped for suggesting Manchester City “make their own rules up” when it comes to the transfer market.
Given the club has just secured star striker Erling Haaland on an unprecedented nine-and- a-half-year deal in addition to a trio of signings – Omar Marmoush, Abdukodir Khusanov and Vitor Reis – the Sky Sports presenter is just saying what everyone else (except Man City fans) are thinking.
And isn’t that the very job of a pundit?
Not according to ever-woke Sky Sports, which later issued a grovelling apology on air.
HEAR THEIR HELL
THE impact statements heard in court from the survivors of the Southport attack were heartbreaking.
They were all powerful, devastating and emotive – and conveyed what no lawyer, or judge, ever could.
PAMr Justice Goose during the sentencing of Axel Rudakubana at Liverpool Crown Court[/caption]
For me, Child C’s testimony was especially affecting.
When asked if she wished she hadn’t been there on the day evil Axel Rudakubana murdered three young girls and injured many more, the nine-year-old – who was herself wounded three times – replied: “If I wasn’t there, someone else would have been stabbed and they could have died, so I’m glad I might have saved some-one else getting hurt.”
Wow. There are no words sufficient to explain this innocent child’s bravery and inherent goodness.
But Rudakubana, 18 – who was sentenced to 52 years in prison last Thursday – wasn’t there to hear them, because he refused to do so.
Murderers are all too happy to dish out their evil, but they cannot handle hearing about its aftermath. And that is wrong.
As prison union boss Mark Fairhurst said last week, these cowards must be made to listen to victim statements, even if it means having them piped into their cells.
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