Michael Gove appeared on Radio 4’s Today programme this morning – and made a joke comparing being interviewed by John Humphrys being like entering the bedroom of alleged rapist Harvey Weinstein:
Gove later apologised for his ‘clumsy’ remark:
There has been criticism this morning of Gove’s ‘inappropriate’ comment. Some has been strong criticism – although it’s noteworthy that there are several female Labour MPs whose comments about Gove’s ‘poor taste’, ‘crass’ joke and a ‘poor look’ are of a completely different tone than their outrage over Clive Lewis’ ill-advised choice of words in a Brighton on-stage game at a Novara end-of-conference bash.
However, the main difference is in the way that the Establishment media are handling the Gove issue.
The focus is on Gove’s personal behaviour, whether it’s minimised as a ‘slip’ or ‘poor taste’, or revelling a little more in his ‘grovelling’ apology, as the Telegraph does.
But completely absent, at least so far, appears to be the rush to turn a piece of poor personal behaviour into a party attack.
When Lewis made his bad decision, the media were immediately postulating – either rhetorically or directly to Jeremy Corbyn – about Labour’s ‘misogyny problem’. So far, there seem to have been no headlines about a Tory party misogyny problem.
Two weeks ago, when the Weinstein allegations were still new, a Tory MP made a similar Weinstein ‘joke‘ at a Parliamentary awards night that was attended by journalists and a wide range of political and academic figures.
When the SKWAWKBOX ran it, it was an exclusive – and it still appears to be. While a SKWAWKBOX interview with Laura Pidcock went viral and was used by the ‘MSM’ in the UK and globally for months and Lewis’ poor choice at a party sparked a torrent of media outrage, the revelation that a Tory MP had made a rape joke at an official event was ignored – and Gove is merely criticised personally, with a focus on his ‘clumsy’ joke.
You’d almost think there was an agenda at play.
The SKWAWKBOX needs your support. This blog is provided free of charge but depends on the generosity of its readers to be viable. If you can afford to, please click here to arrange a one-off or modest monthly donation via PayPal. Thanks for your solidarity so this blog can keep bringing you information the Establishment would prefer you not to know about.