Psychic Sally morgan caught cheating?

[dlorde]

Derren Brown pens a few words about Sally Morgan in his recent blog.

I thought his (tongue-in-cheek) alternative explanation for the overheard prompting was amusing:

.. I have heard from in-house theatre crews who have hosted big-name psychic shows that they were surprised to see the shows follow a fairly tight structure and an oddly similar script every night: therefore another possible explanation could be that the whispering was indeed cheekiness from the lighting technicians who were just pre-empting what they knew was coming next, having seen the show so many times.

 

[Reno]

Might be an appropriate time to contact Good Morning TV (or whatever it's called these days) hosted by Philip Schofield and Holly Willouboobie.

Maybe Paul Zenon could do ask to have a follow up interview, reporting back the failure of both Psychic Psally and the other psychic woman who have both declined to be tested, but still continue to take money for their claimed, but unproven abilities.

 

[Sideroxylon]

I thought his (tongue-in-cheek) alternative explanation for the overheard prompting was amusing:

I took that at face value. From what I have read here and elsewhere she gives a very poor performance and likely relies on a number of stock cold reading lines when she goes fishing in the audience.

 

[Darat]

I took that at face value. From what I have read here and elsewhere she gives a very poor performance and likely relies on a number of stock cold reading lines when she goes fishing in the audience.

As did I. I do think it is a very plausible explanation that doesn't require active cheating.

 

[Reno]

I took that at face value. From what I have read here and elsewhere she gives a very poor performance and likely relies on a number of stock cold reading lines when she goes fishing in the audience.

I also took this to be meant as not tongue-in-cheek. Derren is not the first person to publish this possibility. Pity the 'technicians' won't come forward. That would certainly put the cat amongst the pigeons.

 

[zooterkin]

I also took this to be meant as not tongue-in-cheek. Derren is not the first person to publish this possibility.

Yes, I think Simon Singh also suggested it. Even if it's not right (though it certainly seems plausible), it's a warning that we shouldn't get hung up on the idea that Sally is using a headset. That has not been proven to be the case, and there may be other mundane explanations; it could be playing into her hands to focus on one idea which could be wrong, and give her the opportunity to win a libel case. Instead, we should, as Simon says, look at what we do and do not know.

Pity the 'technicians' won't come forward. That would certainly put the cat amongst the pigeons.

I imagine they value their employment. Speaking out would mean that future performers would not be guaranteed confidentiality, and so the theatre may see a drop in bookings. That would apply equally to magicians as psychics.

 

[dlorde]

I thought it was probably tongue-in-cheek because it seemed unlikely to be that tightly scripted if Sally was routinely using an earpiece. On reflection, it seems possible that the bulk of the show could be scripted cold-reading with set gaps for the convincing 'nuggets' of warm feed. Yes, that makes more sense. Thanks all

[homer]mmm, warm feed...[/homer].

 

[Azrael 5]

Thanks for that KeriKiwi. Also, it's just occurred to me, if it was as long as ten years ago, perhaps she was then known as Michelle West (her real name). So he wouldn't perhaps recall Sally Morgan as we know her now. Oooh! So maybe there could be some footage...

No acknowledgement they'd met in this interview,surely she would?
http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/news/a323838/psychic-sally-i-feel-sorry-for-derren-brown.html

 

[Blue Wode]

Part 2 of Simon Singh's exchange with Psychic Sally's lawyer...
http://slsingh.posterous.com/part-2-my-open-reply-to-my-legal-pen-pal-psyc

 

[Reno]

Publicity is the key.

 

[Rrose Selavy]

Yes, I think Simon Singh also suggested it. Even if it's not right (though it certainly seems plausible), it's a warning that we shouldn't get hung up on the idea that Sally is using a headset. That has not been proven to be the case, and there may be other mundane explanations; it could be playing into her hands to focus on one idea which could be wrong, and give her the opportunity to win a libel case. Instead, we should, as Simon says, look at what we do and do not know.
.

Richard Wiseman also suggested it in the video posted earlier.

 

[Azrael 5]

I really doubt she is using an earpiece for any nefarious means.Form what Ive seen(albeit edited)of her act it's just cold reading with the odd bit of hot thrown in.

 

[mummymonkey]

Scientist proves that mediums aren't stupid

 

[monoman]

Scientist proves that mediums aren't stupid

Terrible. Is that the usual standard of biting satire from the daily mash?

 

[Reno]

Terrible? How so? I found it to be realistic.

 

[Lamuella]

apparently some pillock on Twitter is spreading Sally Morgan's phone number and email address. Kind of classless as a way to act if you ask me.

 

[Reno]

And fleecing vulnerable people is not being a classless pillock?

 

[Lamuella]

And fleecing vulnerable people is not being a classless pillock?

I'm not quite sure what your argument is here. Sally Morgan being an unpleasant person who exploits the vulnerable doesn't excuse actions taken against her.

What's more, resorting to things like spreading her phone number and email address across Twitter gives Morgan the chance to play the victim card, and that's not a smart PR move. Quite apart from being a crappy thing for someone to do, it's also a dumb thing for someone to do. Let's try not to act how our opponents depict us.

 

[Reno]

While I agree that Sally Morgan being an unpleasant person who exploits the vulnerable doesn't excuse actions taken against her, I have zero sympathy for her and I believe that spreading her telphone number and emaill addy across the internet is a lot less harmful to her than the harm she does to her victims.

If she continues to exploit, she can't complain about consequences amounting to no more than a minor annoyance. If it starts to harm her purse, then I'm all for it. If she tries to play the victim card, it only adds to the publicity. The longer this is kept in the media, the more people will come to question whether she is a fraud or not.

 

[Lamuella]

While I agree that Sally Morgan being an unpleasant person who exploits the vulnerable doesn't excuse actions taken against her, I have zero sympathy for her and I believe that spreading her telphone number and emaill addy across the internet is a lot less harmful to her than the harm she does to her victims.

Yes, spreading this information is less harmful than her actions.

I fail to see how that's an excuse for spreading this information. It's not like her phone number being online will stop her doing what she does. If anything it will just give her a new pack of victim cards to play.

If she continues to exploit, she can't complain about consequences amounting to no more than a minor annoyance.

She's not complaining. I am. I think that this is a mean thing to do and it makes us look bad. It's also counterproductive to the campaigns against people like her. Project Barnum have already announced that they will be standing down their outreach activities for the moment (they had previously been giving out information about how "psychic" powers can be faked, outside Sally Morgan's shows) so they don't end up being associated with this.

If it starts to harm her purse, then I'm all for it.

So would you cheer if someone smashed the windows of her car?

If she tries to play the victim card, it only adds to the publicity. The longer this is kept in the media, the more people will come to question whether she is a fraud or not.

I don't think the narrative that will emerge is that simple. If skeptics come across as acting like jerks towards her, the narrative changes from "fake psychic cons people" to "mean people bully an old lady".