30,000 complaints over phone prank in UK

[Ashles]

The number one story on the news in England at the moment is this:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7696714.stm

In a nutshell, Jonathan Ross (a long running and hugely popular presenter who is considered a bit edgy) and Russell Brand (a younger, more recent and more controversial but still popular presenter who is famous for his sexual exploits) made prank calls to the answerphone of Andrew Sachs (the actor who played 'Manuel' in Fawlty Towers in the the 70s).

In the calls they claimed Russell Brand had slept with Andrew Sachs' granddaughter (which apparently he actually has).

The Directr General of the BBC is being questioned by trustees!
Gordon Brown has been involved!
30,000 people have complained! (Well I can't really believe it is actually 30,000 different people).
Russell Brand has already resigned, Jonathan Ross is suspended and many are calling for his dismissal (on what grounds is a little harder to ascertain as Jonathan Ross was not the producer of the prodram and did not have final say on whether it was broadcast or edited).

Now while this isn't a particularly tasteful prank, the staggering overreaction to this by the public and media appears incomprehensible.

Prank shows are on TV all the time and I personally hate them.
Very unpleasant jokes are played on unsuspecting mebers of the public for any number of TV shows, and yet there are never any complaints about that. So is this more of an issue because Andrew Scahs is (or was years ago) a celebrity? Do they have greater legal protection than everyday folk?

And the granddaughter in question, Georgina Baillie, appears to be relishing the attention, giving interview after interview wherever possible.

A little about the granddaughter:

Georgina Baillie, the woman at the centre of the storm, is part of the four-piece burlesque dance group Satanic Sluts Extreme.
According to its website the 23-year-old and her troupe are "four of the sexiest depraved London jezebels" who put on shows which include "blood, guts, gore, sexy striptease and slutty activity."
Writing on her own web page, Baillie, who goes under the stage name Voluptua, says: "I am a member of the Satanic Sluts Xtreme and perform violent, horrific and sexy burlesque shows around the UK and the rest of Europe with my dance and burlesque troupe. .. I like to party, I don't care if you call me a waster or even a groupie because I am having so much more fun than you and living this way makes me happy."

From http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008/oct/30/russell-brand-ross-baillie-sachs

I feel like I am living in a country gone slightly mad today.

 

[JihadJane]

I feel like I am living in a country gone slightly mad today.

Trust your feelings!

 

[Ocelot]

A complaint isn't what it used to be. Time was when you received a complaint and you knew that a person had researched where to send a complaint, composed what they were going to say and copied this in their best handwriting onto their Basildon Bond, put it in an envelope, paid for a stamp and taken it to their nearest post box. You knew that they'd invested at least half an hour of time and effort into making themselves heard and moreover had 30 minutes of contemplation on the matter before deciding to send.

These days a complaint means they received an e-mail, clicked a link and wrote "Sack those clowns I don't find them funny anyway!" and hit send before they'd even gave it a second thought. They probably never even tuned into the show in the first place and even in these days when listen again and you tube are there to spread the offensive material to a wider audience, they may not have availed themselves of the opportunity to judge the content for themselves before forwarding somebody else's strident call to arms, onto half their address book.

 

[Professor Yaffle]

Only 2 complains were made after the broadcast (both complaining about swearing). The rest came after it was splashed all over the tabloids. Blame Max Clifford (the granddaughters agent).

Just so others can know what we are talking about, here is an edited transcript of the calls and the full thing on youtube (NSFW due to some sweariness).

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/e...pt-of-russell-brands-prank-call-14019386.html

 

[richardm]

... the tories want to have a debate about it in the House. For goodness sake.

It's now a contest to see who can out-puritan the next man. I can't remember the last time I saw such a ridiculous witch-hunt. The whole thing is beyond ridiculous.

 

[Ashles]

Only 2 complains were made after the broadcast (both complaining about swearing). The rest came after it was splashed all over the tabloids. Blame Max Clifford (the granddaughters agent).

I didn't know that.

Suddenly it all makes perfect sense.

Max Clifford sure has a lot to answer for. First Kerry Katona, now this...

 

[Travis]

Satanic Sluts Xtreme........wow. I bet it took someone a whole minute or two to come up with that catchy title.

 

[geni]

... the tories want to have a debate about it in the House. For goodness sake.

It's now a contest to see who can out-puritan the next man. I can't remember the last time I saw such a ridiculous witch-hunt. The whole thing is beyond ridiculous.

But it fills collum inches when all the other news makes your readers dangeriously depressed.

 

[SisterSmile]

You've got to be kidding !
Why would anyone take Jonathan Ross seriously on the phone ?

And I used to believe that the Brits' got the best sense of humor in the world....
Another one of life's certainties down the drain, I guess

 

[Jaggy Bunnet]

Now while this isn't a particularly tasteful prank, the staggering overreaction to this by the public and media appears incomprehensible.

The overreaction is ridiculous. However to describe what they did as not "particularly tasteful" comes across as an attempt to excuse what they did. It went a long way beyond not tasteful.

Prank shows are on TV all the time and I personally hate them.
Very unpleasant jokes are played on unsuspecting mebers of the public for any number of TV shows, and yet there are never any complaints about that. So is this more of an issue because Andrew Scahs is (or was years ago) a celebrity? Do they have greater legal protection than everyday folk?

I think the big difference is that for these shows the "victim" gives their consent prior to broadcast. No consent = no broadcast.

I am also not aware of any prank show that does anything remotely similar to what Brand/Ross did.

And the granddaughter in question, Georgina Baillie, appears to be relishing the attention, giving interview after interview wherever possible.

Evidence? As far as I know she has signed up exclusively with the Sun and done a very small number of interviews with that paper only.

A little about the granddaughter:

Irrelevant.

 

[tkingdoll]

I read the transcript and laughed my ass off. It was puerile bad taste (which is funny) but the most important thing to remember is that pre-recorded shows contain far far worse material which is routinely edited out.

Why this was not (it should have been, a fool can see that), I don't know. Perhaps because Brand has increasingly gotten away with pranks lately, maybe the producers of the show thought this would also be OK. Maybe someone was off sick and their replacement was a vacuum cleaner. I don't know. But the issue is not whether they should have said it (you try being funny on tap. I bet you cross the line often), but why it was broadcast.

The 30,000 pathetic bleating sheeple who complained cause the Daily Mail told them to are retards. However, Brand has done the decent thing in resigning. I hope Ross doesn't, he's too interesting and influential and his shows will be a loss to TV.

 

[tkingdoll]

Important to note (and those baying for blood would be well to take their lead from him), Andrew Sachs responded to the apologies with grace and dignity, and for him the matter is closed. Not sure why the public continue to feel OUTRAGE but there you go.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7697988.stm

Also interesting in that interview is that Sachs claims he never gave permission for the segment to be aired, so it points even more solidly to the producer who decided to air it anyway. If anyone should quit, it should be that person. I just read that the controller of Radio 2 has quit, which is probably right. You have to take responsibility for the actions of your staff.

 

[Azrael 5]

Only 2 complains were made after the broadcast (both complaining about swearing). The rest came after it was splashed all over the tabloids. Blame Max Clifford (the granddaughters agent).

Clifford wasn't her agent when this story broke,maybe he is now I do not know.So none of it is his fault.

Yes the level of complaints is ridiculous-people are complaining for the sake of it,it seems.

Ashles ,I hardly think this incident is on a par with prank game shows.Swearing and being obscene to a 70 year old man about his grandaughter,then further being obscene-with sexual innuendo of masturbation about Andrew Sachs himself. Is this a harmless prank?

 

[Azrael 5]

FYI Jonathon Ross suspended for 12 weeks without pay.

 

[Professor Yaffle]

Important to note (and those baying for blood would be well to take their lead from him), Andrew Sachs responded to the apologies with grace and dignity, and for him the matter is closed. Not sure why the public continue to feel OUTRAGE but there you go.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7697988.stm

Also interesting in that interview is that Sachs claims he never gave permission for the segment to be aired, so it points even more solidly to the producer who decided to air it anyway. If anyone should quit, it should be that person. I just read that the controller of Radio 2 has quit, which is probably right. You have to take responsibility for the actions of your staff.

I'm not quite sure what happened there. As far as I can tell they did phone him to ask if it was okay if they aired it, but that he wasn't fully aware of the content of the calls at that time. He only found out when journalists contacted him after it had aired. Is that right?

 

[dudalb]

I can't believe the amount of coverage this is getting in the UK.
Here, in the US,some stupid "Shock Jock" getting fired is a daily occurance.
I am waiting for Howard Stern to start yelling about how the damn Limeys are ripping off his shtick.

 

[Professor Yaffle]

If it was just Russell Brand, you would have a point, but Jonathan Ross is not just a "shock jock". Have you seen how much the BBC pay him?

 

[dudalb]

Satanic Sluts Xtreme........wow. I bet it took someone a whole minute or two to come up with that catchy title.

I am convinced the Brand and Ross saw how rich the likes of Howard Stern and Opie and Anthony had gotten in the US with this crap, and decided the same gimmick would work equally well in the UK. There only miscalulation was in forgetting that the BBC is taxpayer funded, and thus a LOT more vulnerable to pressure and outrage then an American network is.

 

[dudalb]

If it was just Russell Brand, you would have a point, but Jonathan Ross is not just a "shock jock". Have you seen how much the BBC pay him?

NO, but look at how much Howard Stern has been pulling down for a number of years. A lot of shock jocks in the US annual income is well into the Milliions.

 

[Donal]

Only a few make that much, and there won't be too many more.

Another thing is a few years ago, the FCC decided that prank phone calls done by radio shows is a big no-no.