Al Porter Scandal

Roger Hassenforder

cloudatlas wrote: »

Are the people who say his life shouldn't be destroyed saying he shouldn't lose his job over this?

If he hadnt resigned and the allegations found to be true (as they seem to be), then Today FM and TV3 would be correct to sack him.

murpho999 wrote: »

I actually don't think so. I actually think his media career is over.

Hopefully his mainstream media career is over.
I couldnt stand him, I found him wholly unfunny, vulgar and very dated, but somehow there seems to be a market for that crap. Let them go out of their way to seek him out on stage, or buy a DVD, if thats their thing.

cloudatlas

gramar wrote: »

It won't be that long before he's back making jokes out of this situation and getting paid for it.

I really doubt that and I can't fathom why people are saying that, the first thing you would say as a human resources manager / comedy club promoter is don't hire this guy or we will a) probably have to engage a lawyer at some stage as he will be open to accusation b) paying punters won't want to come see a guy who sexually assaulted a struggling young man under psychiatric care.

Roger Hassenforder

Penn wrote: »

Such a shame after decades in the entertainment industry. Y'know, 0.4 decades in the entertainment industry.

have another look at that calculation there!

NIMAN

murpho999 wrote: »

I actually don't think so. I actually think his media career is over.

Its over because every employer will be afraid to be seen to support him, so no newspaper, TV station, panto etc will want to employ him again for fear of people associating them with a sex pest.

cloudatlas

_Brian wrote: »

I 100% agree.
The thing that scares me is aparrently this is being produced as it’s what the “general public” want as entertainment. That scares the hell out of me as it seems Irish people have become a bunch of idiots entertained by the lowest form of wit.
I’ve seen so many posts online calling for Porter to still do the stupid panto “because it won’t be the same without him”

It's sad people don't want to think anymore, there was a lot of satire, irony, slap stick that required people to know cultural references whereas Mrs. Brown is just pure innuendo and nothing more, no nuance.

Sugarlumps

74 pages and counting, remarkable. Didn't realize what a huge star he was?

Noveight

NIMAN wrote: »

Its over because every employer will be afraid to be seen to support him, so no newspaper, TV station, panto etc will want to employ him again for fear of people associating them with a sex pest.

That's it in a nutshell. He can only get so far without the backing of TV3/RTE and they wont want to be mentioned in the same sentence as the name Al Porter from now on.

Cienciano

According to Olaf Tyaransen of Hotpress on twitter Al did an interview a few days before the allegations and "I fear some of the words may come back to haunt him".

cloudatlas

Sugarlumps wrote: »

74 pages and counting, remarkable. Didn't realize what a huge star he was?

I think it's dragged on because of the 'it wasn't that bad' type comments, no reflection on his star so to speak, I had to google him to remember who he is, the only Irish comedian I pay any attention to is Dillon Moran.

gramar

cloudatlas wrote: »

I really doubt that and I can't fathom why people are saying that, the first thing you would say as a human resources manager / comedy club promoter is don't hire this guy or we will a) probably have to engage a lawyer at some stage as he will be open to accusation b) paying punters won't want to come see a guy who sexually assaulted a struggling young man under psychiatric care.

For the moment it's all allegations. Al is young, a public figure and popular with a lot of people. He'll be back because there will be promoters who can see him as a way of making money. People can have very short memories.
He'll rejig his persona and his material but he ain't finished.

splinter65

No one in his immediate circle, family close friends etc seems to have able to stop him going too far.
Are they all blind?
If ,as it’s said, he’s been doing this for “years” (at 24?), then they can’t pretend they didn’t feel a bit uncomfortable at times.
That LLS was unbearable. Someone in his “inner circle” MUST have felt it was going in the wrong direction.
But no, both Today FM and TV 3 pop up with offers of prime time regular work, so obviously this is what people want...

murpho999

gramar wrote: »

It won't be that long before he's back making jokes out of this situation and getting paid for it.

Really don't think so. I don't see who will hire him and making jokes about sexual assault and rape is just not done.

cloudatlas

gramar wrote: »

For the moment it's all allegations. Al is young, a public figure and popular with a lot of people. He'll be back because there will be promoters who can see him as a way of making money. People can have very short memories.
He'll rejig his persona and his material but he ain't finished.

Various comedians will refuse to be on the same bill as him. Can you point to any other cases where someone has recovered their career after such accusations sticking?

gramar

cloudatlas wrote: »

I think it's dragged on because of the 'it wasn't that bad' type comments, no reflection on his star so to speak, I had to google him to remember who he is, the only Irish comedian I pay any attention to is Dillon Moran.

Not his name obviously!

cloudatlas

gramar wrote: »

Not his name obviously!

Dylan sorry it's early, annnnd the rest of it.....

mad muffin

gramar wrote: »

For the moment it's all allegations. Al is young, a public figure and popular with a lot of people. He'll be back because there will be promoters who can see him as a way of making money. People can have very short memories.
He'll rejig his persona and his material but he ain't finished.

Oh yes he is!

angryIreGamer

mad muffin wrote: »

Oh yes he is!

hes behi.....


better not

splinter65

gramar wrote: »

It won't be that long before he's back making jokes out of this situation and getting paid for it.

He will in a private club/concert capacity.
Jim Davidson and Bernard Manning et al were totally rejected from mainstream entertainment in the end, but carried on having a career in clubs and bigger venues playing to a live audience that continued to lap it up, the sexism the misogyny the racism the homophobia.
There’s plenty of people want to heehaw and cackle at Al Porter and think that his accusers need to get over-themselves.
Plenty are posting here.
That’s the thing. TV3 bosses and TodayFM somehow thought that we all wanted to be force fed this stuff.
They’re wrong.

LadyMacBeth_

I am truly baffled by some of the overreactions on this thread. It's like I am in some sort of parallel universe and I sincerely hope that boards does not reflect reality. Then again Twitter outrage does not reflect reality either. I wonder if the people who are most appalled have led very sheltered lives, as a teen and in my early twenties this sort of behaviour was common and brushed off, I assume it still is but I just don't go out that much anymore. I'm now bowing out of this thread and returning to reality. Off to do some groping!

valoren

Sample material.

"I entered Mr Ireland. Well, he didn't seem to mind"

While we knew (note the past tense) he was joking about rape, the allegations against him gives an element of 'hiding in plain sight' to such quips. The crude, innuendo jokes will always find an audience. And there will be another promoted purveyor of it in time. The apology actually tried to exploit his persona (which is an act) to manipulate the reality that this was just someone, a normal person without the 'act', who felt he could grope and sexually assault other men without consequence and was so self absorbed to think people would accept that.

eviltwin

LadyMacBeth_ wrote: »

I am truly baffled by some of the overreactions on this thread. It's like I am in some sort of parallel universe and I sincerely hope that boards does not reflect reality. Then again Twitter outrage does not reflect reality either. I wonder if the people who are most appalled have led very sheltered lives, as a teen and in my early twenties this sort of behaviour was common and brushed off, I assume it still is but I just don't go out that much anymore. I'm now bowing out of this thread and returning to reality. Off to do some groping!

Have you ever had someone put their hand into your underwear to fondle your genitals? That's not on the same level as a grope. Besides we can't tell people how they should feel. I've had my arse felt and had my breasts grabbed on occasion but the incident that has stayed with me most is a guy who told me he could rape me whenever he wanted, he never touched me but I still get shudders thinking of it. I don't think these guys did anything wrong, bad behaviour should always be called out, intimidating behaviour shouldn't be allowed happen unchallenged. The only person responsible for the ruination of Porters career is the man himself.

donaghs

DickSwiveller wrote: »

Lets say he admits to the accusations, apologizes and vows never to engage in such behaviour again, do you really think his whole career should be ruined? Such a situation should be dealt with in a calm and considered manner, not dictated by online mobs. I typed Al Porter's name in to twitter and couldn't believe the amount of bile aimed at him.

Looking online, and speaking with people in comedy, showbiz etc who encountered him, the stories are endless. As has been stated before, this is his MO. How do you actually apologize to that many people? How do you retrain someone to behave properly with others?

weldoninhio

Princess Consuela Bananahammock wrote: »

Difficult to tell given the bits listed below.



"Innocent until proven guilty" is the phrase you're looking for, which has most certianly not happened. He willingly stepped back from his commitments, he's been convicted of nothing. Yet.

Due process does appear to be something you're unfamiliar with if you're tarring him as guilty based on circumstnatial eveidence.

Now, just to be clear, I'm of the opinion he's done something, but I don't know what; but that said, I'm not forming judgment until I know for sure.

Not sure if you noticed, but Boards is not a courtroom. There is no such level of proof needed for people to make their own minds up based on the allegations and the "apology".

DickSwiveller

LadyMacBeth_ wrote: »

I am truly baffled by some of the overreactions on this thread. It's like I am in some sort of parallel universe and I sincerely hope that boards does not reflect reality. Then again Twitter outrage does not reflect reality either. I wonder if the people who are most appalled have led very sheltered lives, as a teen and in my early twenties this sort of behaviour was common and brushed off, I assume it still is but I just don't go out that much anymore. I'm now bowing out of this thread and returning to reality. Off to do some groping!

Exactly. Complete overreaction. It reminds me of the righteous, moral indignation of Trump when he was recorded saying "Grab her...." Any group of lads has said something like this.

TPD

I'd genuinely never heard of him before this scandal broke. Sounds like he's just a sleazy asshole getting his comeuppance. Hopefully it'll deter others from similar behaviour too.

20Cent

DickSwiveller wrote: »

Exactly. Complete overreaction. It reminds me of the righteous, moral indignation of Trump when he was recorded saying "Grab her...." Any group of lads has said something like this.

No they haven't.

Penn

weldoninhio wrote: »

Not sure if you noticed, but Boards is not a courtroom. There is no such level of proof needed for people to make their own minds up based on the allegations and the "apology".

Agreed. Innocent until proven guilty is a term thrown about a lot, but it's one which relates to the requirement of a court, judge, jury etc to start each trial with the presumption that the defendant is innocent, and it's up to the prosecutors to prove to the jury that the defendant is guilty.

It doesn't preclude anyone outside of the court from holding an opinion as to whether or not the defendant is guilty. It also doesn't take into account that many guilty people are found innocent, and some innocent people are found guilty.

Now of course, accusations made shouldn't just simply be believed automatically, and the person being accused has every right to defend themselves and deny the accusations. Some level of proof to go along with the accusations should be provided where possible, and multiple people making the same type of accusation essentially helps provide a level of evidence as it shows a pattern of behaviour.

In this case, multiple people came forward with very similar stories, and Al Porter didn't deny any of them, instead giving excuses for his actions, not denying he carried them out.

As such I don't think it's unreasonable for people to hold the opinion that the accusations are true. He may not have been convicted of a crime, and the level of proof required to prove that he's guilty in a court of law would obviously be more onerous and may mean he'd be found innocent, but it's not unreasonable for people to consider him guilty based on everything that's come out so far and his apology for same.

suicide_circus

A chap I know who used to work in The Dragon on George's street was saying that in his experience this crotch grabbing was pretty common place in there

DickSwiveller

20Cent wrote: »

No they haven't.

Yes, they have.

Cienciano

gramar wrote: »

For the moment it's all allegations. Al is young, a public figure and popular with a lot of people. He'll be back because there will be promoters who can see him as a way of making money. People can have very short memories.
He'll rejig his persona and his material but he ain't finished.

I think he's more popular with the mammy crowd than the young crowd. And they're allegations, but ones he's apologised for rather than denied. Which means they're more than likely true.

LollipopJimmy

DickSwiveller wrote: »

Exactly. Complete overreaction. It reminds me of the righteous, moral indignation of Trump when he was recorded saying "Grab her...." Any group of lads has said something like this.

I wouldn't say I am any way appalled, he's clearly outed himself as a moron for the groping and grabbing and probably doesn't deserve the job he has, with those positions comes social power and somebody who thinks it's ok to behave in such a way can't be trusted with that power.

The only part I find really unsettling is the alleged incident in St.Pats, now that is something extremely wrong on all levels.

DickSwiveller

LollipopJimmy wrote: »

I wouldn't say I am any way appalled, he's clearly outed himself as a moron for the groping and grabbing and probably doesn't deserve the job he has, with those positions comes social power and somebody who thinks it's ok to behave in such a way can't be trusted with that power.

The only part I find really unsettling is the alleged incident in St.Pats, now that is something extremely wrong on all levels.

True, but Pats say they haven't received any complaint.

ThisRegard

DickSwiveller wrote: »

Yes, they have.

You hang around in ****ty circles.

gramar

ThisRegard wrote: »

You hang around in ****ty circles.

Sounds like an Al Porter joke.

mel123

murpho999 wrote: »

I actually don't think so. I actually think his media career is over.

Agreed, I just dont see how he can bounce back at all after this, and rightly so IMO.
Id be disgusted if my employer hired a sex pest/sexual abuser to come sit in my office to work, its the same difference for RTE/TV3 or anyone else who would even attempt to hire him after this.

Anyone remember Dapper Laughs (UK not Irish) and when he went through with his rape 'jokes'? Its hard to compare jokes with actual sexual assault, and that is not my intention at all, but it took Dapper a long time to bounce back, he almost didnt.

K.Flyer

What I am trying to figure out is this. If said allegations did take place why didn't any of his accusers, individually or collectively, take it to the Garda if they felt so offended, outraged and distraught about it and have him charged or cautioned, instead of running to the papers with it years later.

DickSwiveller

K.Flyer wrote: »

What I am trying to figure out is this. If said allegations did take place why didn't any of his accusers, individually or collectively, take it to the Garda if they felt so offended, outraged and distraught about it and have him charged or cautioned, instead of running to the papers with it years later.

Because #metoo gets a person more attention. I can't believe some of the posters on here think there is no element of attention seeking to this whole story.

PeterParker957

DickSwiveller wrote: »

Because #metoo gets a person more attention. I can't believe some of the posters on here think there is no element of attention seeking to this whole story.

I can't believe there any rationally minded intelligent people who think otherwise!!!

Of COURSE it's purely attention seeking!!

You go to the Guards and - hopefully - they'll want details, places, facts that can be verified and checked against an alibi.

Go on Twitter and "you go girl!" - no verification needed there.

Roger Hassenforder

PeterParker957 wrote: »

I can't believe there any rationally minded intelligent people who think otherwise!!!

Of COURSE it's purely attention seeking!!

You go to the Guards and - hopefully - they'll want details, places, facts that can be verified and checked against an alibi.

Go on Twitter and "you go girl!" - no verification needed there.

there's two issues:
the "what" he did
and the "why" the victims are only coming forward now.

for some rationally minded people the "why" seems more important than the "what". I might be wrong?

Cienciano

K.Flyer wrote: »

What I am trying to figure out is this. If said allegations did take place why didn't any of his accusers, individually or collectively, take it to the Garda if they felt so offended, outraged and distraught about it and have him charged or cautioned, instead of running to the papers with it years later.

I'll guess because going to the courts is a long drawn out process and expensive. Going to the papers is easier, takes a half hour and it's the same end result.

but1er

Why did no-one knock him out?

SnakePlissken

david75 wrote: »

You’re in a bar and someone sticks their hand down your jocks you simply push him off and tell him To fvck off. If you’re a lad.

So such an attack on a woman would be rightly classed as a sexual assault which should by all means be reported to the Gardai, but when it happens to "a lad" it's just bantz?

Jesus wept, I've no idea what decade your mindset is stuck in, but should I ever be so unfortunate to be assaulted in such a manner I will most certainly not meekly brush it off.

Sexual assault is equally reprehensible whether the victim is male or female.

but1er

but1er wrote: »

Why did no-one knock him out?

He'll play the homophobic attack card and then they'd get into trouble

david75

SnakePlissken wrote: »

So such an attack on a woman would be rightly classed as a sexual assault which should by all means be reported to the Gardai, but when it happens to "a lad" it's just bantz?

Jesus wept, I've no idea what decade your mindset is stuck in, but should I ever be so unfortunate to be assaulted in such a manner I most certainly not meekly brush it off.

Sexual assault is equally reprehensible whether the victim is male or female.

It’s uncommon but it does happen on the gay scene any random night. But not often at all. The thing here is it’s porters MO. consistently. He’s known for it. And it has worked for him often it seems as he kept doing it. But when challenged he goes ‘ah I’m only having a Buzz! Banter!’ bvll**** when you’re doa by it constantly.


A reply from one of his accusers to his frankly appalling non apology-

'The tone of the vitriol.' That's amazing. My apologies to Al Porter for calmly and accurately describing my experience. Wow. Sorry I was a bad victim bud twitter.com/TheAlPorter/st…

jack hackett

Why is that these sex pests are always men? like you will never see a headline saying Paula McSweeney caught being a sex pest or Muireann O Connell groped a member of Bellx1 in studio? What really annoys me is that Paula McSweeney is shoved into the 5am slot just so todayfm can say that they employee female presenters and Muireann O Connell, who should have actually got the lunchtime gig instead of Porter, she gets shoved around filling holes everywhere, dermot and dave get more holidays than teachers and she fills in and Porter was always off anyway so she may as well have been the lunchtime presenter, Todayfm need to learn from this hard lesson.

DickSwiveller

david75 wrote: »

It’s uncommon but it does happen on the gay scene any random night. But not often at all. The thing here is it’s porters MO. consistently. He’s known for it. And it has worked for him often it seems as he kept doing it. But when challenged he goes ‘ah I’m only having a Buzz! Banter!’ bvll**** when you’re doa by it constantly.


A reply from one of his accusers to his frankly appalling non apology-

'The tone of the vitriol.' That's amazing. My apologies to Al Porter for calmly and accurately describing my experience. Wow. Sorry I was a bad victim bud twitter.com/TheAlPorter/st…

In fairness, he has received a barrage of abuse from lots of people unconnected with the allegations.

LadyMacBeth_

jack hackett wrote: »

Why is that these sex pests are always men? like you will never see a headline saying Paula McSweeney caught being a sex pest or Muireann O Connell groped a member of Bellx1 in studio? What really annoys me is that Paula McSweeney is shoved into the 5am slot just so todayfm can say that they employee female presenters and Muireann O Connell, who should have actually got the lunchtime gig instead of Porter, she gets shoved around filling holes everywhere, dermot and dave get more holidays than teachers and she fills in and Porter was always off anyway so she may as well have been the lunchtime presenter, Todayfm need to learn from this hard lesson.

I couldn't help myself :pac:

jack hackett

LadyMacBeth_ wrote: »

I couldn't help myself :pac:

is this Al Porter?

but1er

the facebook messages are just getting worse and worse. should of used snapchat ( i joke i joke )

david75

DickSwiveller wrote: »

In fairness, he has received a barrage of abuse from lots of people unconnected with the allegations.

‘Ah poor sex predator getting a hard time. Heart goes out to him.’

He deserves the abuse he’s getting. The defence of him is baffling to me