COMEDIAN Dapper Laughs has hit out at ITV over its handling of the Phillip Schofield row – which the This Morning presenter has been accused of grooming and his brother was found guilty of sexual abuse of a young boy.
The comedian – whose ITV2 show Dapper Laughs: On the Pull, was dropped in 2014 over a joke in which he was accused “normalising sexism” saw his show being caught in a social media storm in which 60,000 people signed a petition to have him axed – and ITV apologised.
Yet ITV has continued its support for Mr Schofield – who has been accused of grooming and an affair with a former colleague – who he met when he was a child at a theatre school and seen a petition to sack him hit 80,000 signatures.
He wrote on Twitter: “Sat thinking about how ITV dropped me over a joke & Schofields still on there.”
The decision to pull his show was made after around 60,000 people signed a petition calling on Adam Crozier, the network’s former chief executive, to pull the ITV2 show, and after footage emerged of a gig hosted by Daniel O’Reilly – who plays Dapper Laughs.
An ITV spokesman said at the time : “We have given careful thought to the recent criticism of the character Dapper Laughs, which has focused on his activities outside of the ITV2 programme, whose content was carefully considered and complied. We have taken the decision that we will not be considering this show for a second series.”
In the programme O’Reilly gave laddish advice on how to “pull birds” under the guise of a deliberately provocative character with lines such as: “Just show her your penis; if she cries, she’s just playing hard to get,” and: “If she’s looking at me and playing with her hair, by the end of the night she’ll need a wheelchair.”
Critics argued: “O’Reilly’s attitudes towards women, and ITV’s backing in particular, “are far from harmless, however: because ITV has granted O’Reilly the massive exposure and credibility of its platform, everyday sexism is being normalised for both young men and women.”
So, why is ITV so happy to give Phillip Schofield the “massive platform” to normalise the alleged grooming of young boys and the sexual abuse of children?
It’s a NATIONAL disgrace.
