Believe me, I wanted to go all David Cameron on the headline there. But I won’t.
I am saddened by the news that the lovely Jane Goldman has decided to quit Twitter thanks to a bunch of idiotic arsewipes attacking her husband, Jonathan Ross, just because he was going to host the Hugo Awards.
I will defend the Ross family because although I have never met them in person, they have been extremely generous with their time when it has been asked for (not just be me, but by others). Jane in particular, has been exceptionally kind and patient with me when I’ve thrown her various questions over the years – some via Twitter too. I can’t thank her enough for her help.
To sum up: they’re very nice people.
Why sci-fi fans have attacked Ross, I just don’t know.
He is perfectly suited to hosting the awards because:
1) He’s a big, big fan of sci-fi and fantasy. This is well documented.
2) He has authored various comic books and put the wheels in motion for various films based around comic books.
3) Devised and released through his and Jane’s new games company, Hot Sauce Interactive, Catcha Catcha Aliens. You couldn’t get more sci-fi if you tried.
and
4)has produced and presented one of the best damn documentaries I’ve seen about the industry – In Search of Steve Ditko – which introduced me to the world of Marvel and even got me buying their stuff.
Jane has worked with Hugo Award winning Neil Gaiman in adapting his work. She has been working in the sci-fi/fantasy genre perhaps even longer than Jonathan. So if Jonathan Ross isn’t qualified to host the Hugos, I really don’t know.
Neil Gaiman asked Jonathan to host the awards, and Jonathan said he would do it. For free. Neil himself is a wonderful, nice guy too. And people who know Neil and his work will also know that Neil and the Ross family are very good chums (to the extent that Neil wrote a story involving Jonathan and Jane who appear in comic book form).
Even if you dislike Jonathan Ross, what excuse does it give for somebody to attack the guy AND his family at the same time (wife Jane and daughter Honey Kinney)? Do these people think they’re anonymous and think they can get away with anything they type? With increasing number of prosecutions against those that threaten others online, it makes me wonder why people still try to do it.
And here’s the thing: despite being the public eye, it doesn’t necessarily mean that these people are comfortable with it. Your every move is scrutinised, your talent right down to your clothing and appearance criticised. I still remember the time when the Daily Mail (never a fan of the Ross family) was reporting on the Empire Movie Awards and spent half a page criticising Jonathan Ross’ shoes before putting up a list of winners. Ridiculous journalism.
And no, I don’t believe it’s all “part of the job”. People of all walks of life are entitled to privacy, courtesy and respect. And what I’ve seen over the years with technology is that it’s making it all too easy to pry, stalk and abuse people that we (as a society) are supposed to “celebrate”.
And technology isn’t here to do your thinking for you. I learnt a lesson long ago to think before you tweet (or use social media in any context surrounding people in the public eye). It’s an absolute privilege to be able to communicate with these people if they choose to read or reply to you – abuse it, and you’ll drive them away.
