Whatever your opinion is on Huw Edwards, the fact of the matter is that there is an innocent (in the eyes of the law) man in hospital as a direct result of the British Media’s disgusting witch hunt against him, in which they will do anything to sell more papers. The likes of The Sun (major ick) have seemingly learnt nothing, three years on, from the tragedy that unfolded with the late presenter Caroline Flack (Flack who, like Edwards, was also the target of a ‘witch hunt’ which, ultimately, led to her death- suicide).
Whilst there is no disputing the fact that what Huw Edwards did was morally wrong, legally, as the Police have concluded in their investigations which are now complete, no crime was committed/there were no legal ‘wrongdoings.’
It’s also important to remember that the complaint against Huw wasn’t made by the proposed ‘victim’ in all of this- the young person who Edwards exchanged large sums of money with in return for their explicit photos (£35,000 over a three year period). The complaint was made by the said young persons parents. And, since the complaint was made, the young person has, through their lawyer, said that the information published is ‘untrue’, and that ‘nothing illegal took place’…
There is a lot we don’t know in this story, a lot of media speculation, however, something which I have seen ‘doing the rounds’ online, is that the young person was estranged from their parents. I can’t help but question then, what their intentions were when they went to The Sun with this story. The fact that they said their child is now addicted to cocaine because of Hue, to me, seems like they are looking for someone to blame for this- parents in denial looking for someone to blame for their child’s drug addiction. The reality, though, is that this cannot be verified in any way, and, chances are, if they hadn’t sold photos of themselves for money, they would’ve found some other way to get money. Again, I’m not questioning that morals weren’t compromised here, but I am questioning whether it’s fair to pin it all onto someone who, not that it makes it right, but, nevertheless, just did what millions of other people do every day via only fans- exchanging money in return for sexually explicit photographs…
It’s said that the young person was 17 when the images were exchanged. If this was done via only fans, then surely only fans as a platform have questions to answer, as you have to be 18 or over to sign up to the site. Personally though, and I know that this is probably a controversial opinion to have but, when I reflect back to when I was 17, I can wholeheartedly say that I was not a child. I knew what I was doing at 17. I could make my own decisions and understand, and deal with, the outcome of those decisions. 17 is not a child. If it were, then why is the legal age of consent (in the UK) 16?
Because we don’t know all the facts in this story, a story which I have no doubt will continue for some time, I can’t say much more on it than I have done. There have been reports of a second young person (23) having received what they describe as ‘threatening’ messages via a dating app from Huw. Again though, this isn’t illegal. Morally compromising, yes, but not illegal. And it’s something that, again, not that this makes it right, happens literally every single day. It’s only because Huw is in the public eye in the way that he is, that this story has been blown up so that it’s all we’re talking about (a convenient distraction against all the things we actually should be talking about, I feel)…
There have also been reports made, yesterday, that colleagues at the BBC were made to feel ‘uncomfortable’ in Huw’s presence (although, it’s important to note that no official complaints have yet been made into this). Evidently then, a through investigation needs to take place within the BBC to look into these reports. If the accusations of ‘unhealthy power dynamics’ are true, if it’s found that Huw has made colleagues feel uncomfortable, then that’s another story, but, I am writing this today based on what we know to be true so far. That Huw is ‘receiving inpatient care where he will stay for the foreseeable future.’ Clearly having had some sort of mental breakdown because of all this- and, is it any wonder, it’s constant, his name everywhere- I think we all need to back off, let the investigations continue, and let Huw Edwards get better. Yes, what he’s done is morally questionable, but, hounding someone into suicide, I think that *slightly* trumps this- ‘this’ being what we know him to have, factually, done.
Leave a Reply