I don't think what Brand and Ross did was alright but i'm damned if anyone's going to use my feelings about it for their own ends and to stoke their own agendas.

I can only agree with that and yes - time to leave it alone.

Sarah

What Jonathon Ross and Russell Brand did was wrong. The producer who listened to the show and then put it out was wrong. And even if nobody had complained about it, what the BBC should have done is recognised the error in judgement and reprimanded all those concerned accordingly, along with apologising to those at the butt of the joke.

If swift action had been taken the media circus, that has gotten quite ridiculous frankly, would have more than likely been avoided, in this respect the BBC was wrong.

Did anyone hear actually hear the program? Read the transcripts? I'm sorry, but it sounded pretty funny to me, in a naughty-shouldn't-laugh-but-can't-help-it kind of way. Brand and Ross are well known comedians. You know what you're getting with them. Brand has said and implied a lot worse on his show, but it hasn't affected anyone else. What about Phonejacker? These kind of pranks seem pretty popular if you ask me, and it was Ross who yelled out about Brand's fling with Georgina, the rest of it was just two funny guys trying to dig themselves out of a hole - rather amusingly - and getting in deeper and deeper. Clearly, no one intended any malice, it just got out of hand. Of course, the saintly British public have never made any such mistakes and are free to throw stones as they wish.

If you can't laugh at clowns, what hope do you have?

Misery guts Britain.

JB


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*here

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Lord, how we LOVE to be offended.

I just watched a clip of Paul O'Grady going into the NTV awards last night being asked his opinion. "It should have been edited out," he said. "Two comics in a room - it's a temptation." Said with a grin. I think it's right.

Yeah. But as with all these media frenzies lately, it's the trees what suffer.

JB

Anyway, what's the Gok furore that someone mentioned en passant in this thread

Was me, Jem. His latest series: 'Miss Naked Beauty' or something similar. Apparently, far from extolling the beauty of the naked body, the programme is putting the women through humiliating tasks which are causing them to feel uncomfortable and ashamed.
Susiex

Oh, missed that one.

Isn't it supposed to be a celebration of 'normal' women who are averagely attractive? So the stunning Myleene Klass is a really obvious co-presenter then...
[would insert smiley with just one sardonically raised eyebrow if there was such a thing]

.~
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Nah, scrap that.

Nice effort though, Rainstop!

Rather brilliant, Rainstop!

Peter Tatchell sums it all up -

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/oct/30/russell-brand-jonathan-ross

I saw that Elbowsnitch.

And today they've started on about Mock the Week too. This is what i mean. Give em an inch. This is why I think you shouldn't give em an inch to be honest. Comedy will sometimes go over the line. I don't think numbers of complaints have anything to do with anything. People often choose to be offended and often for the wrong reasons (like at Chris Morris's Brass Eye Special or Queer as Folk.) I think the BBC shouldn't have bowed so much to all the pressure in fact.

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http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/adrian-edmondson-is-that-a-joke-in-bad-taste-youd-better-watch-out-979990.html

Good article from Adrian Edmondson