A journalist who harassed women is being told not to bother rebranding himself

Rupert Myers


On Thursday 19 October, GQ severed ties with its political correspondent, Rupert Myers. This came in the wake of allegations of sexual harassment against Myers – allegations he hasn’t denied.

Myers left Twitter following the incident. But he has since returned, and appears to be keying himself up for a ‘rebrand’. A move which people are advising him against.

Allegations

The allegation that led to Myer’s disgrace originated on Twitter:

Ok, here goes. I haven’t told this story because I listened to the voice that told me it “wasn’t that bad” or “worth talking about”… When I moved to London, I wanted to make friends. I met [Rupert Myers] on Twitter and agreed to go for what I thought was a friendly drink. I was very clear about not being romantically or sexually interested in him, once the subject was raised. I suggested we be mates. He said “I’ve got enough mates, I’d rather fuck you” and forced himself on me outside a pub in Fitzrovia.

Marie Le Conte, who originally raised concerns with Myers, later claimed to have received 49 allegations against him:

Myers apologised via Twitter, although his original apology was in itself criticised:

The first tweet was deleted and replaced by this:

Myers later deactivated his account. His account has since been reactivated, but all of his tweets have been deleted. The problem is that the reactivated account looks like Myers is poised to make a comeback.

Don’t bother

This was Myer’s account on 2 November:

This is Myer’s account on 3 November:

The idea of his return is not a welcome one to some, though:

https://twitter.com/jackrjthompson/status/926389969433841664

Insincerity

There are people who can learn and grow from their mistakes. Rupert Myers does not so far appear to be one of them.

Through his actions, he has caused people genuine pain and discomfort. Despite that, he’s behaving as if this is all some sort of minor setback for him. As if it’s something he’s going to bounce back from with a smile and a wink.

This is not how remorseful people behave.

Get Involved!

– If you are a survivor of sexual assault, you can get support here.

Featured image via YouTube

We need your help to keep speaking the truth

Every story that you have come to us with; each injustice you have asked us to investigate; every campaign we have fought; each of your unheard voices we amplified; we do this for you. We are making a difference on your behalf.

Our fight is your fight. You’ve supported our collective struggle every time you gave us a like; and every time you shared our work across social media. Now we need you to support us with a monthly donation.

We have published nearly 2,000 articles and over 50 films in 2021. And we want to do this and more in 2022 but we don’t have enough money to go on at this pace. So, if you value our work and want us to continue then please join us and be part of The Canary family.

In return, you get:

* Advert free reading experience
* Quarterly group video call with the Editor-in-Chief
* Behind the scenes monthly e-newsletter
* 20% discount in our shop

Almost all of our spending goes to the people who make The Canary’s content. So your contribution directly supports our writers and enables us to continue to do what we do: speaking truth, powered by you. We have weathered many attempts to shut us down and silence our vital opposition to an increasingly fascist government and right-wing mainstream media.

With your help we can continue:

* Holding political and state power to account
* Advocating for the people the system marginalises
* Being a media outlet that upholds the highest standards
* Campaigning on the issues others won’t
* Putting your lives central to everything we do

We are a drop of truth in an ocean of deceit. But we can’t do this without your support. So please, can you help us continue the fight?

The Canary Support us

Comments are closed

Related articles