Moir on Gately: 'I want to say sorry'
Updated on 23 October 2009
Daily Mail columnist Jan Moir responds to furore provoked by her comments following the death of Boyzone singer Stephen Gately. Ben Monro-Davies reports.
Jan Moir has spoken - at least via her Daily Mail column - following an unprecedented number of complaints to the Press Complaints Commission about an article she wrote on the death of Boyzone star Stephen Gately.
The word "sorry" features, although whether or not it is an apology will no
doubt be disputed by all sides.
She writes -
"To my horror, it has been widely condemned as 'homophobic' and 'hateful'.
Obviously, a great deal of offence has been taken and I regret any affront
caused. This was never my intention.
"To be the focus of such depth of feeling has been an interesting experience, but I do not complain. After all, I am not – unlike those close to Stephen Gately – mourning for the loss of a much-loved partner, son, family member and close friend.
"To them, I would like to say sorry if I have caused distress by the insensitive timing of the column, published so close to the funeral."
She also insists there was nothing homophobic about what she wrote -
"As for Stephen's civil partnership, I am on the record as supporting same-sex marriages.
"The point of my observation that there was a 'happy ever after myth' surrounding such unions was that they can be just as problematic as heterosexual marriages.
"Indeed, I would stress that there was nothing in my article that could not be applied to a heterosexual couple as well as to a homosexual one."
Still, the tone is rather cowed – given there is now a PCC inquiry, our learned friends would have been all over it.
The first Twitter responses were not sympathetic. One from @krisjones reads: "No.
It's self-justification while accusing her detractors of being poisonous. I'm
always intrigued by the "siltent majority".
