Winners and Sinners

Cameron Hill (0:00)

The Hard Shoulder, with Ciara Kelly and Shane Colman.

Ciara Kelly (0:04)

On Newstalk, with Ciara. Winners, and sinners, on The Hard Shoulder.

Shane Colman (0:21)

Now, this is Winners and Sinners, where we look back at the week that was with a few twists. And joining us is Off the Ball's Cameron Hill, and Today FM's Alison Curtis. We might start with you, Cameron Hill. Your winner of the week.

Cameron Hill (0:34)

So my winner this week is Judge Joe Benethan, who presided over Russell Brand's trial and handed out a sentence of 10 and a half years to Russell Brand over one count of rape and two counts of sexual assault in Southern Crown Court. And I tend not to listen to sentencing. I was just compelled by this case and everything around it to listen to his full statement. And it blew me away, to be honest, various different kind of soundbites, quotes, the series of lies that he said Russell Brand had told in the courtroom, the staggering arrogance he'd shown in committing the offences. But one thing that really struck me was the part where he thanked all of the complainants, not just the ones who had their charges, who Russell Brand was eventually convicted of, but everyone who had come forward because it's such a stressful and really quite awful process that victims have to go through where their accounts are not only challenged, but they're accused of lying. And it turned out not to be the case in three of those. He was acquitted of other charges. But the statement that whatever women were, wherever they go, indeed, whatever they drink, they retained the right to say no and to demand justice from the criminal courts when sexual predators like you, Russell Brand, acted out their consent.

And I found that particularly compelling. A lot of my friends on social media also found it compelling because I don't remember a magistrate or someone as senior making that point before and dispelling the myth of the terrible, just awful myth of asking for it and that this person, they put themselves in that situation.

And it made me think of Nikita Hand and the title of her book is Not the Perfect Victim and her story and how she has been so brave in telling it. I really commend her for. But like someone saying that actually you're entitled to do and wear and go out and enjoy yourself and not feel like you're putting yourself in gross danger. Someone like Joe Bennet and I think it's incredibly empowering and hopefully, hopefully leads to change. But as we've seen in the past, it doesn't necessarily.

Ciara Kelly (2:49)

I found it hugely moving actually as a woman to hear that articulated so, so well, because for a long time, well, these things were what you wore or what you drank or whatever. We saw it in a court case in this country where a girl's underwear was waved around a courtroom because if she'd gone out wearing this, well then surely that meant something about what her intentions were. And I actually, as a woman who has lived many decades now in Ireland, I do feel the conversation is moving forward in a really positive way, but I thought it was hugely moving and I kind of wanted to applaud them. Do you know that kind of way?

Shane Colman (3:27)

Did the judge say something about Russell Brand's enablers?

Cameron Hill (3:31)

Yeah, he criticized his enablers for basically letting him get away with this and instilling this behavior. And I just finished, I brought it up a couple of weeks ago, John Ronson's new book, The Castle, where he talks about various people who, like various male sort of celebrities who've run afoul of things that have come out of it, their DMs. Like he talks to Armie Hammer and about the DMs he would have sent in 2021 that would have would have emerged. But one of the things that comes out of the book is the level of indestructibility that's instilled in these types of characters from very early on, which makes them feel empowered enough to act in certain illegal ways. But obviously quite morally dubious ways, too.

And the fact that he pointed out those enablers was hugely important as well, because nobody acts alone. It's a culture.

Shane Colman (4:25)

It is. And Alison, your winner of the week, it's a not unrelated issue.

Alison Curtis (4:33)

Yeah. So Lucy Beaumont, who is a comedian, came out and said, I am one of the whistleblowers, arguably the most prominent whistleblowers in the alleged behaviour of David Walliams. And it all happened in the same week, obviously. And she said that she was compelled to come out because she was so concerned about information she was getting. Now, she said she didn't witness anything herself of bad behaviour.