There is a certain irony to how unintentionally funny Gregg Wallace’s latest social media post is.
It is a bin-fire of an Instagram post. Enough to leave those with only the loosest of grasps of crisis management open-mouthed.
Rather than a weekend of self-reflection, after a bruising week reputationally, the presenter has instead opted to hit out at one of the key demographics of his brand – “middle-class women of a certain age”.
The most obvious question is: Who does he think watches MasterChef?
But then perhaps he’s now opting to embrace a new audience, those who’re struggling – like Wallace – to understand what he might have done wrong.
Certainly, in that respect, it is a masterstroke in how to take the trolls with you.
Enabling them now with the ammunition to shout at any woman on social media who dares to call out his behaviour… “Can’t you take a joke, love?” etc etc.
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One suspects Wallace might have been surrounded by so many people who’ve laughed along over the years, that you can understand why he might be struggling to understand what the problem is now.
His conduct was seemingly called out so infrequently by the bosses.
Sitting posting on Instagram, he appears bewildered by the fact he’s no longer considered the life and soul.
There needs to be a handy cut-and-paste template for moments like this, given the number of times I’ve had to write analysis this year on powerful men, of a certain age, failing to grasp that their bumper pay packets come with some basic responsibilities.
The main one being: just behave in a decent fashion that doesn’t make everyone feel uncomfortable.
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Outrage over Sunday morning’s video might obscure this saga’s bigger dimension, which today’s new revelations make bigger: the extent to which BBC bosses might have known that this presenter’s conduct was upsetting to colleagues and guests.
We now suspect their knowledge dates back to at least 2017, according to The Sunday Times.
But then maybe as a middle-class woman of a certain age, who am I to judge?
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