Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
‘Stupid’ Myers hasn’t slept for two nights
Columnist insists he is not anti-semitic
FORMER Sunday Times Ireland columnist Kevin Myers has apologised for his controversial column on female presenters on the BBC.
Mr Myers was sacked by the newspaper after he pointed out that two of the best-paid women presenters at the corporation, Claudia Winkleman and Vanessa Feltz, are Jewish.
More than 50 complaints were made to the Press Council over the piece, which was labelled “misogynistic” and “anti-semitic” by Taoiseach Leo Varadkar.
In the column, Mr Myers said: “Good for them. Jews are not generally noted for their insistence on selling their talent for the lowest possible price, which is the most useful measure there is of inveterate, lost-with-all-hands stupidity.”
Yesterday Mr Myers admitted it was “stupid of him” to write what he did, adding that he had not slept in two nights.
He told Sean O’rourke on RTE: “It was stupid of me, the encapsulation of such a complex issue in a single sentence.
“One of my flaws is to deal with major issues in throwaway lines. And I did that with regard to the two woman who I identified within the BBC hierarchy. I’m not sure if there’s any redemption for me now which will give a lot of people satisfaction.
“A number of people nodded on duty [in the paper] and let something through that shouldn’t have gone through.
“I am a great admirer of the Jewish people,
I think they are the most gifted people that have ever existed on this planet. Civilisation owes an enormous debt to them.
“One of the great qualities about the Jewish people is their sense of dignity and their sense of self worth. The only way that can be expressed in the world of celebrity is getting the right financial package, you don’t know how long celebrity is going to last.
“I foolishly referred to their [Winkleman and Feltz] religion as a motivator [to their salaries]. I know that I’m not anti-semitic. I’ve got serious professional flaws but I’m not sure people will see them in the future because I’m not sure I will have a career.”
Mr Myers also said he believes the newspaper was right to sack him.
He said: “I think so because of the impossible situation they were placed in, the manner of which I was disposed of I think was wrong, it could have been more gently and I think it could have been done with more diginty.
“I’ve lost my livelihood and I don’t want anyone else to lose their livelihood, enough damage has been done.
“I enjoyed working at The Sunday Times. Enough misery has been caused, you could have a purge and I’m sure a lot of people would like that, a witch hunt with lots of jobs gone, lives ruined and mortgages gone.
“I’m taking responsibility for what I wrote and I can’t say anything about anyone else.”