Mariella blasts MeToo ‘Communist putsch’

HuSkY-VOICeD broadcaster Mariella Frostrup, who caught the eye of George Clooney in his pre-Amal days, has criticised the #MeToo campaign against sexual harassment and inequality.

The 55-year-old describes ‘my own growing unease about jumping on a driverless train that is fast creating a Communist-era putsch — where the guilty, the slightly guilty, the possibly guilty and the entirely guilt-free are all crammed into the same Pandora’s Box’.

The #MeToo social media protest became a global phenomenon following the revelations surrounding sex predator Harvey Weinstein. ‘The female solidarity in evidence for #MeToo is very welcome but armed with only slogans, dresses and accusations, are we sure justice is being served?’ adds Frostrup.

‘I believe in “innocent until proven guilty” — unlike the current fashion.

‘Over history, the outraged mob has drawn our attention to injustices, but rarely is it the key to lasting change.’

While actresses wore black dresses at the recent Baftas in solidarity with #MeToo, Frostrup was delighted actress Frances McDormand defied the trend. ‘Was I the only person who let out a low-level whoop when Best Actress Frances McDormand took to the stage in her colourful costume,’ asks Frostrup, ‘and later in the week emitted a loud groan when Jennifer Lawrence’s plunging, anatomy-displaying gown stood out for all the wrong reasons among the sensibly dressed male cast?’

Frostrup , a mother of two who is married to human rights lawyer Jason McCue, has previously said she misses the male attention she used to enjoy when younger.

‘When you get to my age, you think any attention is welcome,’ she said, ‘and you feel really stupid you turned it down in the past by thinking: “Don’t say that about me, I am a feminist.” ’