Sex pests hide behind a thin veneer of charm

FROM Al Porter’s point of view, the timing of his in-depth interview – where he professes zero tolerance for sexual harassment and inappropriate behaviour – couldn’t be more unfortunate. The 24-year-old funnyman, whose career has now stalled as a result of the mounting allegations about his own conduct, gave us perhaps the biggest laugh yet with his stunning display of hypocrisy and double standards.

Not that Porter would see it that way. His public apology to those he hurt shows that he regards himself as less of a sexual opportunist and more a cheeky chappie whose playful advances were simply misunderstood. ‘While my conduct, which had been in keeping with my flamboyant and outrageous public persona, may be regarded as offensive and unacceptable by many people, I at no time intended to upset anyone,’ he said.

Porter is not alone among the big-name casualties of the hash tag MeToo revelations who are in denial about their behaviour. His alleged transgressions rate as trifles compared to the ugly accusations facing Harvey Weinstein but the movie mogul could well see sexual assault as a more robust version of the Hollywood casting couch, trading sexual favours for movie breaks.

WEINSTEIN‘S cronies or, as Uma Thurman calls them, his ‘wicked conspirators’ – not to mention the women who draped themselves around him on the red carpet, turning a blind eye to his seedy reputation on the grounds that they were spared his advances – could be of a similar viewpoint.

It’s human nature for individuals to try and diminish their own bad deeds, to cast around for excuses – even when there really aren’t any.

But the messy part of being human also means that people rarely show the same face to everyone – that bullies can be liked and loathed in different measures. And sometimes by the same person.

Just as Uma Thurman finally broke her silence to denounce Weinstein, Jennifer Lawrence said he took a fatherly interest in her.

Weinstein did not terrorise every woman and a few held him in affection. Remember how when the scandal broke originally, Lindsay Lohan said that she felt quite sorry for the besieged director.

It’s true that people who rise to the top in showbiz, as in any walk of life, often are hugely charismatic and like being liked.

But even if they are predisposed to bullying underlings or ignoring boundaries, they must also take care to cultivate bonds of loyalty and affection in order to secure their position. Winners don’t stay at the top of their game or retain their network of influence by trying it on with everyone who takes their fancy or humiliating them.

Amnesty’s Colm O’Gorman tweeted that he liked Al Porter and was disturbed by the sex assault allegations against him. Predictably the angry twitter mob descended on O’Gorman, as if he had tried to defend Porter.

ALL he said was that he was friendly with the comic but that was lost on the twitterati who automatically charged him with the basest motives. Life is not black and white, while sexual harassment – whether of the milder sexpest variety or at the crueller more predatory end of the scale – is not perpetrated by two-dimensional villains, oozing menace and evil.

It is carried out by men who are often popular, can be selectively kind and respectful and assert their power through a complex mixture of fear and fellow feeling. That is not to excuse their appalling behaviour – they do quite enough of that for themselves – or to lessen its impact on their victims.

It merely shows how brute force is wielded not just by fear but also by affection.