UK - Jonathan Ross & Russell Brand

[Neil]

Yep, Daily Mail is evil bandwagon newspaper from hell....no doubt about it... But my problem is the infantile way of delivering their comedy - the jokes on Mock the Week are at least intelligent and have a point based on reality....Brand and Ross were just using their egos as a way to exploit some poor guy's private life....it just wasn't funny and didn't need to be aired... You forget... In your opinion... I happen to like them both... As for Sach's personal life:- 1) He could have said, no don't call me. 2) He could have said, no don't broadcast the messages. There is no way with any common sense applied people should be losing jobs over this, or indeed be suspended for months! Utter madness!

[capncnut]

There is no way with any common sense applied people should be losing jobs over this, or indeed be suspended for months! Utter madness! Completely agree, such seriousness over stupidity. Years ago, the BBC had a programme called The Sunday Show where a mock roving reporter called Dennis Pennis took the piss/insulted celebrities to their face in a much cruder fashion than the way Brand and Woss did and was just as funny. Why the BBC are so up in arms about this incident is totally unfathomable.

[Danny]

the whole things a ****nig farce, they made a dick move and apologized. there, thats called ending a matter. but as usual the british public loves nothing more than to be brewed into a hate fervor over whatever the ****ing tabloids say is the hot topic of the week. i dont like brand, ross is hit and miss, but they shouldn't even be suspended, they apologized for a lewd joke they made which offended the only person they should apologize to and that should have been that. but nowadays in this country everyones scared of everything so you cant bloody win no matter what they both do.

[SymphonicX]

You forget... In your opinion... I happen to like them both... As for Sach's personal life:- 1) He could have said, no don't call me. 2) He could have said, no don't broadcast the messages. There is no way with any common sense applied people should be losing jobs over this, or indeed be suspended for months! Utter madness! If this was ITV, yes.... But it's the BBC...it's public service broadcasting...so to keep some level of decorum is nice, when they don't and it's thrown back in their faces they have to be seen to do something - besides, I am gleeful that these idiots are getting lambasted by the press, they deserve it...it's just a shame they're not off the telly forever.

[MinionZombie]

Yep, Daily Mail is evil bandwagon newspaper from hell....no doubt about it... But my problem is the infantile way of delivering their comedy - the jokes on Mock the Week are at least intelligent and have a point based on reality....Brand and Ross were just using their egos as a way to exploit some poor guy's private life....it just wasn't funny and didn't need to be aired... Woohoo for Mock The Week! As for that Queen gag, lay off it Daily Mail yeah? Stop being losers, MTW is f*cking hilarious with a whole raft of intelligent, quick-witted comedians on it. The Queen is a public figure, and like religion, institutions, organisations and political figures and celebrities, is open to a whole raft of mockery ... ... some guy who used to be on Fawlty Towers playing a bumbling waiter, and a struggling goth-ish model aren't public figures of note and are therefore not fair targets - which is essentially what's at fault here. I wasn't offended by either comment now being chatted about, but I still stand by my statement that as the involved Sachs' can't really be considered well-known media personalities (either anymore, or currently - BEFORE this crap all started), it's unfair to target them - they're essentially a normal everyday person. He's out of the spotlight these days, she's only in the spotlight of niche markets ... and would you want your grandparent getting told in a rather lewd fashion what you get up to? No you wouldn't, because it's not necessary - I don't care if she's in the "Satanic Sluts" or does a bit of Dominatrixing on the side - fair play to her, but she also needs to shut up and stop throwing stones in The Sun, another hideous tabloid rag that should be ashamed of itself on a daily basis. The vengeance has gotten out of hand now though, if Ross should suffer any job losses, it should be on the BBC, rather than ITV - which is a totally different network, who actually pay their own way ... not like the BBC who force £139 out of you every year, and then make a mint from merchandising and international sales (both shows and formats), which is a huge lump of arrogance in itself. I'd much prefer this issue to be cast aside, and for the real issues to be set out - the license fee, and the political bias of the BBC for two - far more serious issues that need rectifying immediately. But back to this Brand/Ross stuff, yet again, if some chav rang up an old guy and said stuff like 'I've been shagging your grand-daughter, the dirty slag', or what have you (not trying to quote or misquote Brand/Ross there, so calm down ), then that'd be a criminal offence ... but because it's two bloated ego's at the BBC it's okay? So in summary, I'm somewhere in the middle ... I certainly don't think it's the worst of humanity on show, but I certainly don't think that everyone can strut around like arrogant pricks who reckon their turd doesn't stink of sh*t. *gasps* Rant over ... again.

[Tricky]

Regardless of this incident,brand & ross are both a pair of smug arrogant tw*ts & if this gets them off my screen im all for it!Im definitely not a comedy prude either,i was at a chubby brown concert last night!Chubby is crude & some people find him hard to swallow (he gets branded racist,yet there was a lot of coloured faces in the audience last night who bought tickets knowing full well what he's like & were laughing their heads off!) ,but theres no way even he would pull a stunt like this because he's an old school comedian with respect believe it or not,yet he's been banned from tv since the 80's! If one of my sisters ex boyfriends rang my grandparents & started telling them he'd shagged their grand daughter i would personally go round & knock seven shades out of him!

[SymphonicX]

Regardless of this incident,brand & ross are both a pair of smug arrogant tw*ts & if this gets them off my screen im all for it!Im definitely not a comedy prude either,i was at a chubby brown concert last night!Chubby is crude & some people find him hard to swallow (he gets branded racist,yet there was a lot of coloured faces in the audience last night who bought tickets knowing full well what he's like & were laughing their heads off!) ,but theres no way even he would pull a stunt like this because he's an old school comedian with respect believe it or not,yet he's been banned from tv since the 80's! If one of my sisters ex boyfriends rang my grandparents & started telling them he'd shagged their grand daughter i would personally go round & knock seven shades out of him! agreed, but I think chubby brown is a wanker and deserves death, rather like Bernard Manning...

[Neil]

If this was ITV, yes.... But it's the BBC...it's public service broadcasting...so to keep some level of decorum is nice, when they don't and it's thrown back in their faces they have to be seen to do something - besides, I am gleeful that these idiots are getting lambasted by the press, they deserve it...it's just a shame they're not off the telly forever. Not at all... I pay my license fee for some decent edgy comedy... I suspect if you had your way we'd have Terry and June all evening...

[SymphonicX]

Not at all... I pay my license fee for some decent edgy comedy... I suspect if you had your way we'd have Terry and June all evening... Not at all, we'd have intelligent edgy comedy...if we're gonna do phone harassment why not Fonejacker? That's totally spot on, edgy, funny, and doesn't once involve someone bragging about who they've had sex with.... Brand and Ross = infantile...my licence fee shouldn't go to pay their wages - if I want Jerry Springer humour I'll turn on Dave or G.O.L.D or something.

[Neil]

Not at all, we'd have intelligent edgy comedy...if we're gonna do phone harassment why not Fonejacker? That's totally spot on, edgy, funny, and doesn't once involve someone bragging about who they've had sex with.... Brand and Ross = infantile...my licence fee shouldn't go to pay their wages - if I want Jerry Springer humour I'll turn on Dave or G.O.L.D or something. Get a grip man... 'Phone harrassment?' - Was this an habitual activity for them? Or a single one off case? - Was the phone call out of the blue? Or had Sachs actually agree to it? - Were any slanderous insulting references made about Sachs? Was he subject to a torrent of abuse? - How many of nearly half a million listeners of the program were offended? How many complained over the following seven days? TWO. For goodness sake! There are too many parish council curtain twitchers getting carried away here? Was is slightly out of order? Possibly? But an apology was more than enough. Far far more offensive acts take place regularly within comic bounderies, but because these are two high profile individuals they have been 'targeted' but people who have other axes to grind. It's frankly pathetic... And The House of Commons indeed! The people of this country are idiots at times. Two wars, a huge credit crunch, and the most important thing people can thing of kicking off on is a silly phone prank? Joyless sheep! I've not been so infuriated about anything this much since we invaded Iraq. Seriously! Makes this country look utterly bafoonish!

[SymphonicX]

Not at all, we'd have intelligent edgy comedy...if we're gonna do phone harassment why not Fonejacker? That's totally spot on, edgy, funny, and doesn't once involve someone bragging about who they've had sex with.... Brand and Ross = infantile...my licence fee shouldn't go to pay their wages - if I want Jerry Springer humour I'll turn on Dave or G.O.L.D or something. Get a grip man... 'Phone harrassment?' - Was this an habitual activity for them? Or a single one off case? - Was the phone call out of the blue? Or had Sachs actually agree to it? - Were any slanderous insulting references made about Sachs? Was he subject to a torrent of abuse? - How many of nearly half a million listeners of the program were offended? How many complained over the following seven days? TWO. For goodness sake! There are too many parish council curtain twitchers getting carried away here? Was is slightly out of order? Possibly? But an apology was more than enough. Far far more offensive acts take place regularly within comic bounderies, but because these are two high profile individuals they have been 'targeted' but people who have other axes to grind. It's frankly pathetic... And The House of Commons indeed! The people of this country are idiots at times. Two wars, a huge credit crunch, and the most important thing people can thing of kicking off on is a silly phone prank? Joyless sheep! I've not been so infuriated about anything this much since we invaded Iraq. Seriously! Makes this country look utterly bafoonish! It doesn't need to be habitual. I'm all for a laugh and a joke but I'd rather not directly pay for it with a crippling tax that I could do without every year...as I said, on any other channel this is fine - but this **** is the further americanisation of the BBC and dumbing down of it's output. I think offensive things are great and in context are brilliant, but this stupid act was context-less and inane, and I dont see why I should have to pay for it. I'm the furthest you could ever get from conservative, but the bottom line is the BBC is meant to be an institution that we can rely on not to pander to that "baying for blood" attitude and teenie bobbing rubbish - even on BBC3 this would've been a bit of a push, and they are aiming for that audience...

[MinionZombie]

Nobody's debating or disagreeing that it's beyond preposterous for the politicians to be getting involved, and nor is anyone really disagreeing that it's all gotten out of hand now. But I say yet again - if some chav rang up an old person and left lewd messages (I've heard that Brand/Ross left four such messages?), that'd be a criminal offence, but because it's two self-important twats off the telly it's alright? I do wonder if Sachs really knew what he was getting into, or what have you ... but anyway, I'm fed up of talking about this thing now, the news has paid way too much attention to it rather than FAR MORE IMPORTANT things - such as, who knew the 42-day detention bill had been rejected by The Lords and then completely dropped in Parliament when it bounced back? Twatface Brown makes such a spectacle about it a few months back, making himself look like a hard man - when in reality he's playing with the lives of potentially innocent people (I would like to know how many of these detained people really are guilty), and then when it's swept under the rug the news refuses to report it - sickening - and in more than one way, because clearly Alistair Campbell - one of the most disgusting, vile, fetid people existing within the political system today (even worse than Mandelson!) - has deliberately snuck this out under the cover of other news, and no doubt bullied the newscasters into not reporting on it. Absolutely vile.

[Neil]

It doesn't need to be habitual. I'm all for a laugh and a joke but I'd rather not directly pay for it with a crippling tax that I could do without every year...as I said, on any other channel this is fine - but this **** is the further americanisation of the BBC and dumbing down of it's output. I think offensive things are great and in context are brilliant, but this stupid act was context-less and inane, and I dont see why I should have to pay for it. I'm the furthest you could ever get from conservative, but the bottom line is the BBC is meant to be an institution that we can rely on not to pander to that "baying for blood" attitude and teenie bobbing rubbish - even on BBC3 this would've been a bit of a push, and they are aiming for that audience... So infact you're not particularly offended by the act? Just the fact you taxes pay the people involved? Fair enough. But the taxes pay for a massive cross section of entertainment, much of which would not get produced otherwise. You cannot keep all the people happy all the time. I don't watch Songs of Praise - I would rather not pay for it. I think Speed is a diabolical movie, yet my taxes paid for that to be on instead of Jonathan Ross, a program I look forward to each week. As I said, too many people are using this matter as a topic to cash in other issues, which frankly is just unfair. The phone call(s) themselves were in reality pretty harmless, yet we have people losing jobs, millions of pounds be affected, the House of Commons talking about it. And why? In reality just because a couple of journalists want a witch hunt. If the Mail had not jumped on this story, would the world be a worse place? No, quite the opposite. I suspect Sachs would have been more than happy with the apology. Although I suspect his granddaughter would have been anoyed at the loss of pay outs she's received! But I say yet again - if some chav rang up an old person and left lewd messages (I've heard that Brand/Ross left four such messages?), that'd be a criminal offence, but because it's two self-important twats off the telly it's alright? 1) This was not a call out of the blue, it was pre-arranged, and infact Sachs should have been there to answer. 2) Stop listening to second-hand opinions and just listen to it - Here are the parts of the show pertaining to the calls spliced togethor. Now listen carefully! Is this the most offensive thing you've ever heard? Should people deserve to lose jobs? - I find it funny!

[SymphonicX]

So infact you're not particularly offended by the act? Just the fact you taxes pay the people involved? Fair enough. But the taxes pay for a massive cross section of entertainment, much of which would not get produced otherwise. You cannot keep all the people happy all the time. I don't watch Songs of Praise - I would rather not pay for it. I think Speed is a diabolical movie, yet my taxes paid for that to be on instead of Jonathan Ross, a program I look forward to each week. As I said, too many people are using this matter as a topic to cash in other issues, which frankly is just unfair. The phone call(s) themselves were in reality pretty harmless, yet we have people losing jobs, millions of pounds be affected, the House of Commons talking about it. And why? In reality just because a couple of journalists want a witch hunt. If the Mail had not jumped on this story, would the world be a worse place? No, quite the opposite. I suspect Sachs would have been more than happy with the apology. Although I suspect his granddaughter would have been anoyed at the loss of pay outs she's received! 1) This was not a call out of the blue, it was pre-arranged, and infact Sachs should have been there to answer. 2) Stop listening to second-hand opinions and just listen to it - Here are the parts of the show pertaining to the calls spliced togethor. Now listen carefully! Is this the most offensive thing you've ever heard? Should people deserve to lose jobs? - I find it funny! Not offended exactly, but bemused at it's inanity and disappointed that it's part of the BBC mandate to be a prick to people over the phone.... I take onboard your point about offering a cross-section of entertainment, and I refer you to my original point that this cross section now involves the dumbing down of our nationalised TV/Radio service to the point where it's not offering anything that other channels don't offer, and in fact is proving itself to be just as dumb and heavy handed as some other channels around...

[MinionZombie]

I never said I ever considered it offensive, my reason for disliking it has been laid out over and over again in this thread. Somehow I doubt Sachs was agreeing to be phoned up about Brand f*cking his grand-daughter, far from it - clearly it was about a documentary, which is no wonder he agreed to it - and I do wonder, did he give consent PRIOR or AFTER the messages? Ross - who clearly STARTED the whole thing with that childish and completely un-necessary comment (I mean who with any respect or common sense would blurt out "I F*CKED YOUR GRAND-DAUGHTER" when talking to a senior generation, or indeed someone you claim to admire and respect?) I mean come on now. Then clearly the whole thing went into a territory that Sachs would never have wanted it to go - a territory that seems to have arisen out of frustration that Sachs wasn't there to answer his phone, which isn't exactly fair retribution. Brand going into details about condoms and consent - well, GOOD on both parts, but I'm sure that's just rubbing salt into a wound. THEN the impromptu song comes forth - including stuff like 'she wasn't menstrual' - I mean again, you've made a crass and unnecessary crap joke even more unnecessary and tasteless and unrequested, and is clearly a phone call that has strayed deep into phone prank territory (rather than the INTENDED phone call interview about a documentary), and not even a good phone prank as it's been taken too far and gotten too silly and out of control. The two of them should have had more common sense and paused for breath for a moment, and could have easily rectified it all by simply leaving a genuinely honest appology (not a 'comedy' one), but they didn't and made it worse and more graphic for the poor old bugger who never intended to be subjected to gory details about Brand shagging his way through his grand-daughter. But likewise, this Georgina shouldn't be throwing any stones in her glass house, running off to The Sun to spill beans in a desperate attempt to acquire fame - fame she didn't have, thus making her uneligable as a target for 'edgy' humour (I've previously laid out which targets are suitable). Actual edgy humour straddles the edge, but doesn't cross it - I'm not saying you can't cross the line, and heck I have crossed the line in jokes with the lads - but only with the lads who are in on the joke, and it's never gone beyond - certainly not into a public sphere of national broadcast. Occasionally you do get a bit purile when egged on, but these two ninnies should realise they're on public national radio, and with the responsibility that comes with being paid vast sums of money, should have thought - you know what, let's not - or at the very least, leave a genuine appology, rather than make it way worse and then lead to a huge amount of kerfuffle (which is too much for the crime). A genuine appology on air and in person to all involved, and a fine would be plenty enough. As for the behind the scenes people getting fired, they'll walk into another job just fine, in this biz it's all about who you know and they'll be more than fine I'm sure, even if it is a bit extreme to be resigning - something which, come to think of it, politicians should do MORE of when they've done something rather wrong, WAY WORSE than these two purile idiots full of their own importance ... not just Mandelson resigning on behalf of the entire political class seemingly. ... *gasps* Can't really say much more on the subject, I've exhausted my points, and these new points enough and am officially sick of the subject, in fact I find the continued reporting of it almost offensive.