If Ewan McGregor is so moral why did he work for paedo director Roman Polanski?
ALMOST four decades ago the film director Roman Polanski was charged in Los Angeles with a number of offences against a 13-year-old girl.
They included rape by using drugs, perversion and sodomy.
In a plea bargain with the district attorney, he admitted unlawful sexual intercourse and was hopeful he might go free. Then he heard a suggestion he might get 50 years instead.
At that, the day before he faced the judge, he fled the country but continued doing two things: a) making a lucrative living as a director, and b) never going to countries with an extradition agreement with the US.
Clock forward to 2010, when Polanski turns the Robert Harris thriller The Ghost into a movie and hires Ewan McGregor in a lead role. McGregor didn’t think twice before accepting the shilling from Polanski the paedophile.
In fact, he said he was “upset” for Polanski (note: no mention of the 13-year-old) and added: “He is no longer a threat to society in any way.” How he would know that is quite beyond me.
Although child abuse appears of little consequence to McGregor, Piers Morgan’s views on the Women’s March against Trump do.
When the actor turned up in the green room of ITV’s breakfast show on Monday to plug his movie, he refused point-blank to be interviewed by Piers, who had described the marches as the “more repellent side of feminism”.
A reasonable view and certainly more reasonable than working on a film set for weeks on end with a child rapist who had never faced trial, a fact McGregor knew only too well.
That McGregor has no moral conscience would probably have never emerged if he hadn’t taken a shot at Piers.
How many other celebs are out there quietly dancing with the devil but proclaiming liberal values to global television audiences to push their latest film, book or play?
I do salute the French actresses who have just forced Polanski to stand down as chairman of the French Oscars panel.
I wonder if McGregor has a view about that?
It's all Dave's doing
AS David Cameron (remember him?) watched the Brexit judges doing their worst, does he reflect on what a tremendous hash he made of the referendum?
Had he simply added to the voting form that the result would be legally binding on Parliament, none of this would have happened.
He failed to do so because he had no attention to detail, looking on the role of Prime Minister as akin to the non-exec chairman of a company.
History will not be kind to Cameron. As every day passes since his demise the real Dave emerges.
The economy flights on family holidays have now been replaced by first class and he has removed his camouflage after a decade and taken up hunting and shooting again.
The depth of his deception was astonishing but the real scandal was the failure to include a binding legal embrace on June 23.
I do hope it was idleness and not deliberate. If it was the latter, his gun training may come in handy as the angry peasants make their way to Notting Hill.
Nerves of steel
I AM so happy for the resilient steel workers of Scunthorpe. A year ago they faced disaster. The company was losing £80million a year and Tata was talking of shutting the door, throwing 4,300 on to the dole in an area with few jobs.
But a miracle. Along came a buyer but they sought a three per cent pay cut. The workers accepted with good heart.
And what’s happened? The business, renamed British Steel, is back in the black and, more importantly, the employees are to have their pay restored – at an average of £900 annually.
They made a sacrifice and it paid off. I fervently hope they are all in work for decades. They deserve to be.
Danny's Albert Squ-eeze
LOVE Danny Dyer, larger than life at the NTAs on Wednesday night and certainly larger than his suits.
As an alleged descendant of Edward III, 23 times removed, you would have thought he would at least have hired Prince William’s tailor for the evening.
You'd be mad to go for Gold
IF you are thinking of renting a car in Europe there’s one hire company you should steer well clear of.
A 55-year-old reader from Bedfordshire rented a Fiat Punto for £200 from a notorious outfit called Goldcar for a four-day drive around Italy last year.
He settled the final bill on May 3 at Milan’s Malpensa Airport. Goldcar refunded the unused fuel and that, he thought, was that.
Then, seven months later, he noticed a charge on his bank statement for a £30 payment to Goldcar.
There was no explanation what the charge was for, nor had he prior warning from Goldcar.
When he contacted the company, they said they couldn’t find his booking and refused to investigate.
As he points out, how can Goldcar have enough information to raid his bank account but not enough to locate his details and refund him?
He has opened a dispute with his credit card provider Tesco Bank, who told him: “It happens a lot with car rental firms.”
So I got in touch with the charlatans at Goldcar and they have not returned my calls. Under no circumstances must you, your friends or family go anywhere near these shysters.
I hope I make myself clear.
RELATED STORIES
Colonoscopy chemistry
ACCORDING to a General Medical Council hearing, a colonoscopy consultant became infatuated with a patient at Russells Hall Hospital, West Mids, after seeing her for a bowel examination. It must have been her more attractive side.
Some years back when I edited this fine organ, I too had such an examination, which involves putting a camera where the sun doesn’t shine.
While looking at the real-time video of what he saw, the rather haughty surgeon said to me: “Some people would pay a lot of money to do this.”
HAVING cornered the Porky Lights market – a new, much in-demand, 78-calorie sausage given a mere 0.5 “syn points” instead of the typical five – I am pleased to report I have dropped another 1.5lb on my march to magnificence at Slimming World.
So I have become a pig and lost weight at the same time. Remarkable.
Manchester By The D
HAVING seen the morbid Manchester By The Sea, starring Casey Affleck, could I suggest it’s renamed Manchester By The D – for depression.
Quite the gloomiest two hours 17 minutes I have spent in a darkened room in years.
With the price of a “VIP” seat rocketing, cinema chains should throw in a personal shrink to get through the increasing number of arte noirs about brooding, irritable loners.
And that’s just the customers on the way out.
Rags to riches
LAST week, I told of a lady who had gone from dinner lady at her primary school to head teacher.
Well how about Karen Hester, who has gone from part-time cleaner to a seat on the board at Adnams Brewery in Southwold, Suffolk, as ops director? Any more remarkable journeys out there?
Another savings success
I AM keeping you warm and wealthy. Column reader Robert Grainger was paying £69 a month for gas and electricity, went on my price comparison site and is now paying £41 a month, saving £336 annually.
Grateful to my army of spies for alerting me to a little trick by the car insurance giant RIAS.
Apparently, in year two they put up the premium for as little as £1, then, once they have your trust, the following year it goes through the roof, hoping you don’t notice.
Perhaps RIAS could tell me if they have an algorithm that performs this trick.
Do send your saving stories to [email protected].
More punnies
CLOTHING van in Desford, Leicester – Norma Jean’s.
Cardboard sign next to lady Bible-basher in London’s West End – Eternity is too long to be wrong.
Chippy in Market Bosworth, Leics – The Batter Of Bosworth.
Flooring van in Ware, Herts – Getting Laid.
Turkish-run barber’s in Coalville, Leics – Turkish Hairlines.
Cycle shop near London Bridge – On Your Bike.
Fencing firm in Bournemouth – Gate Expectations.
Pet shop in Margate, Kent – Creature Comforts.
Sign outside The Flying Horse pub on London’s Oxford Street – Our staff aren’t mature but our cheddar is.
The punnies are top of the form. Do send more to [email protected].