The Swedish TV presenter said watching Liam grabbing Debbie Gwyther made her 'shudder' as it reminded her of the abuse she suffered at the hands of ex England footballer Stan Collymore in a Paris bar in 1998
PICTURES of Liam Gallagher with his hand around the neck of his girlfriend Debbie Gwyther made me shudder.
While I hesitate to bring up my “altercation” with Stan Collymore in a Paris bar in 1998, the pictures of Liam in The Sun brought back long-since buried memories.
What happened between Stan and me — where I ended up being kicked in the head by said footballer — he still contests despite a crowd of credible witnesses.
And, of course, no one at the time had any idea of the agony that had been going on behind closed doors running up to that night.
It is true: no one knows what goes on behind closed doors — perhaps they think they have a “perfect” relationship in the security of their own home.
But it was the speed with which Debbie — his girlfriend of four years — utterly absolved him of any responsibility, dispelling any drama around the situation and calling the media coverage “sexist nonsense”.
The ex-Oasis singer, of course, denied his hands were anywhere near her neck. Maybe we’re all seeing things or Liam was actually somewhere else.
The thing is, it looked more profound than that.
In my experience it was the psychological control I suffered most from. It was Stan blowing hot and cold a thousand times a day, which confused and terrified me.
It was the un- known every day — not knowing if Stan would be nice Stan, or insecure, paranoid, intimidating Stan — that took such a toll on my psyche. And while everyone around me saw me change from a confident, carefree young woman to an impatient, tense one — I always defended the relationship.
It was some kind of ill-judged loyalty.
In fact at the time of the incident in Paris, I wondered what all the fuss was about when pictures post-altercation appeared.
I knew those bruises would heal. But my scarred mind and battered emotions would take longer to mend — if at all.
It could be that with Liam and Debbie this was a first display of anger. Or the first that spilled out in public. It would certainly be hard to deny that Liam is known for his temper and verbal assaults on others. It could be that Debbie said something provocative (that’s how victims always explain situations away) but the fact remains that this does not look good.
I understand Liam is respected for his music. I utterly get that. And I understand that if this situation isn’t what we think it is, that Debbie would stand by her man.
What baffles me is that Liam is still admired and revered by men and women alike when he has given them more than a thousand reasons why they shouldn’t — infidelity, drugs, terrible aggressive behaviour, arrogance beyond comprehension, rudeness . . . the list goes on.
Debbie is absolutely right about one thing: this is sexist nonsense. But not for the reason she quotes. It’s because men get away with bad behaviour much more than a woman ever could.
Men continue to be idolised for whatever professional talents they may bring to the table, while their conduct away from it either fades from people’s memories or, worse still, is gradually erased.
