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20/10/2009
Record Complaints Follow Gately Article
The British Press Complaints Commission has received a record number of complaints in connection with an article by a Daily Mail columnist about the late Irish singer Steven Gately.
A comment piece by Jan Moir entitled "Why there was nothing 'natural' about Stephen Gately's death", which contained claims such as the death striking "another blow to the happy-ever-after myth of civil partnerships", and insulations that his death was not a result of natural causes has ignited a public outcry.
An investigation by Spanish officials found that Mr Gately died of natural causes when he suffered a pulmonary oedema, an accumulation of fluid on the lungs.
The article has resulted in a record number of complaints being made to the UK's Press Complaints Commission, with almost 22,000 members of the public contacting the commission.
The article, published in Friday's edition of the paper, the day before Mr Gately's funeral, was not carried in the Irish edition of the newspaper and the Office of the Press Ombudsman has said it only deals with complaints relating to material published in Ireland.
The Irish Daily Mail has since attempted to distance itself from the controversial column, claiming it is "independent" of the UK edition of the paper.
Members of the British media have since circled on Jan Moir's piece, with Guardian columnist, Charlie Brooker, accusing Ms Moir of "gay bashing a dead man" and "dancing on his grave", while celebrity Stephen Fry referred to her as a "repulsive nobody".
Following the unprecedented negative response to the article, Ms Moir has been moved to respond to her critics, saying: "the point of my column-which, I wonder how many of the people complaining have fully read - was to suggest that, in my honest opinion, his death raises many unanswered questions. That was all.
Ms Moir went on to say that she felt it "mischievous in the extreme to suggest that my article has homophobic and bigoted undertones."
Steven Gately was buried on Saturday, with over 3,500 mourners lining the streets of Dublin, where he was raised.
See: Gately Article Provokes Complaints
(DW/BMcC)
A comment piece by Jan Moir entitled "Why there was nothing 'natural' about Stephen Gately's death", which contained claims such as the death striking "another blow to the happy-ever-after myth of civil partnerships", and insulations that his death was not a result of natural causes has ignited a public outcry.
An investigation by Spanish officials found that Mr Gately died of natural causes when he suffered a pulmonary oedema, an accumulation of fluid on the lungs.
The article has resulted in a record number of complaints being made to the UK's Press Complaints Commission, with almost 22,000 members of the public contacting the commission.
The article, published in Friday's edition of the paper, the day before Mr Gately's funeral, was not carried in the Irish edition of the newspaper and the Office of the Press Ombudsman has said it only deals with complaints relating to material published in Ireland.
The Irish Daily Mail has since attempted to distance itself from the controversial column, claiming it is "independent" of the UK edition of the paper.
Members of the British media have since circled on Jan Moir's piece, with Guardian columnist, Charlie Brooker, accusing Ms Moir of "gay bashing a dead man" and "dancing on his grave", while celebrity Stephen Fry referred to her as a "repulsive nobody".
Following the unprecedented negative response to the article, Ms Moir has been moved to respond to her critics, saying: "the point of my column-which, I wonder how many of the people complaining have fully read - was to suggest that, in my honest opinion, his death raises many unanswered questions. That was all.
Ms Moir went on to say that she felt it "mischievous in the extreme to suggest that my article has homophobic and bigoted undertones."
Steven Gately was buried on Saturday, with over 3,500 mourners lining the streets of Dublin, where he was raised.
See: Gately Article Provokes Complaints
(DW/BMcC)
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