Jan Moir says 'sorry' over Gately article
Jan Moir, the columnist condemned as being homophobic
Friday, 23, Oct 2009 11:54
By Sarah Garrod
Jan Moir, the columnist condemned as being homophobic following an article she wrote after Stephen Gately's death, has apologised for any distress she may have caused.
National outrage ensued when Ms Moir wrote an opinion piece in the Daily Mail about the death of Boyzone singer, originally entitled: "Why there was nothing 'natural' about Stephen Gately's death".
Outrage over Mail's Gately article
Following the outcry, Moir's issued an 'apology' through the Daily Mail, but many criticised her for not actually saying sorry.
In the statement she said: "Some people, particularly in the gay community, have been upset by my article about the sad death of Boyzone member Stephen Gately. This was never my intention."
But today the Daily Mail has published another comment piece by the journalist, in which she states: "Last week, I wrote in this column about the death of Boyzone star Stephen Gately.
"To my horror, it has been widely condemned as 'homophobic' and 'hateful'. Obviously, a great deal of offence has been taken and I regret any affront caused. This was never my intention.
"To be the focus of such depth of feeling has been an interesting experience, but I do not complain. After all, I am not - unlike those close to Stephen Gately - mourning for the loss of a much-loved partner, son, family member and close friend.
"To them, I would like to say sorry if I have caused distress by the insensitive timing of the column, published so close to the funeral."
However, she later wrote of the public's reaction to her article, which received the most amount of complaints ever received by the Press Complaints Commission (PCC) that: "To say it was a hysterical overreaction would be putting it mildly, though clearly much of it was an orchestrated campaign by pressure groups and those with agendas of their own."
But despite the condemnation of Ms Moir's article ever being put into print, the Daily Mail has revelled in the publicity it has afforded them.
Figures out today showed the newspaper overtook the Sun to become the second most popular newspaper website among British visitors in September, with 9.48million unique visitors, an increase of seven per cent over August and 65 per cent over September 2008.
Today, hitting back at the claims Ms Moir's was homophobic, she wrote: "Absolutely none of this had anything to do with his sexuality. If he had been a heterosexual member of a boy band, I would have written exactly the same article.
"Yet despite this, many have interpreted my words as a 'bigoted rant' and suggested that my motive was to insinuate that Stephen died 'because he was gay'.
"Anyone who knows me will vouch that I have never held such poisonous views.
"What I meant by 'nothing natural' was that the natural duration of his life had been tragically shortened in a way that was shocking and out of the ordinary. Certainly, his death was unusual enough for a coroner to become involved."
She ended the article saying it was "sad" Stephen Gately had been taken before his time, after writing: "Can it really be that we are becoming a society where no one can dare to question the circumstances or behaviour of a person who happens to be gay without being labelled a homophobe? If so, that is deeply troubling."