Gately's record company files Moir complaint
Stephen Gately's record company files complaint over Jan Moir's article in Daily Mail
Thursday, 22, Oct 2009 10:56
By Richard James.
The record company representing Stephen Gately's band Boyzone has filed a complaint to the Press Complaints Commission over an article written by Daily Mail columnist Jan Moir about his death.
The commission has already received over 21,000 complaints about the article originally entitled: "Why there's nothing 'natural' about Stephen Gately's death".
Following the article's publication and discussion on social networking sites such as Twitter, thousands of complaints were made to the PCC while advertisements accompanying the piece online were later removed.
Outrage over Mail's Gately article
A spokeswoman for Polydor Records confirmed to the Guardian the record label has now submitted its own complaint to the PCC.
It is believed the complaint is similar in its nature to those already received by the PCC. Neither Gately's family nor any of the members of Boyzone have yet to complain about the controversial article.
No decision has yet to be made by the PCC on whether to officially investigate the record number of complaints.
Following the online uproar at her article, Moir issued a statement clarifying - but not apologising for - her work and describing the response to her article as a "mischievous" and "heavily orchestrated internet campaign".
"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," she commented in a statement issued by her representatives.
"Stephen, as I pointed out in the article was a charming and sweet man who entertained millions. However, 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."
The controversy surrounding the article has once again highlighted the influence the social-networking phenomenon can now have on the news agenda.