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Dom Aversano's avatar

This is a brilliant read and very topical.

I have always found it odd that with Edward Elgar’s affair it is often dressed up as cute (“snowflake”) and a necessary part of his artistic pursuit of inspiration, but when Alma Mahler did the same it was an act of devastation for her poor husband. I don’t mean to moralise about people’s lives or marriages, it’s just the inconsistency that I find disturbing. Composers seem to get away with a lot in the name of genius.

It seems the same is true of Brand, who when he was talking revolutionary politics was able to get away with his hiding-in-plain-sight abusive behaviour and demeanour, and is clearly the top of a huge iceberg that people would rather sink than deal with. I liked Marina Hyde’s piece but notice The Guardian - my go-to paper - are not remotely acknowledging the extent to which they enabled Brand. I hope something is changing for the better, but if it is it appears to be moving at a glacial pace.

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Juliet Fraser's avatar

The headline in slipped disc that broke the story made me furious, referring to a 'singer incident'. Another critic complicit in the problematic power structures.

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