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Former This Morning presenter Phillip Schofield has given his first set of media interviews since his departure from the ITV daytime show and his revelation that he had an affair with a younger male colleague in comments made in May. In a statement issued to The Daily Mail last week, the broadcaster confirmed he had a “consensual on-off relationship” with the individual and while it was “unwise”, it was “not illegal” and is “now over”. “I am painfully conscious that I have lied to my employers at ITV, to my colleagues and friends, to my agents, to the media and therefore the public and most importantly of all to my family. “I am so very, very sorry, as I am for having been unfaithful to my wife,” he said. When asked by The Sun if he “groomed” the young co-worker, Schofield – who vaped during the interview – said he “did not” and that there were “accusations of all sorts of things”. A lengthier conversation, though, came in the form of a 45-minute long interview with the BBC’s Media Editor, Amol Rajan, which aired on Friday. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter If you’re in a hurry, here’s the key lines from the powerful interview. 1. “I understand how Caroline Flack felt” With Rajan starting the discussion by asking Schofield how he was, Schofield referenced the late ITV presenter who died by suicide in February 2020 following intense tabloid coverage of her life. She had been charged with assaulting her boyfriend after an altercation in December 2019, and left her role presenting the ITV2 reality show Love Island. Schofield said: “Last week, if my daughters hadn’t been there, I wouldn’t be here. They guarded me and wouldn’t let me out of their sight. “It’s like a weird numbness. I know that’s a selfish point of view, but you come to a point where you just think, ‘how much are you supposed to take? “’If all of those people who write all of that stuff, do they ever think that there’s actually a person at the other end?’” 2. “Do you want me to die?” In further comments about the “relentless” remarks made about him online and in the media, Schofield said: “If you don’t think that is going to have the most catastrophic effect on someone’s mind… Do you want me to die? “Because that’s where I am. I have lost everything. “My girls saved my life … Last week, they haven’t left me for a moment. They’ve been by my side every moment, because they’re scared to let me out of their sight. “They said to me, ‘don’t you dare do this on our watch. We’re supposed to be looking after you.’ “If my girls hadn’t been there, I wouldn’t be here, because I don’t see a future. And so how much do you want a man to take? “And this is how Caroline Flack felt, and it didn’t stop.” 3. His message to Holly Willoughby On the same day he “put the statement up” – suggesting it was the one posted to his Instagram Story announcing his departure from This Morning, rather than the one to the Mail – Schofield wrote to his former co-presenter on WhatsApp. He said: “I know you can’t reply, or you’re probably not allowed to, but please know that I am so desperately, desperately sorry.” He added that she did not reply to the message, said he did not see their relationship as broken and that he does not “have a problem with Holly at all” 4. The “homophobia” behind the scrutiny Referring to “new friends” he has made off the back of the scandal, Schofield revealed one “very prominent public figure” phoned him to say they had “never seen such homophobia in my life”. He continued: “If it’s a gay relationship, then suddenly it raises eyebrows. It’s wrong. People do find each other attractive in different age groups.” The broadcaster said the fact it has become “so massive” is “predominantly homophobic” and that he has become a “victim of hate”. 5. “We were mates” Explaining why he agreed to the BBC interview, Schofield said: “There is an innocent person here who didn’t do anything wrong, who is vulnerable, and probably feels like I do.” He confirmed he was paying for legal advice for the unnamed younger man, and last spoke to him a “couple of weeks” ago to instruct lawyers for him. The individual – who was 15 at the time - was followed by Schofield on Twitter following a visit to the school, and the presenter said “there has not been any whiff of impropriety” on the social media platform, where he follows more than 11,000 people. He went on to add that the man was 20 when Schofield first had sexual contact with him. “He’d been working with the show for a few months and we became mates – we were mates, around the studios, we hung out together. “And then, in my dressing room one day, something happened … It happened maybe four or five times over the next few months. “We weren’t boyfriends, we weren’t in a relationship,” Schofield said, and went on to say he did not love him. 6. “I’ve never abused my power in any way” When asked by Rajan if what was “morally wrong” about the situation was that there was an “abuse of power”, Schofield replied to say he has “never abused my power in any way” and that he is “not a bully”. The conversation soon moved to the work environment at ITV and comments made by Dr Ranj Singh, at which point the presenter stressed: “There is no toxicity, there is no bullying, there is no discrimination at This Morning. “All I see are angry people shouting about a show they’re not on anymore.” Schofield also denied the young man frequently came to his flat and that claims from Eamonn Holmes that he was taxied from the presenter's home are “utterly untrue”. ”He came to the flat once. To my recollection, he didn’t stay over. “He said he was passing. He came for a beer,” he said. 7. “The lie got too big” After Rajan questioned why the scandal has come out now, Schofield said: “It got too big. The lie got too big for both of us.” He added it was his “biggest, sorriest secret”. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

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Another day, another Elon Musk controversy A recent tweet by the tech entrepreneur has sparked widespread criticism and condemnation due to the sinister implications and dogwhistles buried within. Musk was the latest in a long-long-long line of people to criticise Hungarian-American billionaire George Soros, and his comparison between Soros and a megalomaniac Marvel supervillain has been viewed as not only very lazy but deeply problematic and antisemitic. In a bizarre series of tweets, Musk compared the holocaust-survivor background of both Soros and X-Men nemesis Magneto, and argued a skin-deep strawman line that 'both hate humanity'. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Journalist Brian Krassenstein called out Musk on this writing: "Fun fact: Magneto's experiences during the Holocaust as a survivor shaped his perspective as well as his depth and empathy. Soro, also a Holocaust survivor, gets attacked nonstop for his good intentions which some Americans think are bad merely because they disagree with this political affiliations." Musk clapped back: "You assume they are good intentions. They are not. He wants to erode the very fabric of civilization. Soros hates humanity." Hate humanity? Magneto has a disdain towards humanity (as a mutant in the comic books, he feels he is superior and that homo sapiens' time is up) - but in an attempt to use a fictional Jewish figure to attack a real one, Musk has been caught lacking. Magneto isn't real (neither are the X-Men and superpowered mutants), and Musk's tweets read as an attempt to grasp the first Jewish villain he could find from a shelf to beat another Jewish person over the head with, by reflecting surface-level pop culture knowledge into a bowl of antisemitic hate. Magneto, like Soros, survived the Holocaust (as a character). In the comics, he was not initially depicted as Jewish - but a backstory was added to fill out the character as comics stories became far more complex than their origins. Magneto's goal as a villain is to end human oppression over mutants. However, Magneto is described as a fairly grey villain. He has led heroic teams, he blurs his own lines and contradicts himself. There's depth and room for additional context to be bolted onto the character as time goes on. Musk's tweet towards Soros did not represent a fair or valid criticism of the billionaire - it is not only deeply hurtful, it appeared quickly and it is quite telling that it came only days after Soros's investment fund reported that it had sold all its stock in Tesla. Tesla, of course, is run by Musk alongside Twitter. There are plenty of fairways to criticise the actions of billionaires and their obvious financial influence on the world. Musk, Gates, Soros and Bezos alike. However, reaching straight for racial and antisemetic tropes feeds a beast that is not so easily caged. Antisemitism, a form of prejudice against Jewish people, poses significant harm to individuals and communities. It can manifest as verbal abuse, physical violence, and systemic discrimination. By employing antisemitic tropes or making comparisons that evoke harmful stereotypes, individuals contribute to a climate of hostility and bigotry. Musk has indirectly overseen a rise in antisemitic language on Twitter. A study found that antisemitic language on Twitter doubled - and then some - after Musk's takeover of Twitter. Not only that, but Musk's comments arrived around the same time as Douglas Murray's speech in the UK's National Conservative which observed that the rise of the Nazi party shouldn't hamper the growth of nationalism elsewhere just 'because Germany mucked up': The last week has seen a dismissal of Jewish suffering, and the use of Jewish identity in paper-thin arguments to back right-wing statements - Musk and Murray include. Such instances highlight the need for increased awareness regarding the consequences of antisemitic language. It is crucial for individuals to recognize the harm caused by perpetuating stereotypes and to actively combat all forms of prejudice. Musk eventually apologized (sort of), but in considering both Musk and Murray's comments, it's perhaps worth some people spending some time reflecting on atrocities that have occurred in the past - and less time making lazy comments involving Marvel characters. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

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Taylor Swift fans are known for their sleuthing skills to uncover many of the singer's Easter eggs - and recently some believed a book release was on the horizon. But alas, it has been confirmed by Variety that Swift is not the author behind the book by Macmillan imprint Flatiron that everyone's talking about. "Variety can report for certain that this mystery author is not, as rumored, Taylor Swift," the publication said. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter "She is not gearing up to release a memoir almost simultaneously with her next album and smack in the middle of a national stadium tour, which might count as an excessive exercise in synergy even for someone as capable of project-multitasking as a Taylor Swift." Rumours started when there was news of a celebrity releasing a memoir in July, with the identity of the star being kept under wraps and it didn't take long for Swifties to theorise that the mystery author was Swift. From book store speculation, to a lack of book promotion, as well as the July 9 release date, and the book being 544 pages long (5+4+4=13 Swift's lucky number), fans went down the rabbit of hole of looking for evidence or Easter eggs that pointed to this theory. So Swifties were keen to be the first to get their hands on the $45 book that's currently called "4C Untitled Flatiron Nonfiction Summer 2023" and pre-ordered copies in advance despite the lack of official details. As a result, the book has climbed up the top 10 of the Amazon book sales chart, rising as high as No. 2 (it's currently No. 22 at the time of writing). Currently, it is also sitting at No. 4. on the Barnes & Noble website, and No.2 on the booksellers' pre-orders chart. But even if we still don't know who the author is, what can we expect from this mysterious book? A screenshot which some believe may have been a pitch for the book on digital publishing catalog Edelweiss read: “This is not a political book, it is a fun, celebratory title and will skew slightly younger, but is for people of all ages. “This has global appeal and will have massive publicity. I would comp this to Flatiron’s Matthew Perry memoir... and a little bit to Spare by Prince Harry," as per Variety. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

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