Swindon Music

The problem is, £18m over three years is simply a contract that the BBC has with Ross' production company. Even when you break it down to £6m per year, I doubt he sees even £2m of that in actual salary, especially after paying 50% of it in tax.

Would you 'not miss' half your annual year's salary - just for leaving a dodgy phone message?

This is getting even more disturbing today, as the Mail have started referring to this period as 'decency clampdown' (which actually means a clampdown on decency, which is not quite what think they intended...)

They're already going on about 'who else will survive' this most modern of witch hunts.

It seems 'being offended' is the new black, er, sorry, coloured, er, I mean I fucked your granddaughter, no, not that, er, SHIT.

If she is and I see even the slightest hint of tits; I'm going to be very offended and complain a lot.

jeez, if i lost half my annual salary i might well have to resort to prostitution. can't see wossy being reduced to sucking off gents in back alleys (at least not out of necessity)

anyway, he's not lost half his salary. he's been suspended 12 weeks without pay. harsh and ridiculous and out of proportion in light of the "crime", i know. but my point is that taking a dent to his massive bank balance (even if your estimate is correct, he's still gonna earn a million net this year post-fine... more than enough for the cars, comics, flashy suits etc) is preferable than what he probably feared might have happened (loss of contract, forced resignation, stoning to death by great british public).

so in that sense, he's probably chuckling to himself and breathing a huge sigh of relief.

Oh, I see how it works now, as long as you think he's got enough money, that's OK.

Do you really consider it appropriate and balanced that a man who made a few vulgar and offensive comments on an answerphone message (all of which were true) should lose £1.4m? Seriously?

I genuinely think some people won't be happy until they hear they've driven Brand back to the heroin and he's OD'd over Sachsgate.

And in breaking news: Jonathon Ross and Russell Brand have been placed on the Sachs Offenders Registry

Yes I do! Jonathon Ross had made an incredible living on his talent (which basically consists of his personality) and deliberately pushes the boundaries between what's funny and what's in bad taste. He's always run risks in his career, most of the time it pays off, this time it hasn't so he's had his wrists slapped. He quite often boasts about his wealth so even if the suspension is a little excessive the last thing anyone should be concerned about is Wossies bank balance.

I just find it ridiculous that more hasn't come from the show's producers/editors, as someone said earlier, its Ross and Brand's job to perform, and yes they should use some common sense which they obviously didn't, but it's not their job to deem whats acceptable to air and what isn't.
And Lesley Douglas the controller of Radio 2 has resigned, why?
It should be the people directly responsible for deciding it was fit to broadcast.

And as for Ross's bank balance, lets not forget his wife has her own tv show and is a hollywood movie script writer. I'm sure they'll be just fine.
And now he's stepped down from presenting the comedy awards..? Mental. People really won't be happy until he's destitute.

It seems to me this is far more about the old school jealousy of people with money more than anything else.

It is absolutely ludicrous to suggest that this silly little, backfired prank is worth £1.4m

I totally agree, but the 'fine' wasn't set at £1.4m, that would be ridiculous.
Isn't it that the circa £1.4m is what 12 weeks of his salary is? That's what seems ludicrous to me.

In my eyes this has just made Ross more of a legend, and most of my friends agree. The ones that don't never liked him in the first place. Haven't met anyone who liked him, now dislike him over this. Everyone knows what he is like, outspoken and upfront. That's what I like about him; he'll say anything and doesn't care.

go back and read my post again. do i use the words "appropriate and balanced" or do i use the words "harsh and ridiculous and out of proportion"?

one last time.... the point i am trying to make is that rossy himself is probably gonna view the £1.4 million loss as a much more preferable punishment than any threat or damage to his beeb contract. interpret that as jealousy and cry/be outraged at the injustice of the decision if you want, but my suspicion is that jonathan ross himself is fairly satisfied with the outcome considering what has happened to some others involved

Fair point, you do. But you also, in the same post, seem to imply that Ross will be almost happy with the outcome. Yes, sure it's better than losing the contract but it's also better than going to prison over it, but that isn't going to happen either.

Just because we can imagine worse scenarios doesn't mean the punishment given is any more acceptable



I'm not 'crying' at the punishment, it's not my money (although, actually, in a way some of it is) - I'm merely saying that if we wish to enter an era where blurting out distasteful jokes about things that have actually happened costs people £1.4m, or their jobs, then we're moving into an era that's going to be a fucking disaster (more than it already is).

As I said earlier, the Mail is already on a campaign to get anyone they don't like off the TV under the guise of a 'Decency Clampdown'. Mock The Week is already in the firing line. It's not going to stop with Ross and Brand.

You might think that's fine, and good luck to you if you do - but I don't.

on this point, i agree with you completely. so would ade edmondson, it seems

http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/adrian-edmondson-is-that-a-joke-in-bad-taste-youd-better-watch-out-979990.html

I don't think anyone could put the whole incident/situation in better perspective than that article by Mr Edmondson.

I don't wish to appear cynical but doesn't Mr Ross have a new book out? You can't buy the sort of publicity that Ross and Brand are getting at the moment.

Whilst on the cynical stakes - the BBC didn't sack Ross they suspended him - can you imagine the listening and viewing figures when he returns to the air? No ulterior motive there then!

The most unsettling side of this whole affair is that gordon Brown made a statement on the affair in the House of Commons - doesn't he have more important things to worry about at the moment other than the self promotion antics of a couple of giant egos?

"Why do I say these things?" - was prominent enough on the display in HMV yesterday.

I was thinking the same thing to be honest, and Russell Brand has a new show on too. Hmm....