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Post by sadie1263 on Oct 10, 2012 16:14:43 GMT
For millions of British children, Jimmy Savile was the TV presenter who promised to make their dreams come true. Now it appears he has been haunting the memories of some of them — and could be turning into a nightmare for his former employer, the BBC. Savile, who died last year, hosted prime-time children’s shows in the U.K., including the wishes-come-true favorite, Jim’ll Fix It, and raised over £40 million ($64 million) for charity throughout his life. But in a documentary aired on British commercial television last week, five women claimed to have been raped, molested or forced to commit sexual acts on Savile when they were underage, often on the premises of the BBC, for whom Savile worked. Since the documentary aired, over 40 women have made similar allegations. The BBC is now facing accusations of an institutional cover-up as it emerges that producers, press officers, executives and other presenters at the BBC were aware of Savile’s alleged behavior at the time. The publicly funded broadcaster buckled under pressure to acknowledge the “horrifying” allegations last week, vowing to support the police in any investigations, although it has insisted that there is “nothing to suggest any wrongdoing was ignored by management.” Prime Minister David Cameron has described the allegations as “deeply, deeply troubling” and hinted in a television interview that Savile could be posthumously stripped of his knighthood. (MORE: Disgraced British Knights: A Not-So-Chivalrous History) Savile, who was knighted by Queen Elizabeth in 1990, enjoyed the status of a national treasure in Britain — his list of accolades included even a papal knighthood. When he died last year, approximately 4,000 people journeyed to Leeds to pay their respects to the coffin of such a tireless charity worker. The broad respect he enjoyed may have prevented alleged victims from coming forward. Many of the women who have accused Savile of abusing them say that they didn’t think anyone would believe their claims. Well-known BBC presenter, Esther Rantzen, concluded in the documentary that “the jury is no longer out” on the case. The allegations made by the women who say Savile abused them when they were children were further supported by an assistant producer from the BBC who spoke in the documentary of opening the door to Savile’s dressing room to find a girl of about 14 sitting on Savile’s lap, with his hand up her skirt. Industry professionals from the time say that rumors were constantly circulating concerning Savile’s conduct. Rantzen admitted: “We all blocked our ears to the gossip. We made him into the Jimmy Savile who was untouchable.” Read more: world.time.com/2012/10/09/jimmy-saviles-horror-show-child-abuse-allegations-shake-the-bbc/#ixzz28ugwT5fO
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Post by sadie1263 on Oct 10, 2012 16:15:57 GMT
I didn't know a thing about this guy......just wondered what the rest of you thought about it? Also....it's impossible for him to defend himself so how can the charges be proven or disproven....and is it fair to show up so many years later with the allegations?
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Post by Hunny on Oct 10, 2012 16:53:03 GMT
I don't quite get why there are people coming forward now, who never thought to during years which they had to do so. And to accuse or somehow try a dead man? He can't be there to defend himself. To just publicly declare someone guilty of things posthumously doesn't seem right somehow. But they've already destroyed his reputation, his legacy is forever defamed now. So with the cat already out of the bag, I guess they might as well continue to explore it, but how do they proceed? Sue the BBC? And who will defend him in all this? And how do they prove anything?
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Post by toby on Oct 10, 2012 18:11:21 GMT
Toby comments.:- A lot of the underage girls wanted to get a start in Showbiz and the first thing girls learn about is the casting couch. I read the Memories of Marylyn Monroe and when you learn what goes on you can almost weep. Marylyn said herself that the relief she had when she was finally a star and did not have to suck any more Jewish dicks was enormous. She told the story of how Sam Goldwyn abused her and it's staggering. All sorts of nasty things go on in showbiz, I would not let a child of mine ever become involved but you have some parents who know what goes on and turn a blind eye ! The BBC folk knew what was going on, they turned a blind eye and it was wrong, they must be punished !
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Post by Deleted on Oct 10, 2012 18:38:31 GMT
Who should be punished, Toby?
A few people have come forward saying they had their suspicions but never reported them: are these the people you would punish?
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Post by sadie1263 on Oct 10, 2012 19:04:40 GMT
I don't think I could prove where I was a year ago on a certain date.......how do you prove you were or weren't somewhere 30 years ago?
It's going to be really easy for people to jump on that claim when there is no one alive to dispute it. Also....if they think there is money to be had..........
Do these things that cannot truly be proven one way or the other destroy everything good a person did accomplish?
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Post by Deleted on Oct 10, 2012 19:16:58 GMT
Jimmy Savile annoyed me intensely; a man full of himself and his good deeds. Vacuous is the word I would use to best describe him. I really couldn't think of him as a good man, because all his fund raising seemed more to publicise him than charity: he died a wealthy man, I believe.
The police seem to accept that he did abuse girls, but I suspect that is more to do with the volume of complaints; looked at individually, of course none can now be proved.
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Post by sadie1263 on Oct 10, 2012 20:16:44 GMT
I had never heard of him until this story broke out........but it seems a lot of those type personalities exist in the media......they do a lot of good deeds more for their fame than a real interest in the cause.........
Knew a priest that would go on endlessly about all the good things that had happened for the church while he had been there.....and would end almost every sentence....with "but don't thank me".......but then another good thing....."but don't thank me" over and over again.........so all he wanted was the credit for it. He drove me nuts!!!
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