{"id":7148,"date":"2022-01-26T01:39:05","date_gmt":"2022-01-26T06:39:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cafe.nfshost.com\/?p=7148"},"modified":"2022-01-26T01:39:05","modified_gmt":"2022-01-26T06:39:05","slug":"even-one-of-the-nations-most-successful-tv-chefs-doesnt-feel-safe-in-the-woke-minefield-were-now-forced-to-navigate-every-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cafe.nfshost.com\/?p=7148","title":{"rendered":"Even one of the nation&#8217;s most successful TV chefs doesn&#8217;t feel safe in the woke minefield we\u2019re now forced to navigate every day"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h1 class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-heading\"><br>Even one of the nation&#8217;s most successful TV chefs doesn&#8217;t feel safe in the woke minefield we\u2019re now forced to navigate every day<\/h1>\n\n\n\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/authors\/c\/ca-ce\/celia-walden\/\" target=\"_blank\">CELIA WALDEN<\/a>24 January 2022 \u2022 7:00pm<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ci3.googleusercontent.com\/proxy\/aup91eNIx3Wt6qRTgKQQVrQanfND87s6NGonFUmeMV0vhUC3GjTD6-qiXQKitU5Zv753WaQ1g2xcdLZZY85RIhRFXkHfksKEayztbZEGa6dEJaApmtNTAZlIKAhjxwurM11_AqYJkPNpM8X07gu0YM8hgYLS80U-_4yRSg=s0-d-e1-ft#https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/content\/dam\/Author%20photos\/Celia%20Walden%20Aug%202021-small.png?imwidth=100\" alt=\"Celia Walden\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ci3.googleusercontent.com\/proxy\/zHTtTOc-CzPFbwk7IVbgr0JcR9aYWnZ4KCIf6qWWRvv2WiqsiroiO0M9ssz6xenBKNpKHtq5VYemjdx2_hR4rZbtzWsW52vCAgppA1xvtW9VbB18uirpmZydURlCMrwjjjWk6eo-8Bs39mPuTsmy0NBR8Z5vWWroNTlH13ZXXqPbjbogt0haYQfSjnkMpqTFRIBsIYepbaKRUY9MQ4S83n0VqW7WWYGywRuGiK2Xk5aQp3D4Eo62TF8=s0-d-e1-ft#https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/content\/dam\/columnists\/2022\/01\/24\/TELEMMGLPICT000232898704_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqQDP7kyQNrZfD9hAAyGwwJIffGkz3HwiGE7TfNUB5OuM.jpeg?imwidth=680\" alt=\"Jamie Oliver\"><\/h1>\n\n\n\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Jamie Oliver doesn\u2019t just have the one \u2018offence adviser\u2019 but \u2018teams of cultural appropriation specialists\u2019 who go through his recipes with a fine tooth comb&nbsp;CREDIT: Jamie Oliver Enterprises Ltd, photographer Steve RyanHave you got yourself an \u201coffence adviser\u201d yet? This new breed of professionals are trained like sniffer dogs to detect even the faintest whiff of explosively un-woke material in anything that might be publicly shared, from company reports and social media posts to university lectures, early drafts of books, songs, screenplays and art works.Not that offence advisers should be limited to the professional domain \u2013 their expertise doesn\u2019t stop there. No, like bomb disposal experts, these guys (and gals, and agender, bigender and cisgender identifiers, I\u2019ve been advised to add) will zoom in and short-circuit any \u201cproblematic material\u201d before it detonates. So those with Generation-Z age kids (born between 1997 and 2012) would do well to have their own personal OEs perched upon their shoulders at family get-togethers, there to step in with the red wire snippers before any casual \u201cdenial of lived experience\u201d, \u201cmisgendering\u201d or airing of a Churchill quote (racist, imperialist brute that he is) sparks a domestic blast.Jamie Oliver doesn\u2019t just have the one \u201coffence adviser\u201d, he revealed on Sunday, but \u201cteams of cultural appropriation specialists\u201d who go through his recipes with a fine tooth comb. The 46-year-old TV chef is all too aware of the woke minefield we\u2019re now forced to navigate daily, after having stepped on one back in 2018 when he started peddling Punchy Jerk Rice in supermarkets. This prompted Labour MP Dawn Butler \u2013 the daughter of Jamaican immigrants \u2013 to tweet: \u201cI\u2019m just wondering do you know what #Jamaican #jerk actually is? It\u2019s not just a word you put before stuff to sell products.&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/politics\/2018\/08\/19\/jeremy-corbyn-ally-accuses-jamie-oliver-cultural-appropriation\/\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Your jerk rice is not ok<\/a>.\u201d<br><a href=\"https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/politics\/2018\/08\/19\/jeremy-corbyn-ally-accuses-jamie-oliver-cultural-appropriation\/\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Jamie Oliver accused of cultural &#8216;appropriation&#8217; by minister after he la&#8230;When Jamie Oliver launched his new \u201cpunchy\u201d jerk rice in supermarkets, he hoped consumers would fall head over h&#8230;<\/a><br><br>And although both Oliver and his \u00a32.30 microwavable rice survived the ensuing furore \u2013 one that largely confined itself to the digital universe specialising in \u201cfauxffence\u201d \u2013 the country\u2019s best-selling non-fiction writer is no longer taking any chances. Especially not with his new Channel 4 series, The Great Cookbook Challenge, starting in less than a week\u2019s time.Oliver has learnt a lot about inanimate foodstuffs\u2019 powers of offence over the past four years. He knows, for example, that his 2012 \u201cempire roast chicken\u201d \u2013 seasoned with turmeric, cumin, coriander and garam masala \u2013 would be unacceptable, if not career-ending today. And as for cultural appropriation, he says in an interview at the weekend: \u201cYour immediate reaction is to be defensive and say, \u2018For the love of God, really?\u2019 Then you go: \u2018Well, we don\u2019t want to offend anyone\u2026\u2019\u201dOliver is not the only food writer to launch an anti-offence offensive. Nigella Lawson has been on her best behaviour ever since she upset Italians in 2017 by suggesting that cream be added to carbonara instead of the traditional raw eggs, and two of the world\u2019s leading food publications \u2013 the BBC Good Food magazine and Bon App\u00e9tit in the US \u2013 were forced to make \u201clinguistic changes\u201d to some of the tens of thousands of recipes in their archive, after accusations of \u201cstealing\u201d dishes from ethnic minorities.\u201cNo one is suggesting that it is wrong to cook food from another culture,\u201d one newspaper recently pointed out. Yet isn\u2019t that the loud and clear message? Indeed, crediting those other cultures only seems to make matters worse. Had Oliver named his punchy rice \u201cJamaican Jerk\u201d, his jovial little head would have been served up on a platter (using only traditional British seasonings).As it was, his defence only inflamed things further. \u201cI\u2019ve worked with flavours and spices from all over the world my whole career,\u201d he protested at the time, \u201clearning and drawing inspiration from different countries and cultures to give a fresh twist to the food we eat every day.\u201d Just as Gordon Ramsay\u2019s defence of his Lucky Cat restaurant did back in 2019, after the central London \u201cAsian eating house\u201d opened to a slew of derogatory comments on social media.<a href=\"https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/news\/2019\/04\/13\/gordon-ramsay-accused-cultural-appropriation-asian-restaurant\/\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Ramsay\u2019s crime was to call Lucky Cat\u2019s cuisine \u201cauthentic\u201d<\/a>&nbsp;\u2013 which was, granted, inadvisable, in a pedantic and pedestrian climate where authenticity could only be guaranteed by an 100 per cent Asian-staffed kitchen. Certainly, the word would now have any \u201coffence adviser\u201d whipping out his snippers.But if \u201cinspiration\u201d had been a problematic concept throughout history, then the OEs would have shut down Thomas Gainsborough (for being inspired by Rubens), and Rubens (for being inspired by Caravaggio), along with Charles Dickens (for being inspired by Victor Hugo). Most importantly, chicken tikka masala would not exist. Because, according to many culinary sources, the nation\u2019s favourite dish only became what it is now after migrant Bangladeshi chefs here played around with their traditional \u201cbutter chicken\u201d recipe. And in an ironic inversion of history, British companies now export that dish to Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh.Does this mean everyone should be offended \u2013 or no one? I\u2019m losing track. But one thing I am sure of: whatever the origins, whatever the recipe, there is no greater insult to any chef than calling a dish \u201cinoffensive\u201d.<\/h1>\n\n\n\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/news\/2022\/01\/22\/acas-acting-like-east-germany-says-employee-accused-racism-sharing\/\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\">https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/news\/2022\/01\/22\/acas-acting-like-east-germany-says-employee-accused-racism-sharing\/<\/a>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;<\/h1>\n\n\n\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Acas acting like East Germany, says employee accused of racism for sharing equality posts<\/h1>\n\n\n\n<p>Sean Corby is currently being investigated by his bosses after staff complained over critiques of woke culture that he posted on a forum<a href=\"https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/authors\/e\/eu-ez\/ewan-somerville\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><em>By<\/em>Ewan Somerville<\/a>22 January 2022 \u2022 8:30pm<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image is-style-default\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ci3.googleusercontent.com\/proxy\/CoG7XWgHu8HXPQCU86LVysZBHndBkcWRy_9vZSpdEVOAoVWb9dmCfg-l4s4eBIeQKZD1qFodHj9cZpxWyKAAOaSUQ-1WKB3MVrnm90KYO6aYRjjIgDBEM96KJa7G_4FSLg3VLdtbFVo4JzabHz7c9ZU1dES-_MXyAHYw2LQ6JT3S_rnECY2qlEDHT3GjsvjmconTd77AnEPHAyq3mC2rVzAEGWWhv1fmvjJsjaLxVsRet5Q=s0-d-e1-ft#https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/content\/dam\/news\/2022\/01\/22\/TELEMMGLPICT000283460126_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqpVlberWd9EgFPZtcLiMQf0Rf_Wk3V23H2268P_XkPxc.jpeg?imwidth=680\" alt=\"Sean Corby and his wife Tracy\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Sean Corby with Tracy, his wife. One of the posts he shared explored the impact of anti-racist activism on interracial couples&nbsp;CREDIT: Lorne Campbell\/Guzelian for The TelegraphA mediator at the official body for workplace conduct has accused his employer of acting \u201clike East Germany\u201d after he was put under investigation for racism for sharing articles about equality.Sean Corby, a senior conciliator at&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/news\/2021\/12\/23\/senior-executive-uks-leading-workplace-rights-body-fired-sexually\/\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Acas<\/a>, has been under investigation since last August after colleagues complained that messages he posted on an equality and diversity forum with more than 100 members were \u201cdiscriminatory\u201d and \u201cracist\u201d.One post quoted writer Ayishat Akanbi\u2019s video The Problem with Wokeness, while in another Mr Corby shared an article on the impact of anti-racist activism on interracial couples, of which he and his wife, Tracy Corby, are one.&nbsp;He wrote that he had \u201cexperienced abuse and bigotry from both \u2018sides\u2019\u201d but that \u201cworryingly divisive\u201d current ideologies ignore this.Another post quoted defences of free speech from figures including Howard Thurman, the civil rights leader who influenced Martin Luther King. One described how Thurman had \u201crailed against separatism and segregation\u201d in his social justice activism. Another quoted the Nigerian writer&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/books\/authors\/cancel-culture-obscene-says-novelist-feted-oprah-winfrey-obamas\/\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie\u2019s<\/a>&nbsp;critique of cancel culture, with \u201cyoung people terrified to tweet anything\u201d and emotive language used \u201clike tarnished pitchforks\u201d.<img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie\" src=\"https:\/\/ci6.googleusercontent.com\/proxy\/J0sBgHVdo1o0I33AyYaTKtkwwdBpV8r8-f_Wp5ppfe1XfNUZsqZ7YNTfL8b-JilwzMHzyCeJgTMjj9PBzevhZXWGtXX00dlKrLSMKyBvKps1jateQPl-BOj6mVqpAKMlyWHsR9ANczRNTefHGQX8tG8Z71d9TfA2E_I7cG2DZJVhZyqoRnk7Z54sw_GWwlQ1KQ0nfkVO-QbHpHgq-jSio4u7fK73O1k6lcaLH1gvEcXJulI=s0-d-e1-ft#https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/content\/dam\/news\/2022\/01\/22\/TELEMMGLPICT000222036328_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqqVzuuqpFlyLIwiB6NTmJwT-X8sKfc8IGi0S_jNV9ALQ.jpeg?imwidth=480\"><\/h1>\n\n\n\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Sean Corby shared, among other things, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie\u2019s critique of cancel culture&nbsp;CREDIT: Bertrand Rindoff Petroff\/Getty ImagesAnother linked to an article by&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/news\/2021\/11\/21\/woke-mob-wants-replace-virtue-correct-think\/\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Inaya Folarin Iman<\/a>, a free speech campaigner and GB News host, which argued that \u201ccurrently fashionable conceptions of marginalised identities\u201d are incompatible with \u201cthe fearless exchange of ideas\u201d.The complaint, from four colleagues unknown to Mr Corby, alleged that he \u201cdemonstrates a deep-rooted hatred towards black and minority ethnic people who challenge racism, organise in black structures and safe spaces and mobilise against racism\u201d.They accused him of \u201ctrying to force his view on us\u201d and went on: \u201cHaving read all Sean\u2019s posts, I would not feel safe to be in contact with him in person\u2026 I don\u2019t know where Sean works, in terms of office, but I fear for any black and minority ethnic people working there if there are any.\u201dMr Corby said there was \u201cnothing that anybody could remotely construe as being racist\u201d&nbsp;in his posts, drawn from his experience living in an interracial family with his wife and socialising in black communities.&nbsp;\u201cA cabal of extremists are either influencing Acas leadership, or they are themselves going along with this ideology. It is bullying and harassment based on me sharing absolutely valid opinions in an appropriate way,\u201d he told The Telegraph.He claimed that staff are \u201cbombarded with ideological initiatives\u201d and criticised \u201csnake oil\u201d&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/business\/2022\/01\/04\/unconscious-bias-training-fad-doesnt-work\/\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\">unconscious bias training<\/a>&nbsp;that Acas runs for workplaces, despite the Government\u2019s Race Commission and Liz Truss, the Foreign Secretary who is also the Equalities Minister,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/politics\/2020\/12\/16\/pivot-fashionable-race-sexuality-gender-issues-focus-poverty\/\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\">saying it is ineffective and must end<\/a>.<img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Toby Young\" src=\"https:\/\/ci4.googleusercontent.com\/proxy\/ufFlEpkK552hK_gnx2cGOxl1FFsV6pcw01pbsduCRIlUhrx26zfCgUyRIwiM-1HNfCcbfOnX0G3lLATCJF9JAV3CARxv0DhOh1k-76mBkx41voG7uDTv9jv-LY1-T2c3v1Lk6V4chlO0IUHDigOAeUKuqgyBEA44Y_4DEexNVWelBAv7ygBFLmxV570Kha3NbsW_Kp_7IRw9esmb7ooT14uwTJUQTCsjT4MzE18S0XPSBHY=s0-d-e1-ft#https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/content\/dam\/news\/2022\/01\/22\/TELEMMGLPICT000150347326_trans_NvBQzQNjv4Bq90JsMauqkzRhOnTEP_rlOvipp6I7Wmq8QJJkq5qiFBM.jpeg?imwidth=480\"><\/h1>\n\n\n\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Toby Young said that the case was \u2018shocking&#8217;&nbsp;CREDIT: Dominic Lipinski\/PA WireFollowing an investigation, the complaint was not upheld in late October after Acas ruled there was \u201cno substantial evidence\u201d that Mr Corby posed a risk to ethnic minority staff. But last week, he was informed that an appeal had been lodged, further prolonging the process.Mr Corby, who helps to resolve pay disputes, claims he has been \u201cleft in limbo\u201d for six months in a workplace culture \u201clike east Germany if you don\u2019t toe the line\u201d.He is now formally complaining to Acas, which received almost \u00a357 million in taxpayer funds last year, over how it has conducted the racism probe, claiming it goes against \u201ceverything they charge employers to be trained on\u201d.<a href=\"https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/news\/2021\/11\/26\/toby-youngs-union-set-take-university-court-shunning-gender\/\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Toby Young<\/a>, the general secretary of the Free Speech Union, said that the case was \u201cshocking\u201d.\u201cAcross the civil service, no one is allowed to dissent from the dogma of equity, diversity and inclusion, including people of colour,\u201d he said. \u201cIndeed, woke activists treat black intellectuals who challenge this orthodoxy with particular contempt because they regard them as race traitors.\u201dAn Acas spokesman said: \u201cCreating fair and inclusive workplaces is at the heart of everything we do and we do not recognise the picture presented by Mr Corby. Our regular staff surveys continue to show that Acas is an inclusive place to work and our training services receive positive feedback from our customers.\u201cWe cannot give a running commentary on individual disciplinary and grievance cases that we deal with as we have to respect the confidentiality of all the staff members involved.\u201d&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/news\/2022\/01\/23\/cambridge-college-alumni-take-row-slavery-linked-donor-court\/?li_source=LI&amp;li_medium=liftigniter-rhr\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\">https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/news\/2022\/01\/23\/cambridge-college-alumni-take-row-slavery-linked-donor-court\/?li_source=LI&amp;li_medium=liftigniter-rhr<\/a>Cambridge college alumni take row over slavery-linked donor to court, in UK firstJesus College faces a revolt over plan to strip memorial of Tobias Rustat, a courtier to Charles II, from chapel<a href=\"https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/authors\/c\/ca-ce\/camilla-turner\/\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><em>By<\/em>Camilla Turner,<\/a>&nbsp;EDUCATION EDITOR23 January 2022 \u2022 9:00pm<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ci5.googleusercontent.com\/proxy\/G2Mp2SlNbnRLtFHYuFgN8fVq8VhT3nhehCPSIHvb7AwHBK_b3sE2cp-racmm1UOJrrFcviADTnH-avLZu_6XoTZrCtbdJi60IXPBw7UvYutB2t5BvvgzXWPW_LETnXqNoBm-l5BS94cbs6x-9MlSxf-ZIRdqnqTgW6nFsvWr1CAWraXnmnh5LLxUZQT1_HGYvZvVsIemRiBrAe0q6VC-GPbWPF6Ik_bg9lYOozXHVRNnMkw=s0-d-e1-ft#https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/content\/dam\/news\/2022\/01\/23\/TELEMMGLPICT000283672878_trans_NvBQzQNjv4Bq-IWLY18X4-CzgyIcjLEAj0k9u7HhRJvuo-ZLenGRumA.jpeg?imwidth=680\" alt=\"The Rustat memorial (L) of Tobias Rustat (R)\"><\/h1>\n\n\n\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><\/h1>\n\n\n\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Rustat memorial (L) of Tobias Rustat (R)A university cancel culture row is to be heard in court for the first time, as a Cambridge college attempts to remove a memorial to a benefactor linked to slavery.&nbsp;Jesus College, Cambridge wrote to the Church of England to propose that&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/news\/2021\/02\/23\/ancestors-criticise-cambridge-college-plan-move-benefactor-memorial\/\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\">the memorial of Tobias Rustat<\/a>&nbsp;should be stripped out of its chapel following research which revealed he was a &#8220;major investor&#8221; in a seventeenth century slave trading company.When the college submitted its petition to the Diocese of Ely it may have been waved through &#8211; were it not for the staunch and organised opposition it faced from its own alumni.<\/h1>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Historians will look back on &#8216;significant&#8217; moment&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Now the question of whether the Rustat memorial can stay or go will be subject to a full consistory court hearing, which will take place next month.\u201cHitherto colleges have decided themselves about this sort of thing, but here you actually have a judicial proceeding,\u201d a source familiar with the process said.\u201cHistorians in the future will probably look back on this moment and say \u2018ah, this is significant\u2019 &#8211; there will be court papers, a judgement and official records.\u201dRustat donated \u00a32,000 to Jesus College &#8211; his father&#8217;s alma mater &#8211; in 1671 for scholarships for orphan sons of Anglican clergymen.<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ci4.googleusercontent.com\/proxy\/owj3CpDtKI2PqhwjiYeH2MSme2JltPdzFcAg-ABv6Qa-7c-kglYcFmu7Xc5LxE_hjDxY6B7Neir5W7CFpwouxjBpq4JyneePsGGFVL1XHituurDVuUUjRXw_Wcor2w0J-YqunOVam4NA_ecB7X09YUCgQ93o0UuG03CBi5TpCUGop9PMDmXm1OaeZ7Llqr1yJIONvKkNOh9g6iGmRWq4AY7CeZtWktN5Fnf7cHk94_MbJRM=s0-d-e1-ft#https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/content\/dam\/news\/2022\/01\/23\/TELEMMGLPICT000283639844_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqoQs0bxrJ0VMctHYmJMv0P3cBYTXaUwLzp8zBYphQWkg.jpeg?imwidth=480\"><\/h1>\n\n\n\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Jesus College Chapel and Cloister, University of Cambridge&nbsp;CREDIT: Neil Grant \/ Alamy Stock PhotoWhile much of his wealth was derived from his career as a courtier to King Charles II, he was also an investor in The Royal African Company and also took a role in running the organisation.The historian William Pettigrew said that the Royal African Company &#8220;shipped more enslaved African women, men and children to the Americas than any other single institution during the entire period of the transatlantic slave trade.&#8221;Jesus College said that investors were &#8220;fully aware of the Company\u2019s activities and intended to profit from this exploitation&#8221;.Some 65 alumni lodge formal objection&nbsp;When the college\u2019s alumni first heard about the desire to&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/news\/2020\/11\/06\/cambridge-college-remove-memorial-explicit-celebration-major\/\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\">remove Rustat&#8217;s memorial from the chapel<\/a>, and install it in a permanent exhibition space elsewhere in the College, some of them started writing to the Master to raise their concerns.However, when the College served notice of their petition to the Diocese of Ely in December 2020, they realised they had to move more quickly.\u201cThe registry of the court said we had to reply to this within three weeks,\u201d one of the group&#8217;s members explained. \u201cWe suddenly realised we had to do something rather more formal than just write letters.\u201dSome 65 alumni &#8211; who call themselves the Rustat Memorial Group &#8211; lodged a formal objection to the petition, and then raised funds to instruct an ecclesiastical barrister to represent them at the hearing.\u201cWe felt that it was going slightly under the radar, the college didn&#8217;t expect any resistance,\u201d a spokesman for the group said.\u201cWe are beating the drum making sure Rustat gets a fair hearing. We feel this is over the top.&nbsp;\u201cHe gave away \u00a310,000 during his lifetime which is worth millions now. He did all this good stuff &#8211; and yet he is being pulled apart for something that wasn&#8217;t illegal or even disapproved of at the time .\u201cObviously slavery is abhorrent, no one diasagrees with that now. He wasn\u2019t running a slave company, he was a courtier to Charles II sitting in London. Do we really drag him through the mire for this?\u201dThe alumni group &#8211; who are listed by the court as a \u201cparty opponent\u201d to Jesus College &#8211; will call on a number of expert witnesses including Oxford University\u2019s Prof Nigel Biggar, an expert in moral and pastoral theology and Dr Roger Bowdler, who specialises in architectural history.Meanwhile the College will call on the Bishop of Ely, the dean of the chapel and the Master of Jesus to give evidence in support of their petition.&#8217;Stripping away at the history&#8217; of church buildings is a &#8216;risky business&#8217;&nbsp;Prof David Abulafia, an emeritus professor of history at Cambridge, said there is a \u201cvirtue signalling side to all this\u201d. He added that removing memorials and \u201cstripping away at the history\u201d or church buildings is a \u201crisky business\u201d.\u201cThis is a potentially very rich source of material for those who want to demolish monuments,\u201d he said.\u201cThere is no end to it. It takes us back to the sixteenth and seventeenth century puritan demolition of church buildings.\u201dThe hearing will take place in Jesus Chapel itself, and will be heard before His Honour Judge David Hodge QC.In addition to his donations to Jesus College, Rustat also donated to Cambridge University&#8217;s library its first endowment of \u00a31,000 to spend on books.The university has made &#8220;preliminary enquiries&#8221; about whether Rustat&#8217;s statue, which is erected at the library&#8217;s original site, can be removed.Referring to the Rustat memorial, a Jesus College spokesman said: \u201cIt comes down to whether it\u2019s in the best interests of our current and future students and fellows for this celebratory memorial to be in our Chapel, a place of worship at the heart of our diverse community.\u201dLatest in a string of institutions embroiled in culture rows&nbsp;Jesus College is the latest institution to become embroiled in a row over an early benefactor and their links to the slave trade.At Oxford, students have been campaigning for the removal of&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/news\/2021\/05\/29\/inside-story-rhodes-didnt-fall\/\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Cecil Rhodes&#8217; statue<\/a>&nbsp;from Oriel College&#8217;s main facade since 2015.<br><br>Rhodes, a British imperialist who founded Rhodesia and served as prime minister of the Cape Colony in the 1890s, donated a huge sum to Oriel in his will. He was not a slave trader but supported apartheid-style measures in southern Africa.<br><br>In summer 2020, when protests were reignited in the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement, Oriel&#8217;s governing body said it was their &#8220;wish&#8221; to remove the statue. But they decided last year that it should stay for the time being on the basis that it would take too long and cost too much to remove it.Meanwhile Bristol University has been under pressure from students over its links to&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/news\/2022\/01\/05\/blm-activists-dumped-edward-colston-statue-bristol-harbour-cleared\/\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Edward Colston, a 17th-century slave merchant and philanthropist.<\/a>The university has already removed his name from one of its accommodation blocks, changing it from &#8220;Colston Street&#8221; to &#8220;Accommodation at Thirty-Three&#8221; and it has launched a review of its logo which features his crest.University College London&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/education\/2020\/06\/19\/university-college-london-changes-names-three-buildings-named\/\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\">has \u201cdenamed\u201d buildings<\/a>&nbsp;which honour eugenicists after coming under criticism for its historic links with the movement.Lecture theatres and a building named after prominent eugenicists Francis Galton and Karl Pearson were renamed in June 2020.Imperial College London&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/news\/2021\/10\/26\/imperial-college-told-remove-bust-slavery-abolitionist-might\/\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\">is considering whether to rename a building<\/a>&nbsp;and remove a bust of slavery abolitionist Thomas Henry Huxley after a review it commissioned concluded that he \u201cmight now be called racist\u201d owing to his views on a hierarchy of racial intelligence.<br><a href=\"https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/news\/2021\/10\/26\/imperial-college-told-remove-bust-slavery-abolitionist-might\/\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Imperial College told to remove bust of slavery abolitionist because he &#8230;University could also rename buildings as it seeks to \u2018confront, not cover up, uncomfortable or awkward aspects &#8230;<\/a><br><br><a href=\"https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/books\/what-to-read\/finally-feminists-asking-do-men-want\/?li_source=LI&amp;li_medium=liftigniter-rhr\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Finally, feminists are asking: what do men want?<\/a>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Finally, feminists are asking: what do men want?<br><a href=\"https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/books\/what-to-read\/finally-feminists-asking-do-men-want\/?li_source=LI&amp;li_medium=liftigniter-rhr\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Finally, feminists are asking: what do men want?Two new books wrestling with the masculinity crisis \u2013 one by a woman, one by a man \u2013 are put to the test. The re&#8230;<\/a><br><br>Two new books wrestling with the masculinity crisis \u2013 one by a woman, one by a man \u2013 are put to the test. The result is surprising<a href=\"https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/authors\/t\/tf-tj\/tim-stanley\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\">TIM STANLEY<\/a><\/h1>\n\n\n\n<p>22 January 2022 \u2022 12:00pm<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ci5.googleusercontent.com\/proxy\/ScwrXHQ5jAX8COvR7tGDO9vQF_cPoKRiu-btMVFYEYEEYyj5UYKfJqDWDuBf_iI7Znn4GVSuPZVHtv0mtcUGVcvLjCtghHvJSzD8mDEfJHTfOObDGDjDfRImPNyXrh1C0LaLqRRNSRTkP_WJ95TTgoB4DPPL8iTmUsuC=s0-d-e1-ft#https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/content\/dam\/Author%20photos\/Tim%20Stanley%20Aug%202021-small.png?imwidth=100\" alt=\"Tim Stanley\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image is-style-default\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ci5.googleusercontent.com\/proxy\/pzbHiieMx4W6-M9mtcS9Z_wNRsYnQ53SOaJiTZGCB45tj0qpf8msO3qxoYsE9Os3QJFvKlnnZlYh32QgmKm1u5eTWxmlROJTaJA7wluFHBa8N3ORTHPZysd62yE7CcxlE5G538Ba8ZqqPLqBiF4H9snP0AeRYhIZZHga18uXtxZoEA6s-KIUGkrJh_9WOdvCXq-tCPjnWEbJl6MSVesDpwOBW2fGZMAGgHVgbbOLyNUvORhz=s0-d-e1-ft#https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/content\/dam\/books\/2022\/01\/21\/TELEMMGLPICT000253390781_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqhOmrRAtGRMuTjoSvpu9LcEU0ABnk91R4jm7Ord_CTJU.jpeg?imwidth=680\" alt=\"Thoroughly modern man: singer Harry Styles at the Grammys in March 2021\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Thoroughly modern man: singer Harry Styles at the Grammys in March 2021&nbsp;CREDIT: Anthony Pham<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In front of me are two books about men, and, curiously, it\u2019s the one by a woman that is \u00adsympathetic and the one by a man that would consign my sex to the dustbin of history. It borders on a hate crime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/news\/2020\/12\/14\/men-learning-sew-isnt-blow-against-patriarchy\/\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Patriarchy<\/a>, according to Ivan Jablonka, a French historian, is immoral and artificial \u2013 something we\u2019ve invented over the centuries to keep men on top. The problem with that thesis, he acknowledges, is that in primitive societies, too, male dominated female. To explain why something invented is perennial and universal, Jablonka tries to distinguish between biological sex (i.e. cavemen were more \u201crobust\u201d than women, so they took the lead in hunting) versus the cultural norms of gender, which he sees as an evolved effort to institutionalise the differences between men and women.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cPatriarchy proceeds from an interpretation of bodies: it transforms female biology into destiny, subjecting women to one function\u201d, namely reproduction, and while women are expected to pop out babies or care for them, \u201cmen are at leisure to take over other spheres: the economy, war, power, and so on\u201d. This order was threatened by the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/films\/0\/hollywoods-waterloo-great-napoleon-films\/\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\">French Revolution<\/a>, which by opening the door to universal rights allowed female equality to follow behind.Advertisement : 15 sec<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Jablonka is obsessed with patriarchy the way others are with critical race theory or ancient UFOs \u2013 it explains almost everything \u2013 and in his reduction of all human experience to the battle between the sexes, the individual becomes depressingly powerless. Jane Austen\u2019s clever female characters might know what they want, but they still want a man \u2013 \u201cstruggling within stifling gender norms\u201d \u2013 and women who claw their way up the corporate ladder in the 21st century, by exhibiting \u201cmasculine norms\u201d such as \u201cleadership, competition, toughness\u201d, become \u201caccomplices of the patriarchy that reserves a place for them\u201d. Women might think they\u2019re winning, but they\u2019re not.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And when men think they\u2019re being moral, they\u2019re actually doubling down on the system. Jablonka divides up male strategies for dominance into four categories: we lead by \u201costentation\u201d, a display of virility; by \u201ccontrol\u201d or self-denial; by \u201csacrifice\u201d, offering one\u2019s life for a higher cause; and through the game of \u201cambiguity\u201d, by integrating the feminine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image is-style-default\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ci4.googleusercontent.com\/proxy\/qe-R2TNIGzl_v_9ZxA7ARhNktOInNuJTMtxJc6BPDFfowd2EL2ZpXA3RaoiUPzzK3d0ET244O2Jx5fdUAdJj1ZVo-iV2EGtgIjqtHIZr6jmsg_t-TEfvVYMrzrh3ETLzt-wEwJPdJeb5Aiw6H0moefcExLUbvpCd-0elrtmA16b6yHG72kANjbontVIkXnbkgE1QbV-G7OeT6IIctQHLDezaae1BQ2v6mDasiOrDRoQ-tFRk=s0-d-e1-ft#https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/content\/dam\/books\/2022\/01\/20\/TELEMMGLPICT000259683969_trans_NvBQzQNjv4Bq_Qt1iuvWth76e9d_IW2U0bNmajAM0FJ-hmoUWpKNwt4.jpeg?imwidth=480\" alt=\"A drawing of early men learning to create fire\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>A drawing of early men learning to create fire&nbsp;CREDIT: Alamy<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sacrifice is \u201chorrifying\u201d, argues Jablonka, because it validates war and suicide. Yet critics will counter that it also encourages charity, modesty and martyrdom \u2013 just as virility can sometimes protect the weak. Indeed, if our natural state really is men clubbing each other over the head, perhaps patriarchal civilisation is a step up.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It also contains a space for joyous gender-bending (trans, drag, queer, etc.), though Jablonka believes men who soften their masculinity with eyeliner are often reasserting that while women are \u201ctied to their sex\u201d, men are free to be \u201carmed or bejewelled, tearful or insensitive\u201d. Again, it\u2019s imposs\u00adible to win. Even Harry Styles is a tool of the system. This book is so pessimistic that it\u2019s hard to see on what basis men and women can ever progress peacefully; for one to advance, the other must retreat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Far more hopeful, and better written, is philosopher Nina Power\u2019s What Do Men Want? If you \u00adproceed on the assumption that masculinity is inherently toxic, she argues, you risk implying that most men are bad \u2013 and they\u2019re not. \u201cFar from possessing great power, men are frequently trapped in systems of other men\u2019s making.\u201d To be a man nowadays is \u201cin great part, and at the risk of sounding dramatic, to suffer\u201d \u2013 from comparatively high rates of suicide, homelessness and murder, and stereotyping.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Patriarchy might be part of the problem, as Jablonka also argues, by compelling men to live according to masculine codes that are as repressive to them as they are unfair to women, but declaring war&nbsp;on masculinity will only add to&nbsp;men\u2019s sense of alienation, at a moment when aspects of culture and economics have moved in women\u2019s favour. The new economy rewards brain; brawn is out of style. \u201cIt\u2019s more fashionable to be a woman,\u201d Fay Weldon is quoted as saying. \u201cWomen appear to be more&nbsp;powerful, at least among young men.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image is-style-default\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ci5.googleusercontent.com\/proxy\/YTW4Xdg_eorCehknGpRXlwWeZIwolJGqMYc6bmAr_g2Y7irgGP6-OQjjoO7Ze2fbwkmweKMZpNKR4cFOdBiO0YPJja2JfKID-mtoirrH3yWviUwZKo0RFvuQF1Yj09J7rdZccP41sOcjt0c9xgRyDQBQaXxXlM9shAbBRYF_ocz1N9aTppJ53jHL2qKTyLqhcQXGfaenfSuqnNvVfw9j6R0rZJ_3XT4qnjiqN08VjdDP7ugx=s0-d-e1-ft#https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/content\/dam\/books\/2022\/01\/20\/TELEMMGLPICT000092255330_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqpVlberWd9EgFPZtcLiMQf0Rf_Wk3V23H2268P_XkPxc.jpeg?imwidth=480\" alt=\"Author, essayist and playwright Fay Weldon\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Author, essayist and playwright Fay Weldon&nbsp;CREDIT: Heathcliff O&#8217;Malley<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Nina Power suggests that, rather than dismissing the whole notion of masculinity, it might be better to recognise the reality of sex differences rooted in nature; encourage men to identify as part of a class, one that has severe problems and could do with more solidarity; and investigate those aspects of masculinity that are useful to us all, \u201cto revisit old values and virtues\u201d such as \u201chonour, loyalty and courage\u2026 in the name of reconciliation\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If Jablonka favours a Year Zero approach, Power is almost conservative, building a future upon the best of the past. The family \u201ccame to be seen by those on the left as traditional or oppressive. [But] the family can also be understood as a bastion of resistance against the outside world.\u201d When life goes mad, mum and dad \u201cbring you back down to earth with love and understanding\u201d. Power deserves credit for trying to get into the heads of the men she quotes, even if boorish or chauvinist. She displays female empathy. Jablonka, more of a man than he might admit, does not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>An alternative view, alien to both writers yet held deeply by billions across the planet, is that sex is not an evolutionary accident, but designed for a purpose, and that our characteristics flow from a divine order. Male and female, according to the Bible, were meant for each other. Adam was incomplete, so God created Eve. And, yes, Eve then tempted man to eat the forbidden fruit, destroying our collective innocence, but, as the 18th-century monk Benito Feij\u00f3o argued, the fact that Adam fell for this scam only confirms man\u2019s intellectual and moral weaknesses. I\u2019d wager more men have enthusiastically replied to emails from Niger\u00adian princes than women have.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Men are flawed, often in a very funny way. By peppering her book with humour, Power rehumanises the gender debate. Jablonka, deadly serious in his academic gobbledygook, descends into a woke self-parody that sounds suspiciously like mansplaining. At the end, he writes: \u201cWhile I am a man in my body, heterosexual in my choices, a professor in my career, I feel uncomfortable in the masculine. I am not inclined to become a woman, but I gladly switch genders.\u201d This is the kind of nonsense a man typically spouts in a misguided attempt to talk a feminist into bed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p><em>A history of masculinity by Ivan Jablonka, tr Nathan Bracher (\u2605&nbsp;)&nbsp;and What do men want? by Nina Power (\u2605&nbsp;\u2605&nbsp;\u2605&nbsp;\u2605&nbsp;)&nbsp;are published by Allen Lane at \u00a325 and \u00a318.99 respectively. To order these books from the Telegraph for \u00a319.99 and \u00a316.99, visit&nbsp;<\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/books.telegraph.co.uk\/\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><em>books.telegraph.co.uk<\/em><\/a><em>&nbsp;or call 0844 871 1514<br><\/em><br><a href=\"https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/news\/2022\/01\/22\/bbc-makes-woke-cuts-archives-including-dads-army\/\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\">BBC makes &#8216;woke cuts&#8217; to archives, including Dad&#8217;s Army<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\">BBC makes &#8216;woke cuts&#8217; to archives, including Dad&#8217;s Army<\/h1>\n\n\n\n<p>The broadcaster has purged a number of racist and misogynistic jokes as well as mentions of disgraced stars Jimmy Savile and Rolf Harris<a href=\"https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/authors\/m\/ma-me\/max-stephens\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><em>By<\/em>Max Stephens<\/a>22 January 2022 \u2022 1:32pm<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image is-style-default\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ci5.googleusercontent.com\/proxy\/z39wNmWFngDJgaWB_WSJPdKstswipc8_xjFAxcLoK8y6ucSLoXIWYzgoV5RZWB1OxKKERnLI6ocR4iH2JJaCr_G15Qf10kq4TxaBK8byY8qEloybFrpkeRrQb0WEese-LfFpSFEFH8Ou1MPXcIcXc31vBlZ-7IYeum6HJZ751eviUWrjEyPl80zE8hBZlQcYnA5kclTJMPGGlqj4bOMCMES3K06OeKQtohGQrT1ZbuZ2GWQ=s0-d-e1-ft#https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/content\/dam\/news\/2022\/01\/22\/TELEMMGLPICT000170118710_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqqVzuuqpFlyLIwiB6NTmJwWJKHVq56c9sYypHqwk1f_A.jpeg?imwidth=680\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Television Dad&#8217;s Army<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The BBC has purged mentions of disgraced stars&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/tv\/0\/bbc-insists-making-jimmy-savile-drama-should-tell-unvarnished\/\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Jimmy Savile<\/a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/news\/2019\/02\/06\/rolf-harriss-prison-release-reviewed-wanders-primary-school\/\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Rolf Harris&nbsp;<\/a>along with a number of racist and misogynistic jokes used in several of its classic radio comedies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>An anonymous Radio 4 Extra listener discovered the BBC had been quietly editing repeats of shows over the past few years to be more in keeping with social mores, the Times reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Labelling them as \u201cwoke cuts,\u201d the listener found edits had been made to&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/tv\/2020\/04\/08\/never-mind-tiger-king-dads-army-true-lockdown-tv-heroes\/\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\">old episodes of Dad\u2019s Army<\/a>, Steptoe and Son and I\u2019m Sorry, I\u2019ll Read That Again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In some cases entire sketches had been removed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For example, a repeat of a 1970 episode of I\u2019m Sorry, I\u2019ll Read That Again,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/news\/2021\/12\/16\/john-cleese-accuses-bbc-deceptive-dishonest-interview\/\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\">starring John Cleese<\/a>&nbsp;and Bill Oddie, had a joke about a scantily clad woman removed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the original broadcast, Cleese, impersonating a BBC spokesman, said: \u201cWe have noticed that it is possible to see right up to the girls\u2019 knickers, owing to the shortness of their miniskirts, so we\u2019ve asked the girls to drop them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The BBC also stripped a mention of the n-word from a 1972 episode of the Ronnie Barker sketch show Lines From My Grandfather\u2019s Forehead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A reference to African people being \u201ccannibals\u201d was also removed from a 1950 episode of Much Binding in the Marsh, a comedy set in a RAF station.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In a sketch from 1970, David Hatch adopted an Indian accent and was described as being \u201cbrowned off\u201d. The skit was removed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Other deleted sketches included a spoof of Harris\u2019s songs, titled Rolf Harris\u2019s Dirty Songbook.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A spokesman for the BBC said: \u201cListeners enjoy a huge number of old comedies from the archives on 4 Extra and on occasion we edit some episodes so they\u2019re suitable for broadcast today, including removing racially offensive language and stereotypes from decades ago, as the vast majority of our audience would expect.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\nhttps:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/news\/2021\/12\/11\/jussie-smollett-powerful-hoaxes-want-believe\/\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\">&nbsp; As with Jussie Smollett, the most powerful hoaxes are those we want to believe<\/h1>\n\n\n\n<p>It is no surprise that American politicians and celebrities were taken in by a fake \u2018racist and homo-phobic\u2019 attack<a href=\"https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/authors\/b\/bk-bo\/boris-starling\/\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\">BORIS STARLING<\/a>11 December 2021 \u2022 10:00am<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It was the perfect story for these atomised and fractious times. The victim was a gay black actor on a successful television show: his attackers were two white men who shouted racist and homophobic abuse referencing Donald Trump slogans, poured bleach on him and tied a noose around his neck. If ever you wanted an example of America\u2019s ugly side, one both legitimised and enabled by Trump\u2019s presidency, this was too good to be true.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Which, of course, is just what it turned out to be. That actor, Empire\u2019s Jussie Smollett, was&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Even one of the nation&#8217;s most successful TV chefs doesn&#8217;t feel safe in the woke minefield we\u2019re now forced to navigate every day CELIA WALDEN24 January 2022 \u2022 7:00pm Jamie Oliver doesn\u2019t just have the one \u2018offence adviser\u2019 but \u2018teams &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/cafe.nfshost.com\/?p=7148\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[3973,3974,3970,3972,3975,3971],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cafe.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7148"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cafe.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cafe.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cafe.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cafe.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7148"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cafe.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7148\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7149,"href":"https:\/\/cafe.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7148\/revisions\/7149"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cafe.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7148"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cafe.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7148"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cafe.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7148"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<br />
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