You’d think Wynne Evans would have had the presence of mind to keep his mouth shut. After barely getting away with appearing awfully handsy with his partner on Strictly Come Dancing last year, the 53-year-old Go Compare singer has decided to “prioritise my wellbeing” and leave the show’s live tour on day one.
In front of the assembled press, Evans was allegedly heard turning to EastEnders actor Jamie Borthwick and cracked a “joke” (scarequotes mine) about having a “spitroast” with their presenter, Janette Manrara.
If you aren’t familiar with the term, I’d advise you not to type it into your search bar, but suffice to say it’s a deeply impolite and extremely sexual suggestion to make in your place of employment.
Evans has agreed with the BBC to drop out of the Strictly Live tour and take time away from his radio show. Hopefully part of this wellbeing prioritisation involves a) getting a filter and b) learning how to stop being an aggressively lecherous loser.
Because, this is loser behaviour. Obviously no one in that venue wanted a threesome with Evans. The foul comment was clearly an attempt to bond with his fellow bros by demeaning a woman just there to do her job. Bonus points if the woman in question, or any others in earshot, feels humiliated or intimidated.
A lot of the attention has been on the women involved and whether they will make their own public statements. If they choose to (or are even allowed to) they should be supported, but until then they should be left in peace. What I want to know is what all the other men who heard the remark that was supposedly made on that set were thinking allowing that kind of behaviour to go unchecked.
What makes this already shocking incident all the more outrageous is that Evans clearly felt comfortable acting this way in front of the cameras, microphones and notebooks of the television press.
Tellingly, the person to blow the whistle was a woman, journalist Dolly Busby. According to her report, there were plenty of people within earshot, but none of the men appear to have pushed back.
PA reported that Evans was simply given a warning by the tour producers. It’s only when the story effectively leaked that Evans got the boot. If I took to going around the office publicly asking my male colleagues to engage in outré sex acts for laughs, I’d find myself in front of HR PDQ. The BBC apparently only gives the talent a bit of a telling off.
Evans had already been allowed to pass off his previous behaviour on the show as a “joke”. Institutions only intervene when the situation becomes publicly embarrassing. It’s highly unlikely these were Evans’ only weirdo vibe moments, the only difference here was that an outsider with a remit to publish her account was present.
It’s the same pattern of grossness that presenter Gregg Wallace allegedly got away with for 17 bloody years.
The allegations against Wallace read as a grim parade of letchy loser antics, from announcing to a TV set that a dish reminded him of the taste of his aunt’s vagina, to sending a journalist 20 years his junior innuendo-filled texts about “noshing” pies.
So men, I’m going to level with you
There was a terrible joke about jam and anal Wallace allegedly made that was as violent as it was, frankly, baffling in its misunderstanding of biology and consent. Wallace, of course, denies wrongdoing and we don't yet know the full story.
But what is it about vaguely famous men being absolute freaks, and not in the fun way?
To be clear, these are not the actions of men just missing the mark when making a friendly joke or attempting to make a clumsy pass. Sexual harassment like this is a pathetic power play. It’s intended to humiliate the women who are targeted and demonstrate a twisted kind of masculinity to any men also present.
There’s a wealth of scientific research examining the psychology of why men sexually harass women in the workplace when they feel inadequate. One 2018 study by Halper and Rios found male participants who were worried about being perceived as incompetent were more likely to consider sexually harassing a female subordinate.
Something to mull over when you consider how the new (old) President of the United States was once caught on a hot mic talking about how he would like to sexually harass women in the workplace. Obviously people still voted for Trump despite – or maybe even because of – this loserish locker room talk. Probably because they’re also feeling a bit inadequate.
Most people reading this, I hope, know that making sex jokes with menacing undertones, let alone in the workplace, would be outlandish behaviour. But clearly the social sanctions aren’t severe enough to stop these middle-aged minor celebs on a power trip.
So men, I’m going to level with you.
Even if you think you’re worlds apart from Evans and Wallace, and you know deep in your soul that you would never try to intimidate a colleague with lewd remarks, if you’ve seen this sort of thing happen and haven’t stepped in – you’re part of the problem.
Sexual harassers don’t exist in a vacuum. They’re counting on you to not say anything, and ideally laugh along. Their sad little egos depend upon it. Don’t let them get away with it and speak up.
India Block is a culture and lifestyle writer
