After more than a year of controversy, a failed claim against the BBC, and being sacked from MasterChef, Gregg Wallace has issued a public apology for making some contentious comments about his accusers.
It’s too little, too late if you ask me.
When Wallace was initially accused of inappropriate sexual behaviour in 2024, the TV host took to his Instagram to say that the allegations had come from ‘middle-class women of a certain age.’
He has now acknowledged the harm of his words, writing on his Substack blog last week that his remarks were ‘hurtful and wrong’, and that his workplace persona was merely ‘matching the culture that was engineered from the top down’.
But if the allegations about his actions are true, Wallace’s behaviour has made so many feel uncomfortable and humiliated, and nothing about that could be considered a ‘joke.’
I certainly wasn’t laughing in 2013 when I had a personal experience with Wallace.
I was sitting in a photo studio, working as a junior writer at a magazine in London, and Gregg Wallace, who was on our cover, was glaring at me.
‘That was a joke, you’re supposed to laugh.’
I can’t remember what exactly he had said, but what I do know is: it wasn’t funny.
It was a sexist remark, wrapped up as a ‘joke’ so unfunny that not even me, a people pleaser who laughs easily at a lot of inappropriate jokes (when they’re actually funny) could muster a laugh.
He then turned to a more senior member of the team, and said, ‘Can’t you make her laugh?’
This time his tone was more jovial, but there was an undercurrent to it and his behaviour throughout that day was: I have the power, you’ll do as I am told.
It was my first experience working with celebrities and I was excited to be a part of it all, but the day itself was deeply uncomfortable.
Alongside the sexist remarks, I was told Wallace also refused to wear underwear, leaving us uncomfortable.
I didn’t speak up because I was so conditioned by society to believe that his behaviour was ‘no big deal.’ I know better now, but still, to be honest, I have felt nervous about opening myself up to criticism with people saying I’m making a fuss over nothing.
I’ve since gone on to interview and shoot with many more celebrities, in my career working for women’s glossies and Wallace’s attitude was by far the worst.
There were other things, too: overfamiliarity with other women on set that I witnessed. That is not my story to tell.
In 2024, a BBC News investigation heard from 13 people who have worked with him over the years have accused him of making inappropriate sexual comments, and allegations that he groped three women on and off the set have been reported.
And, since I shared my memories of the presenter on my social media, my inbox has been full of other 00s journalists sharing their own stories about the presenter.
It’s only in the wake of all this that I’ve begun to reflect more deeply on that shoot, seeing it as less of a celebrity anecdote to tell at parties, and more as a vile incident that shouldn’t have been allowed to happen.
But it was 13 years ago, and I say that not as an excuse for his behaviour but instead as a reason why afterwards (as far as I am aware) there were no complaints made against him.
It was a time of ‘put up, and shut up.’
Being groped was a ‘compliment’.
Since 2003 it has been illegal to touch someone sexually without their consent, and groping is considered, under the sexual offences act, a serious crime.
But still, it was the general consensus back then, that this sort of behaviour was just part of the fabric of life.
Add, on top of that, the fact that he was a celebrity, with power, of course I wasn’t going to say anything. We all just tried our best to keep out of his way.
And afterwards we sat around and spoke of how vile he was, with the stylist fretting about how she would return the clothes he had worn without underwear on.
I don’t blame any of us for not speaking up, as it was, at the time, behaviour that was seen as simply unpleasant but also not something worth ‘kicking up a fuss over’.
The allegations against Wallace have kept coming. Each one I read has a flavour of what I witnessed that day. One woman, who accused Wallace of groping her on MasterChef, said that she felt she’d had her ‘card marked’ after letting him know she was disgusted.
Now, we finally have an apology.
As women, we’re raised to develop a thick skin, to plaster on a smile, fake a laugh and pretend that the things that make us feel deeply uncomfortable are normal.
I grew up in a culture that’s allowed men who behave inappropriately to thrive, simply by encouraging us to look the other way. This has to change. It’s not just on those who experience harassment or abuse to call it out, but also those who witness it.
A version of this piece was originally published in December 2024
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