This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2015/jul/27/kate-moss-refuses-shamed-tabloid-media

The article has changed 2 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
The brilliant thing about Kate Moss is that she can never be shamed The brilliant thing about Kate Moss is that she can never be shamed
(about 1 hour later)
Why do newspapers hate Kate Moss so much?Why do newspapers hate Kate Moss so much?
Charlotte, by emailCharlotte, by email
There is a strange editorial divide when it comes to the essential and never-ending news cycle that is the life of Kate Moss. The broadsheets seem to love her, using any old excuse to print photos of her. The tabloids, by contrast, absolutely loathe her, gleefully seizing any opportunity to kick her, mock her, berate her and generally insist that she’s really Not All That. Which is odd, when you think about it, because surely it should be the other way round, with the tabloids loving this gorgeous female celebrity who is a guaranteed source of sales, and the broadsheets holding up their noses at this – ew! – celebrity who seemingly does very little with her life other than jet about and make a truck-ton of cash.There is a strange editorial divide when it comes to the essential and never-ending news cycle that is the life of Kate Moss. The broadsheets seem to love her, using any old excuse to print photos of her. The tabloids, by contrast, absolutely loathe her, gleefully seizing any opportunity to kick her, mock her, berate her and generally insist that she’s really Not All That. Which is odd, when you think about it, because surely it should be the other way round, with the tabloids loving this gorgeous female celebrity who is a guaranteed source of sales, and the broadsheets holding up their noses at this – ew! – celebrity who seemingly does very little with her life other than jet about and make a truck-ton of cash.
We could talk for days about why the tabloids hate Moss so much, insisting that she’s miserable/ugly/lonely/fat etc, despite all the evidence to the contrary. To cut to the “too long; didn’t read” version, it seems fair to say that sexism plays a fair part here, seeing as Moss refuses to adhere to the famous female narratives preferred by the tabloids, namely get married, have babies and behave with maternal decorum (see Kate Middleton, Jools Oliver etc); swerve from that script and apologise tearfully (female reality TV stars, female soap actors etc); or die tragically (Diana, the patron goddess of all tabloids). Moss, on the other hand, has always lived her life without the slightest apparent concern for what anyone thinks, and certainly not the media. We could talk for days about why the tabloids hate Moss so much, insisting that she’s miserable/ugly/lonely/fat etc, despite all the evidence to the contrary. To skip the “too long; didn’t read” version, it seems fair to say that sexism plays a fair part here, seeing as Moss refuses to adhere to the famous female narratives preferred by the tabloids, namely get married, have babies and behave with maternal decorum (see Kate Middleton, Jools Oliver etc); swerve from that script and apologise tearfully (female reality TV stars, female soap actors etc); or die tragically (Diana, the patron goddess of all tabloids). Moss, on the other hand, has always lived her life without the slightest apparent concern for what anyone thinks, and certainly not the media.
But, in the case of some tabloids, it seems just as likely that their vendetta has nothing to do with gender. When asked why she thought the Daily Mail was so obsessed with her ageing, Moss made the unimprovable reply, “I don’t know. ’Cause it’s the Daily Mail? They just get on everyone’s tits, don’t they?” (Yes, I know I’ve used that quote a thousand times before, and I plan to use it a thousand times more.) But, in the case of some tabloids, it seems just as likely that their vendetta has nothing to do with gender. When asked why she thought the Daily Mail was so obsessed with her ageing, Moss made the unimprovable reply, “I don’t know. ’Cause it’s the Daily Mail? They just get on everyone’s tits, don’t they?” (Yes, I’ve used that quote a thousand times before, and I plan to use it a thousand times more.)
The brilliant thing about Moss is that she can never be shamed: a newspaper could run a story about how she was caught having an orgy with several members of the Tory front bench, Sister Wendy and a labradoodle while simultaneously smoking propane, and, while the tabloids would spontaneously combust with their tangy combination of voyeurism and phony morality, the rest us would just nod and say, “Yup, that’s what I reckoned a quiet Sunday afternoon would be like for Kate Moss.” She showed fashion advertisers to be the hypocrites that they are when all those who had hired her precisely for her rock’n’roll image then dropped her in 2005 after she was photographed apparently taking cocaine, only to come back barely five minutes later to see her yearly earnings double. The brilliant thing about Moss is that she can never be shamed: a newspaper could run a story about how she was caught having an orgy with several members of the Tory front bench, Sister Wendy and a labradoodle while simultaneously smoking propane, and, while the tabloids would spontaneously combust with their tangy combination of voyeurism and phony morality, the rest us would just nod and say, “Yup, that’s what I reckoned a quiet Sunday afternoon would be like for Kate Moss.” She showed fashion advertisers to be the hypocrites that they are when all those who had hired her precisely for her rock’n’roll image then dropped her in 2005 after she was photographed apparently taking cocaine, only to come back barely five minutes later with her yearly earnings doubled.
Of course, it’s not just the media that likes to get moralistic about Moss. Plenty of people do, too, even though she always comes across as pretty harmless, as long as you’re not an employee of easyJet. No, I wouldn’t want to go on holiday with her (I’d be more likely to sprout wings and fly than keep up with Moss on a night out), but, heck, she’s hardly Saddam Hussein. I’ve heard and read plenty of tut-tutting about Moss’s alleged former drug use, with much headshaking about the global damage done by drug users and so on, and that’s just grand: well done on your “virtue signalling”, to borrow a useful term coined by the New Statesman’s Helen Lewis. Strangely, though, I very rarely hear such qualms expressed about, oh, let’s say, Noel Gallagher, who has talked frequently about his former cocaine abuse and yet now seems on the fast track to national treasure status, despite writing songs so boring I honestly believe they should not be played on the radio out of concern for drivers falling asleep at the wheel.Of course, it’s not just the media that likes to get moralistic about Moss. Plenty of people do, too, even though she always comes across as pretty harmless, as long as you’re not an employee of easyJet. No, I wouldn’t want to go on holiday with her (I’d be more likely to sprout wings and fly than keep up with Moss on a night out), but, heck, she’s hardly Saddam Hussein. I’ve heard and read plenty of tut-tutting about Moss’s alleged former drug use, with much headshaking about the global damage done by drug users and so on, and that’s just grand: well done on your “virtue signalling”, to borrow a useful term coined by the New Statesman’s Helen Lewis. Strangely, though, I very rarely hear such qualms expressed about, oh, let’s say, Noel Gallagher, who has talked frequently about his former cocaine abuse and yet now seems on the fast track to national treasure status, despite writing songs so boring I honestly believe they should not be played on the radio out of concern for drivers falling asleep at the wheel.
Anyway, it has been reported in the past week that Moss and her husband Jamie Hince are to separate. Is this true? Who knows. Certainly, the reason cited by the tabloids – that Hince has been spending too much time with some aristo friends whose names I can’t even be bothered to Google – does make one cock a somewhat sceptical eyebrow. “He hangs out too much with posh people” does not seem like a problem that would ruffle too many of Moss’s feathers. Anyway, the sole evidence for this cited reason is that Hince went to Glastonbury with aforementioned poshos and Moss stayed behind, which I wouldn’t really describe as smoking-gun level of proof. Whereas the reaction of the tabloids has been much gleeful speculation about Moss’s impending loneliness, the broadsheets have been either silent or adoring, with one paper running a collection of Moss and Hince’s “most fashionable moments”. This might seem an odd way to mark the possible end of a marriage, but it is surely preferable to dubious speculation based purely on scrolling through an aristocrat’s Instagram, which is currently how journalism is being made in other papers. Anyway, it has been reported in the past week that Moss and her husband Jamie Hince are to separate. Is this true? Who knows. Certainly, the reason cited by the tabloids – that Hince has been spending too much time with some aristo friends, whose names I can’t even be bothered to Google – does make one cock a somewhat sceptical eyebrow. “He hangs out too much with posh people” does not seem like a problem that would ruffle too many of Moss’s feathers. Anyway, the sole evidence for this cited reason is that Hince went to Glastonbury with aforementioned poshos and Moss stayed behind, which I wouldn’t really describe as smoking-gun level of proof. Whereas the reaction of the tabloids has been much gleeful speculation about Moss’s impending loneliness, the broadsheets have been either silent or adoring, with one paper running a collection of Moss and Hince’s “most fashionable moments”. This might seem an odd way to mark the possible end of a marriage, but it is surely preferable to dubious speculation based purely on scrolling through an aristocrat’s Instagram, which is currently how journalism is being made in some papers.
But there’s no point in getting overly exasperated about this, because, if there’s one positive and guaranteed truth to be drawn about this whole farrago, it’s this: Moss could not care less what any newspaper writes about her. And, for that alone, this column will always salute Miss Moss. But there’s no point in getting overly exasperated about this, because, if there’s one positive and guaranteed truth to be drawn about this whole farrago, it’s this: Moss could not care less what any newspaper writes about her. And, for that alone, this column will always salute her.
Post your questions to Hadley Freeman, Ask Hadley, The Guardian, Kings Place, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU. Email ask.hadley@theguardian.com. Post your questions to Hadley Freeman, Ask Hadley, The Guardian, Kings Place, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU. Email ask.hadley@theguardian.com.