I have lately been shocked by people's reactions to Phillip Schofield's recent revelations that he had an affair with a male colleague.  I am perplexed by his loss of jobs at ITV and loss of positions in charities, and by many people's baseless criticism of him.  I can see only one thing he can be criticized for:  having a sexual affair behind his wife's back (and even this should be a private issue between him and his wife, and none of our business).  Other than that, I have searched high and low through the news, and it seems to me that, on balance, there is nothing else he has actually done wrong.

And I am suprised to see that, so far, few have dared to publicly speak in his defence.  So I shall attempt this now myself.  I cannot just walk by on the other side when someone is being wronged and no one is stopping to help him.

To set the record straight, it is legal and acceptable for two adults to have a sexual encounter in private.  The respective ages of the two people are no factor unless one of them is younger than 18.  Once you are 18 or older, you are exactly as responsible for your actions as if you were 68.  The older consenting adult is no more or less "at fault" (if there were fault to be had) than the younger consenting adult.  And neither age group should be treated as some inferior class of human that should be punished for breaking some imaginary rules of age group apartheid.

And the respective sexes of the two people cannot be a factor either.  The rights of two men to be treated exactly the same as a man and a woman regarding sexual matters, are protected by law.

Furthermore, it is not illegal to tell a lie to your colleagues.

Most importantly, everyone has an absolute right to privacy -- that is, secrecy -- on all sexual matters.  Only one person on planet earth had any right to enquire about Philip Schofield's private sexual life.  That person was his wife.  No one else had any right to ask -- or even  to think -- about Philip Schofield's private sexual life without his consent.  The ITV had no right to quiz him in 2020 about whether he was having a sexual affair with a colleague.  None of his colleagues had had any right to quiz him about it either.

So, when faced with an intrusive question about your private life, how do you react?  You could rightfully say "mind your own business" or give an angrier response than that.  But then people might assume a meaning from a defensive reaction.  So, if it simply makes your life easier to deny anything deeply personal and utterly embarassing, you are justified in lying.  Information about your private personal life is 100% your property, for you to control as you choose.  I know I would have lied under the same circumstances.  Or, instead, I might have given a furious response to being asked an intrusive personal question.  But, for a television presenter's career, any fury could have been career suicide, even if behind closed doors.

I would say that when posed with a deeply intrusive question (that should not be asked) for which the true answer could be damaging to you and someone else, you absolutely have a God-given right to lie in your response.  I would say that to lie in this circumstance is the right thing to do.  No one should ever ask an offensive, utterly intrusive question of anyone's private life and presume to get a truthful answer back.  That is, unless it is completely your own business and right to know, such as if your spouse is having an extra-marital affair.

Furthermore, if his wife did not know about his extra-marital affair at the time he was quizzed by colleagues about it, it would have been unfair on her if he let other people know first.  So, because of this, it was absolutely the right thing for Phillip Schofield to lie to his prying colleagues and employers while it was still a secret from his wife.

Since his extra-marital affair became public, it seems to me that Phillip Schofield has acted with total dignity and humility.  If I had been under the same circumsances as him, I think I might have exploded into a screaming rage at the injustice with which I was being treated.  I think there would be no dignity from me if I was being wronged as much as I think people have wronged him.

There is exactly one person on this planet who deserved an apology from Phillip Schofield:  his wife.  He should never have felt any need to apologise to any other person.

However, a lot of people who have criticized Phillip Schofield, or who have claimed hurt by him, or who have dismissed him from jobs and other positions, should now apologise to him.

Phillip Schofield deserves sympathy not criticism.  Please "sign" this petition if you agree.