morcette

I look back at what happened to me and still struggle to comprehend it. I defended women’s rights. I supported JK Rowling. I raised concerns about the medical treatment of children questioning their gender and the influence of commercial interests. Then came serious allegations, investigations and BBC coverage that I felt presented a deeply unfair picture of me. I even sought advice about an injunction. The first investigation cleared me, yet I apologised. A second investigation followed, with lawyers involved. After resigning, I lost the company I had founded and built over seventeen years, a company bearing my own name. I also lost access to my company email, phone and family photographs. The professional and personal consequences were devastating. I stand by my defence of women’s rights and my concern for children. When I think about my experience alongside those of Denise Fahmy, Kate Clanchy, Rachel Rooney and other artists, I see a culture in which expressing a belief can put an entire career at risk. Against the backdrop of allegations concerning prominent men in entertainment, I keep thinking about how the arts respond to questions of harm and responsibility. Where was that care when women were losing work for defending our rights and raising concerns about children? How the fuck did we get here?