For years one of the joys of reading The Sunday Observer was tucking into the work of columnist Nick Cohen. Typical of the newspaper, Cohen could be counted on to write insightful, witty and sometimes foul-mouthed pieces. I recall in particular, Cohen’s brilliant and well-researched writing on ‘fairyland’ Brexit. While firmly left of centre, Cohen was also critical of the left and certainly opened my eyes over the years.
Then, one day, he wasn’t there. I assumed he was ‘away’ as the paper often puts it, taking a holiday or on sick leave. But there was no mention of anything like this. Another week passed and then another. No sign of Cohen’s column. I looked online for a story about him, but there was nothing. His name still appeared as if he worked for The Observer.
Months later, I received an email from Good Law Project, an organisation I strongly support. Environmental journalist Lucy Siegle, being represented by Good Law Project, was one of several women who spoke out about her experiences of sexual harassment by Nick Cohen. She made a formal complaint to The Guardian/Observer back in 2018, and she was ‘stonewalled.’ As reported by Good Law Project, the paper ‘actively discouraged complaints and refused to take action on widespread reports of Cohen’s misconduct for years.’ As other women had come forward, the paper had no choice but to suspend Cohen. But they did choose to not publish any explanation for Cohen’s departure. I heard Jolyon Maugham of Good Law Project explain how he had approached The Guardian/Observer Media Group about this case and others, and he ‘could not get them to take it seriously.’ Maugham urged the paper to be the first to put this in the public domain.
The story has finally been reported by the New York Times this week and is well worth a read. This NYT story isn’t just about Nick Cohen’s behaviour, it’s about the coverup conducted by the British media. It mentions how Financial Times, Sunday Times and Private Eye refused to run the story about Cohen’s behaviour and departure. To this I add something learned from a Good Law Project interview with Lucy Seigle that The Telegraph ran a story claiming that Nick Cohen was suspended because he was gender critical and spoke up against transactivists. In other words, for The Telegraph, this was another of these ‘cancel culture’ stories, popular with its readership. But it wasn’t one of those stories. After all, why would Cohen be suspended when other Observer columnists, such as Sonia Sodha and Kenan Malik, have clearly taken a gender critical position and have supported women’s sex-based rights – neither of them has been suspended.
There is a whiff of irony here. Cohen often wrote about the coverup culture in the British media. Example, post-Brexit Britain, where the fairy tale continues in the pro-Brexit press:
‘For the life of me, I do not understand why Labour and those parts of the broadcast media outside the control of the political right play along with the deception and pretend that the world as it is does not exist. It’s as if Britain were a Victorian family keeping up appearances. As if not just a government with every reason to conceal, but the opposition and media are bound by a promise to never wash Britain’s dirty laundry in public – even as its stink becomes overwhelming.’
I guess it’s okay if the stinking ‘dirty laundry’ is his own. (Forgive my euphemism, I know it’s more serious than that for the victims.)
I find myself writing this blog not just to voice my disappointment in yet another man whose talents I admired turning out to be a sexual predator. Move over Kevin Spacey, James Levine and Ben Affleck. My deep disappointment lies in The Guardian and The Observer, two progressive papers I have trusted for years to support women’s rights and rise above the culture of male privilege.
Paola Trimarco 