Louis Smith’s ‘show trial’ on Loose Women is emblematic of our dimwit-run times

Both Brendan and I have written about the strange martyrdom of Louis Smith.  But here is an ugly coda.

As readers may recall, the Olympic athlete got drunk at a friend’s wedding and, along with a friend, ended up doing a joke version of the Muslim call to prayer. Something to do with Aladdin apparently. Anyhow, before they knew it the phone-video had made its way onto social media and from there to The Sun. Soon sinister Muslim spokespeople were reminding everyone that their religion was to be ‘respected’ and never to be ‘mocked’. Smith has apparently been getting death threats since then. All of which tells us nothing new about the world’s most intolerant religion.

But as ever it is the response of our own society that is so bizarre and disturbing. Already Smith’s career looks in jeopardy as various sports authorities are actually seriously looking into banning him from competing because of this non-event. But if you want an even finer distillation of the stupidity, consider the following interview with Smith yesterday on ITV’s ‘Loose Women’ (I know, I don’t normally watch it either). Here, a quartet of women interrogate and berate Smith over his drunken behaviour. He is asked to explain himself and ‘his recent behaviour.’ It is so surreal that it really is worth watching. It begins with a shocked Janet Street-Porter berating Louis Smith for his drunken behaviour and telling him how unacceptable it is. Yes, indeed, Janet Street-Porter tells someone off for coarseness and drunkenness.

Then June Sarpong tries to get Smith to admit that what he and his friend did was ‘racist’. Poor Smith does not reply that of course Islam is not a race, because he is in full-on career-saving apology-tour mode.