When your Manhunt goes Page Six

Last week at the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association convention a bunch of bloggers dug into the dubious ethics of posting the more private details of our own community's leaders lives -- let alone big A-list stars.

As one of the, uh, "experts" convened to debate such topics, I said we were long past the days when our best and brightest (or even merely bold and beautiful) could have NC17-rated profiles floating around and rely on this unspoken gay gentleman's agreement that they wouldn't get publicized in mainstream media. If Wonkette is going to publish the Facebook photos of every candidate's college-aged kid's antics, I pointed out, we shouldn't expect to still get a free pass. (I didn't, for the record, mean you shouldn't post your nekkid pix, just that it's good to have real-world expectations as to where they might end up.)

And then, well... Page Six -- the most unrepentant homophobic gossip column in the biz -- came across Kenneth in the (212)'s semi-blind item about a "TV insider" who has "been known to make his own headline news with these superhot nude pics of himself on the gay cruising site Manhunt.net."

Page Six published the commenters' speculation in today's column, using (of course) the most scandalized language in their thesaurus, in order to declare Thomas Roberts owner of said nude pictures. His bosses' response: "We have hired Thomas Roberts from CNN for his journalistic strengths and integrity. It is unfortunate that after four days on the job at 'The Insider,' he has become a victim of this malicious personal attack."

I really want to know: What do you all think of this? Was it cool for Kenneth to post the pics? Would your answer be different if the item had been less obvious? Is it cool for anyone to print the details of somebody's personal ads just because they're semi-famous? I'll print the most thoughtful (or just flat-out funny) answers next week...

[Update to add: I really don't mean this as a referendum on Ken, who I met briefly last week the same night as the panel. But would it be OK for any blogger? For me? Was it OK for Page Six to use commenters on a blog as a source?]

Comments

[John]

No, it was not cool of Kenneth to post the pics when the person in question could get fire from their job. Do he know for a fact those photos are of Thomas Roberts or is he guessing. How would he like it if someone post a picture of himself naked on a blog or of someone else and claim it to be him?

Thomas Roberts came out and help the gay community but in the end someone in our community stab him in the back and leave little hope for his career.

It just sad when the religious right is united in denying our right, we are destorying each other.

[Dave]

How do we even know that these are indeed his pictures since the face and the body aren't together in the nude pics

[Ken]

Great youtube video about this and how Kenneth hurt the gay community in the end.

http://www.themodernromantic.com/2007/09/tmr-tv-thomas-roberts-defrocked-by.html

[Jon]

Ken exploited the sexuality of a gay man to get more traffic for his blog and simply because he could. He didn't care what impact it would have on Roberts.

FYI he is another Perez Hilton.

[Jack]

Thomas is not only gay but he is sexual abuse survivor. He was abused by a priest for years when he was a teenage and there are lasting effect on its victims. Thomas didn't seek help until recently.

In a way Thomas is now a victim again because of his past thanks in part to Kenneth.

For his own personal gain, Kenneth ignore this and does it anyway. FYI, he blog about Thomas' abuse.

Here is quotes from a study by Lisak about "The psychological impact of sexual abuse: Content analysis of interviews with male survivors"

"For some men, sexual intimacy was frightening because it re-evoked feeling related to the abuse."

"Other men went in the opposite direction, involving themselves in repeated sexual interactions, unable to protect their sexual boundaries." Thomas belong in this group

"For other men, compulsive sexuality was forced more on fantasy and masturbation"

http://www.jimhopper.com/pdfs/Lisak_(1994)_Male_Survivor_Interviews.pdf

I wonder what does Kenneth think about posting naked pictures of a sexual abuse survivor?

[Rick]

I think it's disgraceful that Kenneth chose to victimize Roberts in this fashion. It was clear from the poorly disguised, and obviously deliberate, "outing" that he wanted his readers to know it was Roberts. So what was the point, except to be truly mean-spirited? Roberts is a good guy who already lost his job at CNN for being open and honest about his sexuality. I can almost see doing the same to some hypocritical troll in Washington who spends his days doing his evil best to marginalize gay people and who at night is cuddling up to a men's room stall. But causing a really good guy this unnecessary pain and embarrassment should earn Kenneth some vitriole from the GLBT community. It's appalling.

[Amy]

Thank you for talking about Thomas' sexual abuse, Jack. Similarly to Thomas, I was sexual abuse by a close relative when I was young. Because of the abuse I was addiction to sex and seek love from the wrong people. It was until Thomas' special on CNN, I finally got the help I needed and now seeing a man of my dream.

If someone release photos from my past which I am not proud of, it would destory me. I hope Thomas can get through this and he have the support from sexual abuse survivors community.

To Kenneth, your actions earn you the warth not only from the gay community but from sexual abuse survivors. You are not no different from whose who committed sexual abuse for their personal enjoyment.

Excuse my grammer mistake, English is my second language.

[Tony]

How low can our community go? A gay blogger basically destroy the career of Thomas Roberts who did nothing but good for our community. The religious right don't need to anything, we are destorying ourselves with Kenneth leading the charge. For shame, for shame. I won't blame Thomas if he don't give anymore speeches at any gay events like the one he did for Stonewall Community Foundation seeing how we betray him.

[Dale]

Thomas could never get a break in life. He put his faith in Catholic Church and gay community but ended up getting burn by both groups.

And Kenneth, you are a jerk who can't do anything in life but ruin other people lives.

[CJ]

Kenneth is a publicity hound. His motivation, it seems, is to up his blog traffic. So whats new in the 212. But more importantly how in the hell do we or anyone else know if that is Roberts' pics for sure? Just wishful thinking on Kenneth's part.

[Shawn]

Kenneth is a scum and a no talent hack who ended up helping the enemy. I bet he was one who told Page Six about it to get his name in their paper even when they regularly trash gays.

[Jack]

"Common symptoms for sexually abused men include: guilt, anxiety, depression, interpersonal isolation, shame, low self-esteem, self-destructive behavior, post-traumatic stress reactions, poor body imagery, sleep disturbance, nightmares, anorexia or bulimia, relational and/or sexual dysfunction, and compulsive behavior like alcoholism, drug addiction, gambling, overeating, overspending, and sexual obsession or compulsion."

http://www.joshuachildrensfoundation.org/10_FactsSexAbuseOfMales.php

Should Thomas be punish for something that was caused by his abused? No. If Thomas should be punish for it than all sexual abuse victims like myself can't really use the excuse that our abuse cause our addiction to sex and should be punish by society.

And how about the responsibilities of the blogger, Kenneth Walsh, who released those photos. He released them knowing Thomas might get fire from his job and no one will hire him again. Is it ok for someone own personal benefit and fun to get someone else fire because they can. Maybe I should report to the local school district and parents that our openly gay 1st grade teacher regularly look for sex online and get him fire because I could and he should have know better. Also I don't like him. There are other people I know that are in same situation as the 1st grade teacher and they work with children too such as social workers. Should I report them and get them fire too? When will it end?

It is both their fault but only one has benefit from this and took advantage of someone else misfortune. Is it right for one person to have his life ruin while the other get off the hook and increase his blog traffic. If it is, I am ashame to be part of the gay community when they treated its members this way especially those who been sexual abuse and needed our help.

[Doug]

Gay bloggers are now targeting gays instead of Republicans closet-cases like Larry Craig. And you wonder why our rights keep slipping away. We have no one else to blame but ourself.

[Jacky]

If this is the way we treat openly gay celebrities, you wonder why so many are still in the closet. If I were them, I rather die than reveal my sexuality than suffer the same fate as Thomas Roberts.

[Jacky]

Correction

If I were them, I rather die before I reveal my sexuality to the public. This is better than suffering the same fate as Thomas Roberts from someone in our community.

[Will]

I think what Walsh did was dispicable. My question always is at times like this is, why? Were Roberts' pics up for all to see, or did someone keep them so that they could be published in this way? Why would Walsh do something so damaging to a fellow gay man? What is his personal agenda in all this? I asked him these same questions, but since he moderates his comments, my critical comment, as well as anybody else's, is no where to be seen on his blog.

I just don't get it. Roberts was no hypocrite, and did not derseve to be "exposed" so publically. It may be true that we have little privacy left, but why are our own fellow gays so hellbent on taking even that little bit away.

As for your original question, no it was not ok to publish the photos. The blind item was just a convenient way to get out from having to simply say, he is Roberts in his full glory. Frankly, there is nothing newsworthy here. An out gay man, has nude pics on a gay hook-up site. Sun rises in east, sets in west and your taxes are due next April. This was done for titillation, if not out of spite. Walsh at a minimum has just shown that he is an even poorer gossip hound than Perez Hilton.

[raphael]

Hmmm... not sure I'd hold our blogger responsible. I mean, a gay man can't please right-wing homophobes no matter what he does. Some of them would have had the exact same reaction if he was caught on a date at a fine restaurant.

Of course, this doesn't mean that salacious "gotcha" postings are a good thing in and of themselves. But let's blame Kenneth212 for his own wrongdoings, and not those of others.

[matt]

I think Kenneth had every right to post the photos, and I think The Insider's PR statement that the act was "malicious" is preposterous and hypocritical. I don't think The Insider considers itself malicious, but it cheerfully reports on the private lives of everyone who's ever been remotely famous. Do you think if they'd been given nude photos of a famous man they wouldn't have aired them with strategic blurs? "Newsworthy" has a looow threshhold in celebrity journalism.

Who's The Boss actor Danny Pintauro's hook-up nudes were published and no one said it was wrong to do so. Perhaps because he does not have Thomas Roberts's cred and everyone expects fag actors, and not fag news anchors, to be sluts? We can't worry about PR.

[rodney]

Sorry, but that Japhy video -- and this whole outrage -- is just plain embarrassing.

By his logic black journalists should never write about blacks who commit crimes because then it might make the ignorant part of the population think ALL blacks are criminals. (Come on.) Thomas Roberts DOES look for sex on the Internet. Big fucking deal -- he's young and hung and gorgeous. Good for him. Everyone who has any position in the public eye knows that you can't put naked photos online and not expect them to get out -- especially if you are the one sending them out yourself!! THOMAS circulated his naked photos on the Internet to anyone he could -- they weren't stolen off his hard drive. His face WAS included in the Manhunt profile so he can't use his celebrity to lure in guys for sex but still have his "privacy" respected. Sorry, you can't have it both ways. And this part about treating sexual abuse victims with kid gloves is flat out offensive.

What's more Japhy's smoking gun is that Ken posted this to increase traffic on his blog. DUDE, isn't this why everyone posts things on their blogs?It obviously worked and you're all just drawing more attention to it. (This Japhy guy even indicted himself when he slipped by writing "Hurray for having something newsworthy to video blog about.") Does Towleroad post Cristiano Ronaldo pics because there's some greater political purpose? No, he does it cause gay guys like looking at hot men, the more naked the better. If Ken or Jared or Andy or Trent found Jake Gyllenhaal's naked pics they'd post them too and you'd all go running over to look at them.

Thomas got treated like every other celebrity he covers (Anna Nicole Smith could have only wished she had been treated this respectfully by The Insider). And the way some of you act like TR is the gay Walter Cronkite makes this argument even more ridiculous. Roberts wouldn't even acknowledge he was gay on a national interview with Anderson Cooper.

[luke]

What this "scandal" represents most is that people, gay and straight, have a phobia of nudity. Since Roberts chose to publicize a naked image of himself in a venue as accessible as the Internet, let's hope that he understood, as any intelligent person would, that there was a significant chance these photos would be viewed by a wider audience than just subscribers to manhunt.com. Kudos to him if he is indeed comfortable enough not just with his sexuality but with the body he was born with that he doesn't mind, enjoys even, when others see and appreciate it. As for people who are gay or straight; right wing or left; or who identify themselves in any other constructed binary order, it's too bad so many cower behind fig leaves for what is too short of a life. We do tend to look better naked, after all, before our corpses have begun to rot.

[momo]

I'm a nobody and I don't put my ass or cock up on ManCunt. (And they're nothing to be ashamed of, I assure you.)

I think kenneth should've named the profile name, just to be thorough.

(And mine is "versaphile". Nothing to hide here.)

[rick]

Some comments above plead forgiveness because of Roberts' victim status.

The news anchor business is a prestigious, unforgiving and competitive career, which Thomas Roberts chose. He was released from his CNN contract simply because he was not good enough. (Cute, but rather wooden and inarticulate.) There are lots of journalists ready to step up.

In fact, I think Roberts received quite a bit of positive attention from coming out, and then his 360 interview, but it was not enough to sustain his CNN career.

And, frankly, it's hard to consider a 17 year old man to be a victim of sexual abuse. This age is past the age of consent in other, developed countries.

It seems Roberts continues to make serious mistakes in sexual judgment. It is, regrettably, a weak part of human nature to exploit such mistakes out of envy.

[gay frontier man]

I don't know how much credence I'd put in anything Japhy Grant says. He used to work at "Frontiers magazine". I say he used to....cause his ass was FIRED! It was for stealing food out of the employee fridge! They even have it on tape!!

His cheap (overpaid) ass was stealing the Lean Cuisines out of the company fridge. He was busted and they fired him the next day!!

[MISS RAJINI RAO TUPPALWAR]

DEAR SIR/MA'M,

THIS IS RAJINI RAO TUPPALWAR, MBA IN OPERATIONS MGMT. FROM IGNOU.AC.IN, DELHI UNIVERSITY, IN 2004. I WAS ABUSED AND SWAPPED, SAACKED TILL DATE ONLINE INTERNET TRAFFICKING OF MY RESUME FOR JOBS IN INDIA, USA, LONDON ETC., AND MADE A VERY BIG LANDMARK THAT NOT GIVE JOB TO THIS GIRL ALONG WITH CNN AND BBC MEDIA ONLINE RADIO AND TV BROADCASTINGS WORLDWIDE UNDER ARTICLE 20 OF EMPLOYMENT,EDUCATION, CIVIL LIBERTIES AND POLITICAL INFRINGEMENT AND ARTICLE 14- OF SEXUAL MASTURBATION VIOLENCE TO DEATH BY BOTH THE CNN AND BBC MEDIA WITH JULIAN MARSHALL ALONG WITH UR WORLD STOCK EXCHANGE MARKETS COMPANIES IN INDIA HERE AND CALLCENTRES ALONG WITH LOCAL UNEDUCATED BRUTES OF GOVT. EMPLOYEES GROUPS TO CHASE TO DEATH AND EVEN TRAPPED ALL MATRIMONIAL WEBSITES ETC. AND RAGGING AND RUINING TO DEATH BY IMPERSONIFYING AND INCREASING AND DECREASING GEC, GOVTS. ELECTRICITY, VOLTAGE OF DIFFT. SOVERIEGN IMPERSONAL POPULATIONS NETWORKS AND CUTTING OFF WHENEVER I SIT ON INTERNET OR ON JOB ALONG WITH POLICE VANS RALLY OF SARI OR SARIS IN EVERY NOOK AND CORNER OF CITIES OF JOBADVT.
AND HENCE HELP ME TO GET IMMIGRATED SUPPORT OF DESTITUTE INDIGENT AND LIVE A RESPECTFUL DIGNITY LIFE IN THE WORLD ANYWHERE. THEY SEND MY RESUME TO WORLD RED LIGHT AREAS AND TOLD WILL NOT COME UNDER MEDICAL JURISPRUDENCE CASES ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD ETC. LIKE SINN CITY, ETC.CHANDNI BAR ETC.DON'T ALLOW ME TO EAT AND DRINK WATER, ETC. AND EVEN STEAL MONEY WHAT I HAVE FOR BREAD OR BUN OF RS. 5/-=RS.10/-