The Conversation (0)
Becca Monaghan
Apr 07, 2022
Jimmy Savile: A British Horror Story trailer
Netflix/YouTube
Netflix dropped the new Jimmy Savile documentary on Wednesday – and it's already causing quite the stir.
Despite the horrific revelations, there's one question on American viewers' minds: What took so long to realise this guy was a "freak"?
Savile charmed the nation with his eccentric style on shows such as Top of the Pops and Jim'll Fix It. He was later exposed as a sexual predator after his death in 2011 and is thought to have abused around 1,000 victims.
A British Horror Story lifted the lid on the dark side of Savile. The documentary was so disturbing that some people were simply "unable to watch."
One unsettling moment showed letters from Prince Charles in need of help to improve the Royal Family's public image. One sent in January 1989 read: "Perhaps I am wrong, but you are the bloke who knows what's going on. What I really need, is a list of suggestions from you. I so want to get to parts of the country that others don't get to reach."
He also asked Savile for advice regarding his sister-in-law Sarah 'Fergie' Ferguson's behaviour and unwanted attention.
Charles penned: "I wonder if you would ever be prepared to meet my sister-in-law, the Duchess of York? I can't help feeling that it would be extremely useful to her if you could. I feel she could do with some of your straight-forward common sense."
Another chilling comment came from his Celebrity Big Brother appearancewhen he kissed the hand of Chantelle Houghton – who went on to win the show despite not actually being a celebrity – and said: "I know that many fellas love you, but they don't love you with the sincerity and tenderness I do,"
Kissing her hand again, he added, "I always tell the truth even when I'm lying."
Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter
But now, the documentary has caused a bizarre debate amongst Brits and Americans.
In a surprising turn of events, Americans have taken to Twitter to quiz how Brits failed to pick up on Savile's sinister side – judging by his unusual appearance.
watching this netflix thing abt jimmy savile and hey brits I deeply need to understand how you didn\u2019t know this guy was a freakpic.twitter.com/ltqeiMYRqe— i hate you eric adams (@i hate you eric adams) 1649253085
In no other country would a man so fundamentally unattractive as Jimmy Savile become so famous. Brits love their ugly blokes— Anya Georgijevic (@Anya Georgijevic) 1649300528
The biggest revelation of this Jimmy Savile thing on Netflix is that Brits have poor eyesight. They looked at this for years and then said "Wait, you mean THIS GUY is a pervert?!"pic.twitter.com/hymOwAOMgi— MD Greg Gorilmo the Doctorilmo (@MD Greg Gorilmo the Doctorilmo) 1649294180
because that's just what the average brit looks likehttps://twitter.com/sonyashea3/status/1511703123915591682\u00a0\u2026— jc (@jc) 1649285269
Actually, while gen X are trending could British x-ers explain this to me?https://twitter.com/sonyashea3/status/1511703123915591682\u00a0\u2026— Bronwen\ud83c\udf39\ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08 (@Bronwen\ud83c\udf39\ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08) 1649281261
Brits clapped back that "virtually everyone knew", and claimed that his popularity made it difficult for people to take action.
Others hit back and said: "For the same reasons Americans let Harvey Weinstein and Epstein get away with it for so long."
Virtually everyone did, actually, but it's hard to do anything to a guy who is friends with both the queen and a former prime minister.https://twitter.com/sonyashea3/status/1511703123915591682\u00a0\u2026— Leon R. Davis (@Leon R. Davis) 1649313011
It is completely impossible to explain Jimmy Savile without living through it. Imagine someone telling you that Santa is a paedophile. He was otherworldly, above criticism and saintly. I wouldn\u2019t expect those from outside to understand.https://twitter.com/sonyashea3/status/1511703123915591682\u00a0\u2026— Goldenface (@Goldenface) 1649324383
Everyone knew, he was notoriously heinous- he invested millions in to the nhs and everything he appeared in to keep their mouths shut and he got away with doing what he did on live TV and behind hospital curtains until he died with ithttps://twitter.com/sonyashea3/status/1511703123915591682\u00a0\u2026— caitvi\u2019s live in third (@caitvi\u2019s live in third) 1649323627
I think most people did. He just had powerful friends.https://twitter.com/sonyashea3/status/1511703123915591682\u00a0\u2026— Sam (@Sam) 1649317555
we did, everyone knew what this guy was like, but nothing was saidhttps://twitter.com/sonyashea3/status/1511703123915591682\u00a0\u2026— mikey (@mikey) 1649322917
How very dare you attack our proud nation like that! \n\nOf course we knew, protecting rich nonces from any consequences is one of our national pastimes!https://twitter.com/sonyashea3/status/1511703123915591682\u00a0\u2026— R. deValmont \ud83e\udd87 (@R. deValmont \ud83e\udd87) 1649313917
Others however, strongly disagreed with "this way of thinking."
"It's totally fine to look different or creative …and predators don't have a certain look. That's really dangerous thinking," one said.
Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.
Top 100
