A lawyer who specialises in discrimination cases has apologised after he made a joke about leaving his wife in the snow, and then went ballistic at the woman who questioned it.
Simon Robinson, an employment partner at Gunnercooke, offered up a collection of gags on LinkedIn as heavy snow struck the UK last week. One of his zingers was, "Since the snow came all the wife has done is look through the window. If it gets any worse, I’ll have to let her in".
Ruth Cornish, the founder of HR consultancy Amelore, commented on LinkedIn that she "didn't find the joke about the wife being outside in the snow that funny". Instead of taking a moment to appreciate that he was a partner specialising in gender discrimination in a public forum, Robinson replied "I don't care" and called her a "humourless troll". When she replied "Wow", he posted, "Bore off".
Cornish tweeted Robinson's response, stating that she did did not think his "level of aggression was appropriate or remotely professional". Cue headless chicken time. A spokesperson for Gunner Cooke replied on Twitter that Robinson's comments "do not represent our brand in any way". Gunner Cooke CEO Anna Beaumont dropped what she was doing and called Cornish to apologise. Robinson, presumably after the spanking of his life, posted on LinkedIn that he was "mortified" by his "wholly unprofessional" comments and said that he would be leaving social media.
Cornish told RollOnFriday that Beaumont's swift response was commendable, but that Robinson's behaviour was "shocking", particularly considering he was an employment lawyer. "He says he trains people on discrimination. Which aspect - how to do it?"
"I've never been spoken to like that before", she said, explaining that her approach was, "If you see something, you should point it out. That's how you change the culture. We wouldn't stand for racism, or homophobia, and we shouldn't stand for sexism". In 2015 another lawyer, Alexander Carter-Silk, caused a ruckus on LinkedIn when he corresponded with barrister Charlotte Proudman.
In a statement Gunnercooke said, "Simon is well known for his humorous LinkedIn exchanges and his take on making a sometimes-dry subject interesting and informative. On this occasion he took the humour too far and has since publicly apologised – it took the online discussion into topics and references which were certainly not intended. Simon has apologised to Ruth directly and the matter is now fully resolved".
Tip Off ROF
Simon Robinson, an employment partner at Gunnercooke, offered up a collection of gags on LinkedIn as heavy snow struck the UK last week. One of his zingers was, "Since the snow came all the wife has done is look through the window. If it gets any worse, I’ll have to let her in".
Ruth Cornish, the founder of HR consultancy Amelore, commented on LinkedIn that she "didn't find the joke about the wife being outside in the snow that funny". Instead of taking a moment to appreciate that he was a partner specialising in gender discrimination in a public forum, Robinson replied "I don't care" and called her a "humourless troll". When she replied "Wow", he posted, "Bore off".
Cornish tweeted Robinson's response, stating that she did did not think his "level of aggression was appropriate or remotely professional". Cue headless chicken time. A spokesperson for Gunner Cooke replied on Twitter that Robinson's comments "do not represent our brand in any way". Gunner Cooke CEO Anna Beaumont dropped what she was doing and called Cornish to apologise. Robinson, presumably after the spanking of his life, posted on LinkedIn that he was "mortified" by his "wholly unprofessional" comments and said that he would be leaving social media.
Robinson, then and now. |
Cornish told RollOnFriday that Beaumont's swift response was commendable, but that Robinson's behaviour was "shocking", particularly considering he was an employment lawyer. "He says he trains people on discrimination. Which aspect - how to do it?"
"I've never been spoken to like that before", she said, explaining that her approach was, "If you see something, you should point it out. That's how you change the culture. We wouldn't stand for racism, or homophobia, and we shouldn't stand for sexism". In 2015 another lawyer, Alexander Carter-Silk, caused a ruckus on LinkedIn when he corresponded with barrister Charlotte Proudman.
In a statement Gunnercooke said, "Simon is well known for his humorous LinkedIn exchanges and his take on making a sometimes-dry subject interesting and informative. On this occasion he took the humour too far and has since publicly apologised – it took the online discussion into topics and references which were certainly not intended. Simon has apologised to Ruth directly and the matter is now fully resolved".
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But Simon’s reaction was stupid and unprofessional, and to do it on LinkedIn was moronic. I am not surprised he’s had his social media toys taken away. And as for going after an HR director when you’re an employment lawyer? What a bell-end.
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The humourless troll comment was his mistake and good thing of the HR lady to say she did not find the joke about the wife in the snow funny. She has freedom of speech as much as he does.
The problem here is not the joke but how he responded - into insults.
What he should have done is say - sorry and just left it at that.
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1. People are not allowed to make jokes anymore at the risk of offending anyone - really ? I am female and the joke about snow does not offend me or mean that Simon is a sexist in any way!
2. I actually liked Simon's refreshingly direct response, if she doesn't like him then don't follow him. Why does she feel the need to tell him off so publicly (was she really trying to change "culture"?) and then to share it all over social media and now it's in somehow (?) ended up on ROF (despite it being removed ). What's the real agenda here? She is teamed up with another firm offering employment advice.
3. This has been blown completely out of all proportion and sharing this (again) does absolutely nothing to promote women professionally/ generally.
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What is the world coming to when 2 people have a spat and then one feels the need to splash all over social media - or is it because of her HR role that she feels she can do this public witch hunt. How is this even news worthy??Ruth Cornish - dry your eyes and move on.
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"These streets ain't safe for a man to walk down. I have to send the wife out for the shopping."
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Simon was big enough to say he acted emotionally in his post - hats off to him and his firm in giving that apology
I don't think this lady even deserved that apology though
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It's a joke. It's funny. She's had a sense of humour failure and has no need to respond in the first place.
His response is over the top, and a bit rude. He's clearly cross.
She then acts vindictively by tweeting the exchange - giving it far greater publicity - trying to get him into trouble, and presumably notifying ROF.
He's apologised.
I'm subscribing to his updates - they sound entertaining.
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"You won't build a following by being a humourless troll"? Using a social media account publicly to insult someone probably won't do you many favours either, Simon.
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"All views are my own. No likey? No linkey! I do what you’d expect an employment lawyer to do. I provide a helpline, strategic advice, training sessions, advocacy and so on and so forth. I could write the standard verbose wording here about how good I am and how different I am from the typical “suit” but it would bore me to write it and it would bore you to read it. Besides, I don’t need to big myself up because my client recommendations tell you all you need to know. If you like the sound of me, instruct me. If you don’t, don’t. No hard feelings."
Those words may come back to haunt you...
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My kids were running around the house in their pajamas shouting "it's snowing, it's snowing!", and eventually I said "yes, OK, OK, it's snowing, so what?" "So let us in".
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I didn't find the joke funny, by the way, but not offensive. Can people (of both sexes) please stop trying to protect women from things that might make them sad?? We are competent capable human beings who can cope with a little rudeness - at least most of us are
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What I do find interesting is the reaction of some of those that are against him. Seems odd that someone has gone to the unusual effort of finding Simon's deleted Linkedin profile and then copying and pasting it onto here with the sole purpose of trying to mock him. Seems a bit much for an impartial bystander to do after simply reading an article? And to those that have called him an idiot & bellend - pot, kettle, black? Except of course - you are anonymous. Very brave!
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I found your joke quite amusing - ah well, not very one amused the same - c’est la vie!! xx
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- She IS a humourless bore.
- His reaction was a bit over the top.
- Why oh why must all this tedium be played out in public?
- O tempora o mores.
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If the joke had referred to a same sex partner it would have worked just as well. Gender was irrelevant. This is a very poor advertisement for the intellectual firepower behind 'Amelore'.
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I'm old and I'm a female and I find myself more and more calling men out on this stuff. Not for me, but for the next generation, because we haven't moved as far as we should have done.
It isn't snowflakes, it's lip service.
He was a dick for posting the joke, and it shows more about what he views will raise a laugh than he knows.... he was more of a dick for then going after her in such an aggressive manner.
He is then a monumental phallic symbol for flagellating himself in his apology.
All this needed was for him to understand that women fight daily against stereotypes and unconscious bias, with the defences of workplaces often being lip service processes to keep women quiet..
Sorry if that sounds "humourless", I'm not.... but the "it's just a joke" has long since been unacceptable for racial comments.... easier if it's the same for gender comments.
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#FreeTheEmploymentOne
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Presumably his massively aggressive response is in those people's minds entirely appropriate...
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