Culture

Police receive complaint over Jan Moir’s Daily Mail column on Stephen Gately

Oct 18 2009
Written by PinkNews Staff Writer

Scotland Yard have confirmed that they are investigating a complaint against the Daily Mail columnist Jan Moir following an article that insinuated that the death of Boyzone star Stephen Gately was not “natural.”

In the article that was published on Friday, Moir said: “Healthy and fit 33-year-old men do not just climb into their pyjamas and go to sleep on the sofa, never to wake up again. Whatever the cause of death is, it is not, by any yardstick, a natural one.”

The Press Complaints Commission earlier confirmed to PinkNews.co.uk that it had received over1,000 complaints about the article, a record amount of complaints. In a statement, the Metropolitan Police said: “We have received a complaint from a member of the public.”

Moir appeared to suggest that Gately died because he was gay and said his “sleazy” death struck “another blow to the happy-ever-after myth of civil partnerships”.

“For once again, under the carapace of glittering, hedonistic celebrity, the ooze of a very different and more dangerous lifestyle has seeped out for all to see.”

Moir also drew comparisons between Gately and Kevin McGee, the former civil partner of Matt Lucas, despite Gately dying of natural causes and McGee committing suicide after months of depression and addiction.

Denying she was homophobic, Moir later released a statement saying: “In what is clearly a heavily orchestrated internet campaign I think it is mischievous in the extreme to suggest that my article has homophobic and bigoted undertones.”

Gately was found dead in a Majorca apartment last weekend. Post mortem examination results show he died from pulmonary oedema, or a build-up of fluid in the lungs.

Yesterday, Gately’s bandmates, friends, relatives and partner have paid an emotional tribute to Stephen Gately whose funeral was held today at St Laurence O’Toole Church in north Dublin.

Gately rose to fame in the Irish boyband Boyzone where they achieved six UK number ones and sold over ten million albums. He became one of the first teenage pin-ups to come out as gay in 1999.

Fellow Boyzone star Ronan Keating weeped as he delivered an emotional eulogy:

“We have lost our brother and I’ve lost my wing man.

“He will live on in our songs and whenever us four are together his spirit is alive.

“For Stephen we’ll carry on, but it will never be the same without him.

“A beautiful man who is now the perfect angel. Forever young and never forgotten.”