THIS WEEK SAW William Sitwell, the editor of Waitrose Food magazine, step down after an email he wrote in response to a vegan-specific pitch was made public by a freelance journalist named Selene Nelson.
About to host the #ClarenceCourtGreatBritishScrambledEggChallenge - with a panel of celeb chefs and cooks we will pronounce the winner’s definitive recipe @henryharris @roseprincecooking @valentine_warner @joe_warwick_ @aldozill @clarence_court #deliciouslybritish #scrambledeggs pic.twitter.com/IaLV6hRfNF
— William Sitwell (@WilliamSitwell) September 27, 2018
”How about a series on killing vegans, one by one,” William wrote in response to Selene.
Ways to trap them? How to interrogate them properly? Expose their hypocrisy? Force-feed them meat? Make them eat steak and drink red wine?
The furore that followed the publication of the email resulted in William stepping down, and debate raged across Twitter as to whether this was a disproportional reaction.
Right, right. But where do Alesha Dixon and Niall Boylan come into this?
Well, Niall was invited on Good Morning Britain this week for what the show dubbed a ‘lively debate’ on veganism, and he didn’t pull any punches when it came to the vegan community.
First on the show today - Niall's comments around veganism on @GMB this morning have angered many people. He said he finds vegans irritating at times - do you agree with him or think he is completely wrong? #IrelandTalks pic.twitter.com/mCb2Qe7zfB
— The Niall Boylan Show (@niallboylan4fm) October 31, 2018
“They are irritating, they are annoying,” he told host, Susanna Reid.
Defending William against criticism, Niall said:
The backlash he is getting is completely out of hand. I mean [vegans] are irritating. If you read the whole piece, it is a bit of dark humour, the guy clearly had a sense of humour.
Well, Alesha Dixon wasn’t having this, and told Niall as much on Twitter.
Retweeting a post Niall wrote on why he thinks ‘vegans need a dose of reality to replace the proteins they don’t get’, Alesha made clear she found Niall a bit of a dose, herself.
“Your lack of compassion and ignorance is shocking,” she said in reference to his stance.
“The debate about vegans on @GMB this morning was divisive and not helpful,” she added in a separate tweet.
We need to stop putting people into boxes! Respect & Compassion for individual choices Without Judgement is important. Research & Educate, Not hate!
And there you have it; the Twitter feud you never saw coming.
