Katie Hopkins has made a name for herself as a bit of a purposefully antagonistic character. We won’t repeat what she’s done in the past to offend people because it really has got quite malicious at times. However, it seems even when she stays silent she causes controversy, admitting that she's got hate on Twitter simply for not Tweeting about Peaches Geldof’s death.
Katie and Peaches both appeared on This Morning a few months ago to talk about the merits of attachment parenting. Peaches was there to defend the practice, which involves being very close to your children as you raise them, whereas ex-Apprentice star Katie was there to tear down the practice. The tense interaction lead to them being considered enemies.
However, in Katie’s oddly-touching piece, written as part of her column for The Sun, she explained that she didn’t Tweet any thing about Peaches’ death because she didn’t want to be another celebrity ‘rushing to outdo each other in public display[s] of distress’. She pointed out Myleene Klass, Gok Wan and Gary Lineker (odd bunch, but there you go) Tweeted, or, as she put it, she ‘watched them try to outbid each other in a public auction of affection and held my tongue'.
Despite bringing in a bit of her typical jingoism, her criticism of celebrities grieving makes a bit of sense. 'That is not how decent people behave in Britain,' she said. ‘Celebrities are the new priests of pain. I refused to be part of this revolting spectacle. Peaches didn’t want a Tweet from me. She didn’t welcome it in life. She certainly didn’t need it in death. She was tough enough not to seek approval from anyone. I admire that trait in others.’
Katie then spoke of her sympathy for the pain Peaches' family must be feeling, and recommended that people, like her, stay away from it and leave the family to have their private grief. She shared, ‘When terrible things happen, our job is not to cause a fuss but to leave people to their grief… Now Sir Bob, her husband and the children need to be left in private to clutch on to anything that keeps them afloat.’
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Picture: Rex
This article originally appeared on The Debrief.