Jonathan Joly's rape joke & why Asda fired Anna Saccone

[badgal]

This is a full (hopefully) timeline of the whole rape joke/AsdaGate saga for anyone wo is new or who missed it With thanks to nesoi, Eileen, Scorpio, Butterfly and others for various screenshots and quotes lifted from their posts.

5th December 2015: Jonathan posts the vlog EARLY CHRISTMAS PARTY. At around 6.20 minutes in, he shows Anna's cough medicine, then jokes that it's a date rape drug because he wants a third child: "It's actually a roofie ... we're making more babies!"

*It can be viewed here https://sendvid.com/gvlprixq (as they had the other Vimeo link deleted )

[video][/video]

Thousands of comments are left expressing disgust which all get deleted in the hours that follow, including:


And:

Kitty Corbyn 46 minutes ago
Do you also think rape is funny, then? It was irresponsible of Jonathan to "joke" about non consensual sex, especially since most of his viewers are too young to understand sex properly.
· 17

Youtube Reactions 43 minutes ago
+Sarmi Nathan Anna having no problem with it, whether she does or not we don't know, is irrelevant.
To keep that sort of 'joke' in a vlog with the target audience that their's does is really low and irresponsible. It's super distasteful, but I wouldn't expect anything else from Jonathan.
· 14

Annika 34 minutes ago
No matter if you're a true viewer or not you can point out problematic behavior when you see it. I normally am one to defend them a lot and when I do have a problem I tend to not put it out there bc I don't want to spread negativity but in this case...I'm not saying that Jonathan meant any harm with it just that he is maybe uneducated or somewhat ignorant to how inappropriate a comment like that is. If you are in the public eye, like they are, you should think about how things you say can affect others. Victims might be triggered. Rapists may say "that's great". Him making a rape joke sends a message to his young and impressionable viewers that this kind of behavior is okay and in a society where rape is already downplayed by so many this is not a message you want to send.



Seriously? A rape joke? I'm not normally one to make a big stink about anything in the comment section because frankly your choices are yours to make, I just enjoy watching because the kids are adorable but I have to speak up now. The rape joke caught me off guard. I was raped. It wasn't funny and it never will be. It ruined my life. It was devastating, and it freaks me out when people make jokes about it and then you have other people standing up and saying "Oh my god get over yourself it's a JOKE" no. Just no, nothing about rape is funny.
Read more
· 30

Tiegan Jenkin 14 minutes ago
+Nadine Schommer totally agree. I still suffer to this day. Can not even believe that came out of Jonathan's mouth and he thought it was funny. Unbelievable.
· 6

Nadine Schommer 6 minutes ago
+Tiegan Jenkin The trauma never really seems to go away. You just learn how to adapt to it I suppose.

Florence Henderson 1 hour ago
DId Jon really say that he was going to Rufee Anna to have more kids? Nice rape joke.

Dawny K 1 hour ago
Did he ACTUALLY say at 6:30 let's give her a roof for making more kids??? wtf I know it's a joke but how tasteless and irresponsible to say that.



Layla Clapton 1 hour ago
+Megan Mojica Megan I understand that you are young and have a lot to learn about the world but rape is NEVER a joking matter.
· 12

Nadine Schommer 1 hour ago
+Megan Mojica You really think rape is something to joke about? It was inappropriate. Rape is not funny, and it never will be.

That night Anna tweets:


...which made it quite obvious that they were up deleting comments on the rape joke vlog.

8th December 2015: Petition posted on change.org asking that Jonathan and Dominic Smales of Gleam apologise and edit the vlog: https://www.change.org/p/jonathan-joly- ... -rape-joke

15th December 2015: clickbait vlog title: MADE SOME MISTAKES - no apology

21st December 2015: clickbait vlog title: JOKE GONE TOO FAR - no apology

The rape joke is never edited out.

4th January 2016: Post on TheDirty.com: Jonathan Joly has Sam Pepper potential: https://thedirty.com/gossip/london/jona ... potential/

6th January 4.39pm: Anna posts an Instagram photo of her new Asda magazine column:


6th January 2016 7.42pm: Anna posts this tweet:


Around the same time that night Jonathan makes the rape joke vlog private.

7th January 1pm: Asda send this email to someone who alerted them to Jonathan's rape joke:


8th January 2016 12.30pm: Jonathan tweets:


6pm: Jonathan posts the vlog "I MADE A MISTAKE " In a segment that doesn't relate to anything else in the vlog, the words "Sometimes I say stupid things. I never mean to offend anyone" appear on screen and he says:

[Every * represents a jump cut]

"When I started vlogging a long long time ago, nobody was watching these vlogs. * Over the course of the last six years 1.4m people have decided to watch these vlogs. * I don't know how everybody else * deals with the fact that so many people watch these videos. My personal way of doing it is that I don't really feel like anybody's watching. I feel like it's just you and me. * I am just talking to you as my friend, that's it. That's the way I really look at it. * In some ways that could be a good thing and in some ways that's probably a bad thing. * Sometimes some of the things I say can offend people and I don't mean it, you know, it's never my intention to offend anybody. * About two or three weeks ago, three weeks ago, maybe four weeks ago, we were in Ireland and I was messing with Anna because she'd just bought- I'd got her some cough medicine and I joked that I had drugged her cough medicine because you guys know we were trying for- were- ARE currently trying for another baby. * I probably should have thought more about what I was saying. A couple of days ago, um, I heard that I had actually offended a lot of people, um, with saying that and...I'm really sorry to anybody that I actually offended. I'm not- I'm not like that, I don't condone that kind of violence towards anybody and I think if you know me and you've watching our videos for long you know what I'm like. I'm not that kind of guy. * If anyone's looking for it I took it down a few days ago because I felt really bad that I'd actually upset anybody and then what I did is I went to YouTube and I found out how much the video made, all the revenue that [came] from that video, I calculated it up and I donated it all to charity. I don't want to be seen to be profiting from saying that, I don't want to upset anybody. * I didn't mean it and I'm really sorry if I upset anybody. I'll try to be better, ok? I just don't always think about what I'm saying, just kind of say stupid things sometimes, you know, and I hope I didn't disappoint anybody."

6.44pm: Anna tweets:




This shows that far from being the victim of her husband's warped sense of humour, Anna condones the rape joke and belittles anyone who took genuine offence at it as "crazy". In actual fact, no one "twisted" Jonathan's words; Asda judged them at face value, coming from his own mouth, in a vlog he himself had edited and posted online. In his own explanation he even reiterates that drugging Anna and making a baby were exactly what he meant. He made the comment and then he chose to keep the comment in while editing the vlog. He clearly thought it was funny, and had no doubts about uploading that comment for the world to see. The only people in the wrong here are the Saccone Jolys and no one can blame Asda for not wanting their brand damaged by association with such inappropriate content.

As yet, Anna and Gleam have made no comment about her Asda magazine column.

[curvycarrot]

You are the best! I was going to request a separate thread for this topic since I'm too lazy to go back and read old threads lol.

[WheresMyCoffee]

Thank you so much for taking the time to make this thread! xo

[PrncssProtnPowdr]

Thanks for this thread. I was really confused about how A's column tied into all of this and how everyone knew she got fired, so mystery solved!

[HappyLittleBubble]

"I'm not- I'm not like that, I don't condone that kind of violence towards anybody and I think if you know me and you've watching our videos for long you know what I'm like. I'm not that kind of guy." ~ Jofee 'Jokes'.

Um, no, actually, Jonathan. I have been aware of your YouTube career for years and I don't know that about you at all. Only 18 months or so ago, didn't you declare on Twitter that you had received this stomach churning card (apparently from someone who bizarrely has very similar handwriting as you and impeccable timing to take away attention from the adsense fraud activity) which was against your own children and very loose and free with its sexually violent nature? And yet you dismissed it's seriousness and continued to show your children day after day (I wonder why).

Here's a reminder, just in case Cork Garda still have your copy:-



So, here we are. Funny how rapey things have now been said about every member of your family bar you. Wonder who or what the link is there?

[Nesoi]

And there was his creepy Internet Dating Video in which he 'hilariously' pretended to stalk, kidnap and abduct his own wife

Why do these chilling topics keep coming up in association with his name!?

[HappyLittleBubble]

Oh, and to add - the apology was only forthcoming once it financially impacted the Saccone Jolys and Anna was (rightfully) sacked by Asda. The feelings of their fans mean jack shit to these two con artists until they feel the repercussions in real terms. Disgusting.

[runningon]

Absolutely fed up of this site to be honest and I only signed up to just let you all know how pathetic this really is.

Thank you for the enlightenment.

Is anything open for use as long as someone says they're joking? What about skin color, race, weight, looks, disability, sexual orientation, religion? You feel all those are okay topics of jokes? You may not have a problem with Jonathan joking about drugging and raping his wife, but others did and they have the right to express their feelings and opinions. They even have the right to let companies who support them know. Someone at Asda obviously agreed it wasn't a topic that should be joked about. If no one was ever held accountable for their actions, what kind of society would we live in?

I will not "hand it to them" for exploiting their children's private moments for financial gain.

I am sorry about what you have endured and that your husband is not sensitive to your past.

[badgal]

No wonder Anna is a rape joke apologist. She think it's hilarious to carry out violent attacks on her husband (tweets three and five)


Looks like Asda were right to fire her. Who would want someone who boasts about domestic violence being associated with their brand?

[HappyLittleBubble]

Absolutely fed up of this site to be honest and I only signed up to just let you all know how pathetic this really is.

Absolutely fed up of posts like yours to be honest and I only replied to let you know how pathetic it is.

Whilst I fully understand that these youtubers open the doors in their lives for all to see and comment on, what I don't understand is why anyone would feel the need to pick apart anyone's videos to the point of slating them and even getting them sacked (like someone kindly shown from the email from asda)

Whilst I fully understand that GuruGossip is an open forum for all to see and comment on, what I don't understand is why anyone would feel the need to go to all the trouble to sign up just to pick apart viewpoints that are 'pathetic' and even go so far as to be a condescending hypocrite.

I saw the video in which he apologised and I think it's laughable that he had to. He is a vlogger which means you get to see the inside jokes, sweaty workouts, children being up to no good etc so him having to say sorry for what was clearly a joke is ridiculous. Anyone who got offended by that should just no longer watch their videos because they clearly are not the vloggers for them.

I read the posts in which forum members posted their concerns with evidence and I think it's laughable that anyone has a superiority complex large enough to try and shame them for standing up against what they think is wrong. It's a forum of mixed personalities, backgrounds, age groups and opinions and so lumping everyone together to wag a virtual finger at them is ridiculous. Anyone who gets offended by what is posted about someone they don't even know should just no longer type www.gurugossiper.com into their browser because it's clearly not the website for them.

I am married and have a very dry sense of humour and my husband has in the past made a joke when I've said I need night nurse because I'm sick (it's medicine that can make you very very sleepy) and that I may wake up with my pjs off. It's not like it's rolling on the floor funny but its still a joke. I have been raped quite a while ago and he knows about this being his was the first person I ever told, but it's all in jest.
I didn't find it offensive what Jonathan said at all, I mean it wasn't funny as I'm not his wife but it's probably a joke between them as I doubt they get much time to actually be intimate with having 2 children and vlogging their lives.

Here's a paragraph full of anecdotal, personal crap that nobody gives a shit about. I included it to try and huff up my authority on the subject, but really I just come across as a dick.

Honestly grow up. Why are you making it your life's mission to slate someone else. What makes me laugh the most of all this crap is that you all clearly hate them and the other youtubers you bitch about.... So why do you bother watching their videos?!

Honestly, grow up. Why are you making it your life's mission to act like a patronising cunt? What makes me laugh the most of all this crap is that you clearly hate us and the other gossipers.... So why do you bother reading it?!

Didn't your mothers/fathers/parental figures ever teach you that if you have nothing nice to say, just don't say anything. It doesn't help anyone except your need to stamp on someone else so you feel better about yourself like your doing the world a bloody favour!
I doubt any of you lot are perfect and have perfect lives, relationships, jobs, parenting skills but you have to hand it to them for putting their lives out their for people to see. If you don't like it or get annoyed/offended by it just simply move on. There's so much tv out there that you don't HAVE to watch. I don't like the only way is Essex but I would not dream of finding them all on Twitter and giving them hate. Move on!!!

Aren't you bored of reading this yet? Good! Because I have some more shit to spew! Didn't your mother/father/parental figure ever teach you that if you have nothing nice to say, just don't say anything. It doesn't help anyone, or change anyone's opinion on the SacconeJolys for that matter, except your need to degrade posters here so you feel better about yourself like you're doing the world a bloody favour! I doubt you're perfect, have a perfect life, relationship (in fact I'm sure of that given your husbands apparent lack of sensitivity), job, parenting skills but you have to hand it to the forum members for having the balls to say what they think about people putting it out there for all to see and making shit loads of cash from exploiting kids. If you don't like it or get annoyed/offended by it, simply move on. There's so many forums and social communities out there you don't HAVE to comment. I don't like the SacconeJolys but I would not dream of shitting all over a fan site. Move on!!!!

I've been wanting to write this for ages since I saw this site mentioned and I was horrified what I read.
Calm down

Great, now take a piece of your own advice and fuck the fuck off. But not before looking up the word 'hypocrisy'.

[HappyLittleBubble]

Good God, it's like passing the time of day with a pot of yoghurt.

[snuffy777]

Absolutely fed up of this site to be honest and I only signed up to just let you all know how pathetic this really is.
Whilst I fully understand that these youtubers open the doors in their lives for all to see and comment on, what I don't understand is why anyone would feel the need to pick apart anyone's videos to the point of slating them and even getting them sacked (like someone kindly shown from the email from asda)
I saw the video in which he apologised and I think it's laughable that he had to. He is a vlogger which means you get to see the inside jokes, sweaty workouts, children being up to no good etc so him having to say sorry for what was clearly a joke is ridiculous. Anyone who got offended by that should just no longer watch their videos because they clearly are not the vloggers for them. I am married and have a very dry sense of humour and my husband has in the past made a joke when I've said I need night nurse because I'm sick (it's medicine that can make you very very sleepy) and that I may wake up with my pjs off. It's not like it's rolling on the floor funny but its still a joke. I have been raped quite a while ago and he knows about this being his was the first person I ever told, but it's all in jest.
I didn't find it offensive what Jonathan said at all, I mean it wasn't funny as I'm not his wife but it's probably a joke between them as I doubt they get much time to actually be intimate with having 2 children and vlogging their lives.
Honestly grow up. Why are you making it your life's mission to slate someone else. What makes me laugh the most of all this crap is that you all clearly hate them and the other youtubers you bitch about.... So why do you bother watching their videos?! Didn't your mothers/fathers/parental figures ever teach you that if you have nothing nice to say, just don't say anything. It doesn't help anyone except your need to stamp on someone else so you feel better about yourself like your doing the world a bloody favour!
I doubt any of you lot are perfect and have perfect lives, relationships, jobs, parenting skills but you have to hand it to them for putting their lives out their for people to see. If you don't like it or get annoyed/offended by it just simply move on. There's so much tv out there that you don't HAVE to watch. I don't like the only way is Essex but I would not dream of finding them all on Twitter and giving them hate. Move on!!!
I've been wanting to write this for ages since I saw this site mentioned and I was horrified what I read.
Calm down

Um, excuse me? Anna and Jonathan's poor character/behavior is what got them sacked. Yeah, the issue was brought to Asda's attention, but no one pulled their arm or convinced them to fire Anna. They properly/professionally assessed the situation and ultimately chose to terminate the contract with her because they felt it was the right thing to do. Think about it -- Anna has over 800k subs, their vlog channel, over 1m -- Asda wouldn't have cut ties with her and lost out on all the potential advertisement if it was just some petty non-issue.

Also, why don't you take your own advice?? If you're so fed up with this site and get annoyed/offended with what's said on here, simply move on. Don't frequent this site anymore. There's plenty of other reading material out there.

[theunholytrinityxo]

Didn;t know this thread was a thing, just gonna add my 2 cents.

He tweeted that he'd made an apology in the video, I replied and said "Finally an apology for the rape joke" and I was @lulaklein and he replied and I was the only person he replied to until the video went live at 6pm about 4 hours later.

I got a tonne of hate from fans who implied that I was an overreacting 12 year old, that rape jokes were okay because he was obviously never going to do it, that I was stupid for getting offended, that I shouldn't have said that because Jonathan has depression (I will never baby anyone with mental illness, my family is filled to the brim with it and not treating them like competent adults will make them worse).

The abuse i got off people went well into the night and even still a month later people like/reply to the tweet I sent which was 7 words none of which were a bad word about the Sacconejolys, who I've met and i think are nice people to their fans.

Not once did Anna or Jonathan step into and tell their fans not to send hate or anything, I used to watch their videos every day and even until that point considered myself a fan.

Anna, in fact, blocked me on twitter.

I'm very disappointed in the way they handled the entire situation especially when I was a loyal viewer who got other people to watch them, I took my boyfriends sister to their meet ups and stuff and they let their fans treat me like shit because I said 7 words in defense of those who didn't like the joke he made.

If you type lulaklein jonathanjoly a lot of the tweets come up, id say I had almost 100 tweets from their minions that day giving me shit.

[Guest]

i've been lurking on the SJ board and i've read through thread 130 to get up to date. sickens me to read about so many awful things and my heart breaks for the E's. i was hardly surprised to see that J made a rape joke, vile man. anyone else think that the giant post above (which is now gone - but has been quoted) was really suspicious, especially given the username? idk, who would really want to defend the SJ's that much? because it definitely wasn't written by a 12 year old mini onion.

HappyLittleBubble's response was brilliant.

[Nesoi]

Exactly what is wrong with the world this - everyone is quite clearly jealous of their life.
You're gonna spend your time hating on another family that probably doesn't give two damns about what you're writing...
And the post above mine - suggesting that someone sticking up for them is 'suspicious' - get a grip! I'll quite happily give you my contact info to prove that I am no relation to them at all. I just think your all god awful people for spending time on a site like this bashing others.

What is acceptable between a man and wife is up to them - maybe the comment was said in jest and offended other people, but absolutely no need for this sort of feedback. And anyone who took it and sent it to Asda is just as bad. This is their life and their jobs where they get money from - you're literally taking that away from them for making a mistake. Sorry you're all so perfect. Hope no one is around to catch it when you finally slip up.

There is a SacconeJoly RAVE thread that may be more suited to your requirements

No one here is at all jealous of their dysfunctional, self-absorbed, lonely, sad lifestyle

[Guest]

And the post above mine - suggesting that someone sticking up for them is 'suspicious' - get a grip! I'll quite happily give you my contact info to prove that I am no relation to them at all.

Yeah, I think it's suspicious because nobody here would put it past Anna to use her time defending her dysfunctional behaviour with a fake account - rather than use her time being an attentive mother, except when the camera is rolling of course. Nobody is forcing you to come here and read these threads, my opinion is just that; mine. This is merely a place where people with similar opinions can discuss them. You telling me to 'get a grip' isn't going to change that.

[Nosey_Nan]

I think the problem with people like Jonathan and Anna, and fans of theirs, is that they'll always feel justified in their victimhood when people rightfully criticise them. In the case of the SJs it's their total delusion that they are 'celebrities' and therefore everything they say/do is untouchable. (Can't decide if they are just that dumb or just that uncaring of what they're doing).

In the case of their fans, which a lot of them are people in their teens (although I worry about the adult ones who supposedly should know better), they're just too hoodwinked to see how problematic those two are on a daily basis. The fact that the rape joke didn't register to them as anything other than ordinary is frankly alarming.

Good for ASDA for terminating their working relationship with them. I don't understand why she even got the job in the first place, as her work ethic isn't that great to begin with (enough evidence with her channel/blog). I get the feeling that they were looking for an excuse to let her go anyway, and their scandal was just the right push to go ahead.

[Nesoi]

Just adding this

This is a tweet from the OFFICIAL ASDA SERVICE TEAM:





If Anna Saccone Joly was a reputable client, they wouldn't have cancelled her contract. Anna (and Jonathan) must have done something serious and noteworthy that they thought would damage the ASDA FAMILY BRAND by associating with her and THE SACCONEJOLYS. Asda made an INDEPENDENT decision based on information they received, from a whole variety of different people, that was/is in the public domain. Asda were just protecting their brand. Simple. They haven't officially given the reason WHY they terminated Anna Saccone Joly's contract, but the standard email reply ASDA sent to numerous people DOES explain the WHY.

And another company, cannot remember which, stated in their email reply to numerous people, that they hadn't been been made fully aware of the incident by the PR company. No one fully disclosed anything to them and they seem very annoyed by being left in the dark. That is on Gleam and their lack of transparency. If they want to conduct unethical business like that, then that is ... their business .
These are the facts and the truth.

[purplecurtain]

Does anyone have a screenshot of the reply Asda sent to someone who wrote to complain? Was a bit hard to grasp how it was connected on first reading without it

[Nesoi]

7th January 1pm: Asda send this email to someone who alerted them to Jonathan's rape joke:

If u look above it has been included after this sentence 7th January 1pm: Asda send this email to someone who alerted them to Jonathan's rape joke: