Our first case involves one Kim Duthie, a 17-year old schoolgirl who in February 2011 claimed to have been involved in a drug and alcohol-fuelled affair with Ricky Nixon, a married sports agent for St Kilda AFL player and captain Nick Riewoldt. She had video evidence to prove it and had also talked to the AFL Players' Association (AFLPA) about the matter. The AFLPA bought her story and in March 2011, Nixon's player manager's licence was revoked.
During this past week, Duthie suddenly resurfaced and claimed that she made up the whole thing. There was no affair with Nixon, she apparently was doped when she spoke with the AFLPA and that the video of Nixon in her hotel room just in his underwear was taken after he stumbled in blind drunk and/or high, having being victimised by drink-spiking.
Nixon threatened to take action against the AFLPA and at least two media outlets and denied that he pressured Duthie into revealing her lie.
But it gets worse. While appearing as a guest on the Ten Network's The 7pm Project, Duthie, believing that her interview was over, claimed on camera that her latest revelations were a lie. She went on Twitter straight afterwards and said she was just joking, but it was too late. Once again, she made fools of us all - and did her already-tarnished image no favours.
Tsk, tsk. What a mess we have here eh? It all began with another sex scandal that made headlines, disappeared for a while, and then suddenly comes right back at us because one key player in the matter claims that it was all a hoax, and then suddenly, said key player claims to have lied about lying. And you thought that this crap only happened on TV! But seriously, I wonder how it must feel like to be Kim Duthie right now. I mean, we all know how Nixon must feel. His reputation has been flushed down the toilet, his career is all but over and I'm pretty sure his family would be having a hard time coping with it. As for Duthie, geez. Talk about forever damaging your personal image even before you reached adulthood! Just to let you know, dear readers, she was involved in another sex scandal in late 2010 when she published nude photos of several St Kilda football players (including Nixon's golden boy Nick Riewoldt) and claimed that she fell pregnant, then miscarried, with a St Kilda player. Yeah, sounds like a really bad soap opera. Hell, they just might turn this one into a really bad telemovie or musical one day!
The only solution I can give to Ms. Duthie is this: Move on and stay out of trouble. It'll be a long time before she can get the dreaded 'S'-word-that-rhymes-with-'cut' off her forehead, not to mention the 'liar' tag, so really she cannot afford to put a foot wrong. So Kim, for your own good, just be a good girl now and stop looking for trouble - because you now know first hand that not only will you be hurting other people, you're hurting yourself. And no, posing for Zoo Weekly once you're of age to so will not do you any favours, nor will trying to use this as an opportunity to get an acting job. Also, STOP LYING!!!!!! It's really that simple. Ever heard of 'The Boy Who Cried Wolf'? Well, it's true what Aesop preached with this fable - liars aren't believed, even when they're telling the truth.
Let's go to our second nutcase of the week, one Anthony David Wiener, US Democratic Congressman, MARRIED MAN and Twitter idiot. Sometime late last month, Wiener sent a photo through Twitter to one of his followers, a 21-year old female college student, depicting his erect penis bulging in his grey boxers. He quickly removed the image from his account, but it was too late. The image was leaked to a conservative blogger, who proceeded to post the picture onto his website (these things do have a weird way of getting out, don't they?). Naturally, the media started to ask questions but the best Wiener could do was complain that someone must have hacked into his account and stolen the pic. Hell, he even went as far as to suggest he was being set up, that the picture was not him, that it was doctored etc.
Finally, in June 6 2011, Wiener admitted that he had indeed sexted the woman in question, that he had been having online affairs with several others on Twitter, Facebook, e-mail and over the phone and that he was ashamed of himself for what he did. He also mentioned that his wife was supporting him through this tough time. It was also revealed that prior to his marriage in 2010, he was something of a ladies' man, dating some of New York's finest women. And then he married a long-time aide to Hilary Clinton. Funny how things work out.
Naturally, Wiener became a walking punchline. It's bad enough that he was caught with his pants down (pun fully intended), but his surname just added fuel to the fire. Stand-up comedians and late-night talk show hosts mocked him and media outlets crucified him. To add insult to injury, the House Ethics Committee threatened to investigate his sins and fellow congressmen, Democratic and Republican, called for his sacking. Fortunately, according to public opinion, many believed that while he may have behaved like a first-class moron, it shouldn't be a reason for him to step down.
First things first, Mr. Wiener (snicker!). Have you thought of getting your name changed? Ok, just kidding! Well the good news is that the general public don't feel he needs to step down so that could be a sign that there are people out there who are willing to forgive and forget. As for his fellow congressmen and the House Ethics Committee, I guess only time will tell whether or not their protests will affect his position. In the meantime, I suggest that Mr. Wiener lay off the social networking (obviously) and find a way to not just mend his image, but also patch things up with his family. Obviously, a scandal like this would not only humiliate him, but his family as well. Heck, I could just imagine his wife giving him a slap across the face after his press conference the same way Julianna Marguiles' character in 'The Good Wife' did to her cheating husband. And as for his personal image, I guess Wiener should just get on with his life and his job, give the public the impression that he has moved on from this sleazy chapter in his life while debate over his resignation rages on (I'm assuming it still is), but he should prepare for the unexpected.
Well, there you have it folks. Just one week and two separate, yet somehow similar scandals. Sex, lies and idiocy. You couldn't make it up! To Kim Duthie and Anthony Wiener, I wish you both the very best. Just please remember to keep your behaviour in check - because you both are now branded.
