Sarah Ferguson has spoken out on the Phillip Scofield scandal, saying ‘no one has the right to judge’ the disgraced presenter without ‘knowing the facts’.
The Duchess of York, 63, discussed the This Morning presenter’s controversial relationship with a man more than 30 years his junior in the latest episode of her Tea Talks podcast.
Last month, the star, 61, tendered his resignation after 20 years of presenting the hit show and later admitted lying to the Daily Mail about his working relationship with a young runner.
In her podcast with businesswoman Sarah Jane Thomson, the Duchess broached the subject of cancellation culture.
After the Duchess’s co-host compared social media to a “massive game of Chinese whispering,” Sarah replied, “It’s the court of public opinion.
The 63-year-old Duchess of York discussed the subject in the latest episode of her podcast Tea Talk with The Duchess and Sarah
‘And then [that can also cause] mass bullying to the point of exterminating a soul.
“I don’t believe anyone has the right to judge and stamp out one’s own beliefs.”
The mother-of-two then urged viewers to try and maintain their judgment.
She continued, “We all have shortcomings […] Would everyone please take a beat or make a cup of tea before judging another human being without knowing all the facts?
“We don’t know the facts. We certainly don’t know what people are up to.’
Sarah Jane Thomson added: ‘The problem is when you’re in the public eye every failure you make has to be discussed there and the rest of us don’t have that.
“We don’t have such a deep investigation into where we went wrong and then it’s reflected over and over again.”
Sarah Ferguson continued the conversation, saying Jeremy Clarkson was ‘spot on’ with his Sunday Times article – claiming that Scofield is the victim of a witch hunt because he was ‘exactly what he said he was – gay’.
Phillip Scofield originally lied about being in a relationship with a runner on This Morning 30 years his junior
In her podcast with businesswoman Sarah Jane Thomson (left), the Duchess of York broached the subject of cancellation culture
Clarkson argued that the more than 30-year age gap between Schofield and his younger lover – who was a runner on the ITV show – is commented on in ways rarely applied to straight male stars.
He pointed to Al Pacino, 83, whose 29-year-old girlfriend is expecting a baby, and new dad Robert De Niro, 79, as well as Leonardo DiCaprio’s 27-year age difference with his girlfriend.
Writing for the Sunday Times, Clarkson wryly noted: ‘Phil is no longer the genius host of a televised morning cappuccino froth. According to social media people’s court, he is like his brother, a nonce.
“Actually, he’s worse than that: he’s a nonce who jumps in line. And we never want to see his disgusting face again.’
Clarkson’s intervention came after former colleague Eamonn Holmes called Schofield a “narcissist” in a bombshell interview with GB News.
The man, who the Mail does not identify, interviewed Schofield himself in the reel, which sources say was ‘created and paid for by ITV’
Jeremy Clarkson waded into the furor around Phillip Schofield, claiming the former This Morning presenter is the victim of a witch hunt
There has also been much speculation on social media about what ITV bosses, in particular CEO Carolyn McCall, knew about Schofield’s affair and whether there was a ‘cover-up’ as Holmes claimed.
Clarkson wrote: ‘…I highly doubt it. [Carolyn McCall] has the share price to worry about, and the launch of the new ITVX service, and she’s also on a seemingly one-man quest to get all middle-aged men off the screen: Morgan, Kyle, etc.
“So she doesn’t have time to find out who’s doing what to whom in the stationary closets.”
Clarkson then states that the television executive will be too busy choosing “what shows to show” and “how he’s going to replace Ant and Lard.”
Sarah Ferguson has publicly supported her ex-husband Prince Andrew – he recently told Glamor magazine that he is a “good man.” The couple pictured at Ascot in June 2019
He added, “Funnily enough, the last time we met we had a long talk about how the world was so awake now that people like us had to be canceled sooner or later. Let’s hope that turns out not to be true.’
In a BBC interview on Thursday, Schofield said his affair “never came across” as an abuse of power because he and his lover were “friends”.
Schofield told The sun: ‘I was unprofessional once in a career of 41 years. There’s no excuse. Except for me nobody did anything wrong.’
In recent years, the Duchess of York has repeatedly defended her ex-husband Prince Andrew, who was forced to step down as a senior member of the royal family over his ties to pedophile billionaire Jeffrey Epstein.
Earlier this year, Sarah insisted that Andrew is a “good man” while promoting her latest romance novel, A Most Intriguing Lady.