Up Close and Personal: The Private Lives of
Public Figures
Over the years numerous public
figures have had their careers damaged or even destroyed by revelations about
their private lives: the Monica Lewinsky affair almost brought down President
Clinton, Cecil Parkinson fell rapidly, and dramatically, from grace when his
affair with Sarah Keays was made public and, most recently, Lord Sewel was
forced to resign as deputy speaker for the House of Lords when his interest in
prostitutes and orange bras was made public.
Revelations of this kind are
often defended as being in the public interest, but do we (the people) really
have an interest in knowing about the private lives of public figures? How much
can we legitimately demand to know about them, and how much is (or should be)
private? These are the questions I will address in this talk and I will take as
my central example the case of Judge Clarence Thomas and Ms Anita Hill[1].
The talk will last about 30
minutes and I hope that there will be a lively discussion afterwards.
Sue Mendus
[1]
I will give the broad outline of the Clarence Thomas/Anita Hill affair during
my talk but, for those who wish to look this up in advance, they are to be
found here: https://chnm.gmu.edu/courses/122/hill/hillframe.htm