Channel Seven journalist Ryan Phelan has a new girlfriend: Amanda Goff. But there’s apparently chatter in the media that this relationship could be disastrous for his career.
Why? Simply because Goff, aka Samantha X, used to be a sex worker.
The Daily Telegraph reports that Phelan’s announcement that he’s dating Goff has “raised more than a few eyebrows” and jeopardised his “wholesome image”.
“Conservative brands should be hyper sensitive about their alignment and no reputable advertiser would not be reviewing their practices,” media analyst Steven Allen told News Corp.
Uh, hello? What’s with the raised eyebrows and words like “wholesome” and “reputable”? What decade are we living in again?
Sex work was legalised in New South Wales in 1979. That’s nearly 40 years ago. People who work in the industry are called sex workers because it’s work. A job.
So Phelan’s career is supposedly in jeopardy because he’s dating someone who used to work in a legitimate profession?
Phelan and Goff have opened up about their relationship in stories over the past week. Phelan told Fairfax Media that they met when Goff was promoting her book Back On Top and he asked her out on a lunch date.
“I fell in love with Amanda, no one else, and that is who she is to me: Amanda, an outstanding mother and an outstanding woman,” he said.
“If anything, she has achieved a lot in her career and given an industry a voice it didn’t have before.”
Top Comments
I wonder how many (married or committed or not) higher-ups and managers and directors and talent at Channel 7 have used sex workers? I’d hazard a guess it’s not zero.
I find this all a bit weird. I had no idea who he was until I started seeing the media reports, do people really care about the private lives of their news reporters? (Assuming of course that everyone involved is consenting and of legal age.) Seems to be a media beat-up more than anything - or should I say, a Daily Mail beat-up. Neither of them has done anything wrong, it doesn't interfere with his ability to do his job, so what's the problem?
Consenting adults having sex! And paying for it or being paid for it! For shame!