I suppose you could argue that it's a rather trite remark, dedicating his dance this week to his friend. It's the the kind of thing that celebrities and sporting folk feel almost obliged to say in the circumstances..dedicating their next song, game, concert, or whatever, in memory of their departed friend. But I don't believe he was playing the "sympathy card"..it's more a case of conforming to accepted tradition.
Robbie announces he's dancing for gary speed
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Come on folks lets call a spade a spade and stop beating about the bush.....I dont think many of actually worry too much about what Robbie says or doesnt say.....whats on our minds are the people who will vote for him (when they may not have done so before) in the misquided and rose coloured belief that they are in some way honouring someone who in fact has no connection with the show.
If people genuinely like Robbie and want to see him win this show, then by all means vote for him but dont vote for him for any other reason as it doesnt make sense.
If people genuinely like Robbie and want to see him win this show, then by all means vote for him but dont vote for him for any other reason as it doesnt make sense.
Dancing for Gary Speed. Meaning: Robbie knew Gary enjoyed the programme and .... well, why not?
What it isn't intended to mean: Here's my shameless attempt to win votes because I'm sad and pathetic.
Big fuss. I hate all this sloppy sentimentality (flowers at scenes of accidents/weeping and wailing) but it seems to be the done thing these days.
What it isn't intended to mean: Here's my shameless attempt to win votes because I'm sad and pathetic.
Big fuss. I hate all this sloppy sentimentality (flowers at scenes of accidents/weeping and wailing) but it seems to be the done thing these days.
Originally Posted by Jan2555*GG*:
“Come on folks lets call a spade a spade and stop beating about the bush.....I dont think many of actually worry too much about what Robbie says or doesnt say.....whats on our minds are the people who will vote for him (when they may not have done so before) in the misquided and rose coloured belief that they are in some way honouring someone who in fact has no connection with the show.
If people genuinely like Robbie and want to see him win this show, then by all means vote for him but dont vote for him for any other reason as it doesnt make sense.”
“Come on folks lets call a spade a spade and stop beating about the bush.....I dont think many of actually worry too much about what Robbie says or doesnt say.....whats on our minds are the people who will vote for him (when they may not have done so before) in the misquided and rose coloured belief that they are in some way honouring someone who in fact has no connection with the show.
If people genuinely like Robbie and want to see him win this show, then by all means vote for him but dont vote for him for any other reason as it doesnt make sense.”
What crap, people can vote for Robbie for whatever reason they want and if that's because they feel empathy for him having lost a close friend in shocking circumstances then that's entirely up to them!
Originally Posted by Monaogg:
“Or perhaps another consideration is, he should be giving himself time to grieve properly - just a thought!”
“Or perhaps another consideration is, he should be giving himself time to grieve properly - just a thought!”
That's exactly what should happen and Robbie should be able to say what ever he wants and why shouldn't he? I won't be voting tonight and I won't mind what Robbie says, but if he mentions his friend there will be a backlash. I don't think he will be prepared for this and would hate to see him upset even more. I think people should be prepared for Tess bringing up the subject.
Originally Posted by Alli-F:
“Jan I love your posts nearly all the time, you are so measured and sensible in a way that I could never be
, but I'm speechless by the level of insensitivity in your post. The man's friend DIED, suddenly out of nowhere in horrendously shocking circumstances. 
This is a silly Saturday night show, does it really matter if Robbie stays in or even wins the whole flipping thing because people empathise with his pain and the pain Gary's family are feeling and want to show some support?
I won't be voting, I never do, but I'm not going to judge others for doing it.
I actually worry a lot about what he says as I hate seeing someone in that amount of pain. I know there are other people who've suffered similar tragedies and I suppose I'm including them in the empathy I'm feeling and so Strictly doesn't really matter that much to me in the grand scheme of things.”
“Jan I love your posts nearly all the time, you are so measured and sensible in a way that I could never be
, but I'm speechless by the level of insensitivity in your post. The man's friend DIED, suddenly out of nowhere in horrendously shocking circumstances. This is a silly Saturday night show, does it really matter if Robbie stays in or even wins the whole flipping thing because people empathise with his pain and the pain Gary's family are feeling and want to show some support?
I won't be voting, I never do, but I'm not going to judge others for doing it.
I actually worry a lot about what he says as I hate seeing someone in that amount of pain. I know there are other people who've suffered similar tragedies and I suppose I'm including them in the empathy I'm feeling and so Strictly doesn't really matter that much to me in the grand scheme of things.”
I dont believe I am being insensitive at all, I am no stranger to death and the pain it causes, I have lost 2 friends to suicide and my closest friend was killed in road accident, and actually at that time I was good for nothing, I certainly couldnt have carried on as normal it just wasnt possible but thats me and Robbie is not me.
However I still believe that it has absolutely no connection with Strictly, if Robbie wants to carry on in the show (which is his choice entirely and should be respected) then thats fine but it should have no bearing on how people vote, me thinking that, will make no difference I am pretty sure that he will get a lot of extra votes. If people want to do that then fine, I just dont happen to agree with it. I dont see how thats being insesitive personally.
Originally Posted by molo flapian:
“Presenters ask him about Gary - what is he to say?”
“Presenters ask him about Gary - what is he to say?”
He announced it himself on twitter.!
I sure hope Robbie is voted out tonight. I do feel for him, I really do. This however is a dance competition and Robbie is a s*&* dancer!
Excuse my language!
Excuse my language!
Originally Posted by squadge:
“He can say, 'he was a great friend, I loved him dearly and I am to upset to go on various shows and talk about it'. He can say 'no commnet'”
“He can say, 'he was a great friend, I loved him dearly and I am to upset to go on various shows and talk about it'. He can say 'no commnet'”
Or he can choose to honour his friend by paying tribute to him.
As I said earlier, it seems he's damned if he does and damned if he doesn't.
Alli-F. I agree with Jan. When I started this post (which has since been merged with another), I was basically saying the same thing. By dedicating his dance (and saying it publicly more than once), however genuine Robbie is, there are, unfortunately, people who will vote for him out of misguided sympathy.
I hope strictly doesn't do a vt about it (of course they can mention it briefly - it obviously would have affected his training). However, if it goes beyond that, then Robbie is playing the sympathy card in allowing the show to do so. I am withholding my judgement until this evening. I would hope that SCD deals with the matter discretely, that Robbie dances his socks off in memory of his friend and that the judges and the voting public treat this as just another week of entertainment TV.
I hope strictly doesn't do a vt about it (of course they can mention it briefly - it obviously would have affected his training). However, if it goes beyond that, then Robbie is playing the sympathy card in allowing the show to do so. I am withholding my judgement until this evening. I would hope that SCD deals with the matter discretely, that Robbie dances his socks off in memory of his friend and that the judges and the voting public treat this as just another week of entertainment TV.
Originally Posted by squadge:
“Alli-F. I agree with Jan. When I started this post (which has since been merged with another), I was basically saying the same thing. By dedicating his dance (and saying it publicly more than once), however genuine Robbie is, there are, unfortunately, people who will vote for him out of misguided sympathy.”
“Alli-F. I agree with Jan. When I started this post (which has since been merged with another), I was basically saying the same thing. By dedicating his dance (and saying it publicly more than once), however genuine Robbie is, there are, unfortunately, people who will vote for him out of misguided sympathy.”
And, as I said, they can vote for Robbie for WHATEVER reason they like. They could vote for him because his name is Robbie if they wanted to.
Yes, Cadiva, exactly. You don't have to supply a reason for your vote to be counted. Not even at a General Election!
They can vote for him because they like his legs or because he once scored a goal that put Wolves out of the FA Cup (made that up). Or because they've got a lovely nephew called Robbie. Or because they perv over Ola.
Their 'phone. Their money. What's misguided about any of the above?
They can vote for him because they like his legs or because he once scored a goal that put Wolves out of the FA Cup (made that up). Or because they've got a lovely nephew called Robbie. Or because they perv over Ola.
Their 'phone. Their money. What's misguided about any of the above?
Originally Posted by squadge:
“Alli-F. I agree with Jan. When I started this post (which has since been merged with another), I was basically saying the same thing. By dedicating his dance (and saying it publicly more than once), however genuine Robbie is, there are, unfortunately, people who will vote for him out of misguided sympathy.
I hope strictly doesn't do a vt about it (of course they can mention it briefly - it obviously would have affected his training). However, if it goes beyond that, then Robbie is playing the sympathy card in allowing the show to do so. I am withholding my judgement until this evening. I would hope that SCD deals with the matter discretely, that Robbie dances his socks off in memory of his friend and that the judges and the voting public treat this as just another week of entertainment TV.”
“Alli-F. I agree with Jan. When I started this post (which has since been merged with another), I was basically saying the same thing. By dedicating his dance (and saying it publicly more than once), however genuine Robbie is, there are, unfortunately, people who will vote for him out of misguided sympathy.
I hope strictly doesn't do a vt about it (of course they can mention it briefly - it obviously would have affected his training). However, if it goes beyond that, then Robbie is playing the sympathy card in allowing the show to do so. I am withholding my judgement until this evening. I would hope that SCD deals with the matter discretely, that Robbie dances his socks off in memory of his friend and that the judges and the voting public treat this as just another week of entertainment TV.”
But you stated in your original post that you felt it was a ploy for votes.
So what if people do vote for him out of sympathy. It's really no different to people voting for the joke contestants because the judges weren't nice to them. People can vote however they choose for whatever reason they choose.
Originally Posted by Sanah:
“I sure hope Robbie is voted out tonight. I do feel for him, I really do. This however is a dance competition and Robbie is a s*&* dancer!
Excuse my language!”
“I sure hope Robbie is voted out tonight. I do feel for him, I really do. This however is a dance competition and Robbie is a s*&* dancer!
Excuse my language!”
personally his dancing and routines are no better or worse than Alexs so i think the next two weeks wil be it for both of them who goes first doesnt really matter, if Holly goes i dont really care find her quite bland, the top three are pretty much set in stone so the other three dont really matter.
As for Robbie he wont win no matter what he does, he wont please everyone, some people are slagging him off for calling the bloke Speedo, i mean seriously that is no doubt what he has called the bloke for years him turning round now and referring to him as Gary would seem a tad strange.
Celebrities are not generally allowed to grieve in private, so they have to be as dignified as they can in the light of people asking and imo if someone asking Robbie about Gary is preventing them from harassing Garys' wife and kids Robbie is doing a good deed.
Some people will moan and bitch that he has not withdrawn and if he cared he should be at home crying into his hanky every hour, others will understand that some people prefer to keep busy to take their mind off things
There is no one size fits all to grieving, people are so harsh and judgemental it is unbelievable
Originally Posted by Kmc1978:
“But you stated in your original post that you felt it was a ploy for votes.
So what if people do vote for him out of sympathy. It's really no different to people voting for the joke contestants because the judges weren't nice to them. People can vote however they choose for whatever reason they choose.”
“But you stated in your original post that you felt it was a ploy for votes.
So what if people do vote for him out of sympathy. It's really no different to people voting for the joke contestants because the judges weren't nice to them. People can vote however they choose for whatever reason they choose.”
What may happen is people may do one vote for Robbie out of sympathy and then loads for their favourite.
How people vote who watch the show is entirely up to them. All I would like to see is all the people who are being encouraged to vote out of sympathy to actually watch!
Originally Posted by TWS:
“personally his dancing and routines are no better or worse than Alexs so i think the next two weeks wil be it for both of them who goes first doesnt really matter, if Holly goes i dont really care find her quite bland, the top three are pretty much set in stone so the other three dont really matter.
As for Robbie he wont win no matter what he does, he wont please everyone, some people are slagging him off for calling the bloke Speedo, i mean seriously that is no doubt what he has called the bloke for years him turning round now and referring to him as Gary would seem a tad strange.
Celebrities are not generally allowed to grieve in private, so they have to be as dignified as they can in the light of people asking and imo if someone asking Robbie about Gary is preventing them from harassing Garys' wife and kids Robbie is doing a good deed.
Some people will moan and bitch that he has not withdrawn and if he cared he should be at home crying into his hanky every hour, others will understand that some people prefer to keep busy to take their mind off things
There is no one size fits all to grieving, people are so harsh and judgemental it is unbelievable”
“personally his dancing and routines are no better or worse than Alexs so i think the next two weeks wil be it for both of them who goes first doesnt really matter, if Holly goes i dont really care find her quite bland, the top three are pretty much set in stone so the other three dont really matter.
As for Robbie he wont win no matter what he does, he wont please everyone, some people are slagging him off for calling the bloke Speedo, i mean seriously that is no doubt what he has called the bloke for years him turning round now and referring to him as Gary would seem a tad strange.
Celebrities are not generally allowed to grieve in private, so they have to be as dignified as they can in the light of people asking and imo if someone asking Robbie about Gary is preventing them from harassing Garys' wife and kids Robbie is doing a good deed.
Some people will moan and bitch that he has not withdrawn and if he cared he should be at home crying into his hanky every hour, others will understand that some people prefer to keep busy to take their mind off things
There is no one size fits all to grieving, people are so harsh and judgemental it is unbelievable”
Fantastic post
Cant believe the things people get their knickers in a twist about, as somebody mentioned before.. this is an entertainment show where somebody wins a glitterball at the end, in the grand scheme of life it really isnt that important. So what if Robbie gets some extra 'sympathy' votes, what's the worse that can happen, will the earth stop moving because Robbie goes through to the next week on Strictly Come Dancing?
If he makes it to next week Im sure people will claim it's down to the sympathy vote, but considering he has had low scores for the last few weeks and still never been in the bottom two, maybe, just maybe quite a few people are already voting for him anyway. Plus he is doing the quickstep and that usually is a popular dance, Im sure he will do fairly well and would have picked up the votes anyway.
It was hardly a big annoucement, Robbie tweets many times a day and I only saw what he wrote because I went purposely looking to see if he mentioned Strictly...
"So hard to concentrate on dancing this week heads all over the place going to be so emotional as the last place I seen speedo was in studio. I'm going to make him proud of his mate , he loved strictly my performance Is for him , still stunned!"
If he makes it to next week Im sure people will claim it's down to the sympathy vote, but considering he has had low scores for the last few weeks and still never been in the bottom two, maybe, just maybe quite a few people are already voting for him anyway. Plus he is doing the quickstep and that usually is a popular dance, Im sure he will do fairly well and would have picked up the votes anyway.
It was hardly a big annoucement, Robbie tweets many times a day and I only saw what he wrote because I went purposely looking to see if he mentioned Strictly...
"So hard to concentrate on dancing this week heads all over the place going to be so emotional as the last place I seen speedo was in studio. I'm going to make him proud of his mate , he loved strictly my performance Is for him , still stunned!"
I'm sure it's been tough for Robbie to carry on as usual, but what i don't like is that he's been on tv quite a few times speaking about Gary which is fair enough, but does he always have to mention Strictly?
I understand why people may not agree with others choosing to vote for someone out of sympathy/empathy when had this terrible thing not happened, they would never have done so. However, as previous posters have said, viewers vote for celebs for all sorts of reasons; we often don't agree with their motives (using the royal "we" there) and we have a right to voice that if we wish but it doesn't make us right or them wrong. I have often come on to this forum and read posts saying, "D'you know I wasn't going to vote for X but everyone is so horrible about them I'm now going to chuck at least 10 votes their way." The general response to this is - well I wouldn't do that but it's your money and if that's what you want to do okay. Personally I'd rather someone chose to vote to voice support for someone who's going through a traumatic time than as a reaction to others' "bashing" or because someone looks pretty but that's just my reaction. I'd like it even better if people voted simply on performance (that doesn't necessarily just have to mean ability/competence) but that's never going to happen 
.
.
Originally Posted by Kmc1978:
“Or he can choose to honour his friend by paying tribute to him.
As I said earlier, it seems he's damned if he does and damned if he doesn't.”
“Or he can choose to honour his friend by paying tribute to him.
As I said earlier, it seems he's damned if he does and damned if he doesn't.”
That's my feeling. There was criticism earlier in the week of it being mentioned on ITT (that Gary died)...I mean come on, are they meant to completely ignore the fact that one of Robbie's close friends has died, also somebody in the limelight who was seen smiling and clapping along in the front row a few weeks back on the show. If they showed Robbie larking about, having a good old laugh doing the quickstep a couple days after his mate died, then Im sure some would raise an eyebrow and claim he didnt really care. They really had to make some sort of acknowledgement and it was done just right where it wasnt dwelled on and they moved on in the conversation, despite some saying Robbie would 'milk it', he really didnt at all. But it seems he will be criticised whatever he does.
QUOTE=Kmc1978;55026739]But you stated in your original post that you felt it was a ploy for votes.
So what if people do vote for him out of sympathy. It's really no different to people voting for the joke contestants because the judges weren't nice to them. People can vote however they choose for whatever reason they choose.[/quote]
Agreed people can vote for whatever reason they choose - it's their money. In my original post, I said that the cynic in me might consider it a play for votes - not knowing Robbie I couldn't say definitively that it is. I just get annoyed at people that play sympathy cards. I get annoyed at people that play the race card (particularly when it is an ethnic matter and not a race one). And I get annoyed at people that play the sexism card or the bullying card. These are all serious issues and they shouldn't be used to manipulate people either by the players or the press. I'm just an old crumdudgeon - It's just me and my opinion...
So what if people do vote for him out of sympathy. It's really no different to people voting for the joke contestants because the judges weren't nice to them. People can vote however they choose for whatever reason they choose.[/quote]
Agreed people can vote for whatever reason they choose - it's their money. In my original post, I said that the cynic in me might consider it a play for votes - not knowing Robbie I couldn't say definitively that it is. I just get annoyed at people that play sympathy cards. I get annoyed at people that play the race card (particularly when it is an ethnic matter and not a race one). And I get annoyed at people that play the sexism card or the bullying card. These are all serious issues and they shouldn't be used to manipulate people either by the players or the press. I'm just an old crumdudgeon - It's just me and my opinion...
Originally Posted by squadge:
“
Agreed people can vote for whatever reason they choose - it's their money. In my original post, I said that the cynic in me might consider it a play for votes - not knowing Robbie I couldn't say definitively that it is. I just get annoyed at people that play sympathy cards. I get annoyed at people that play the race card (particularly when it is an ethnic matter and not a race one). And I get annoyed at people that play the sexism card or the bullying card. These are all serious issues and they shouldn't be used to manipulate people either by the players or the press. I'm just an old crumdudgeon - It's just me and my opinion...”
“
Originally Posted by Kmc1978:
“But you stated in your original post that you felt it was a ploy for votes.
So what if people do vote for him out of sympathy. It's really no different to people voting for the joke contestants because the judges weren't nice to them. People can vote however they choose for whatever reason they choose.”
“But you stated in your original post that you felt it was a ploy for votes.
So what if people do vote for him out of sympathy. It's really no different to people voting for the joke contestants because the judges weren't nice to them. People can vote however they choose for whatever reason they choose.”
Agreed people can vote for whatever reason they choose - it's their money. In my original post, I said that the cynic in me might consider it a play for votes - not knowing Robbie I couldn't say definitively that it is. I just get annoyed at people that play sympathy cards. I get annoyed at people that play the race card (particularly when it is an ethnic matter and not a race one). And I get annoyed at people that play the sexism card or the bullying card. These are all serious issues and they shouldn't be used to manipulate people either by the players or the press. I'm just an old crumdudgeon - It's just me and my opinion...
”
Would be nice if people actually bothered to watch his dance of dedication out of respect & then vote as they wish.
Originally Posted by warszawa:
“I'm sure it's been tough for Robbie to carry on as usual, but what i don't like is that he's been on tv quite a few times speaking about Gary which is fair enough, but does he always have to mention Strictly?”
“I'm sure it's been tough for Robbie to carry on as usual, but what i don't like is that he's been on tv quite a few times speaking about Gary which is fair enough, but does he always have to mention Strictly?”
It was the last time he saw him, and it was a show he loved
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgpCTsmOBTA
after Robbie performs Brucie mentions Robbies friends there as they high five and Tess says Speedos here tonight and there's a nice shot of him grinning away.
Originally Posted by TWS:
“personally his dancing and routines are no better or worse than Alexs so i think the next two weeks wil be it for both of them who goes first doesnt really matter, if Holly goes i dont really care find her quite bland, the top three are pretty much set in stone so the other three dont really matter.
As for Robbie he wont win no matter what he does, he wont please everyone, some people are slagging him off for calling the bloke Speedo, i mean seriously that is no doubt what he has called the bloke for years him turning round now and referring to him as Gary would seem a tad strange.
Celebrities are not generally allowed to grieve in private, so they have to be as dignified as they can in the light of people asking and imo if someone asking Robbie about Gary is preventing them from harassing Garys' wife and kids Robbie is doing a good deed.
Some people will moan and bitch that he has not withdrawn and if he cared he should be at home crying into his hanky every hour, others will understand that some people prefer to keep busy to take their mind off things
There is no one size fits all to grieving, people are so harsh and judgemental it is unbelievable”
“personally his dancing and routines are no better or worse than Alexs so i think the next two weeks wil be it for both of them who goes first doesnt really matter, if Holly goes i dont really care find her quite bland, the top three are pretty much set in stone so the other three dont really matter.
As for Robbie he wont win no matter what he does, he wont please everyone, some people are slagging him off for calling the bloke Speedo, i mean seriously that is no doubt what he has called the bloke for years him turning round now and referring to him as Gary would seem a tad strange.
Celebrities are not generally allowed to grieve in private, so they have to be as dignified as they can in the light of people asking and imo if someone asking Robbie about Gary is preventing them from harassing Garys' wife and kids Robbie is doing a good deed.
Some people will moan and bitch that he has not withdrawn and if he cared he should be at home crying into his hanky every hour, others will understand that some people prefer to keep busy to take their mind off things
There is no one size fits all to grieving, people are so harsh and judgemental it is unbelievable”
- so very true; each individual is unique; I remember when Kelly Brook was dancing and after her father died, she dedicated her next dance to him.
I hope that Robbie dances well.
I am pleased that the media seems to be giving Gary Speed's family some privacy as the coroner requested at the inquest.
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