Yes, Joey Essex does put the stupidity act on to an extent. I believe that he however, is at heart a genuinely nice person who has overcome a lot, made the most of what he has and succeeded.

To me the problem lies with the people who will blindly vote for him, for TOWIE and his previous reputation, His faux ignorance is annoying but it would be nowhere near as big an issue if it were not for the tremendous support it and his television past generate.

It has two immediate knock on effects, the first of which acts as positive reinforcement encouraging him to push the stupid boat out further and the second ensures the producers banking on his popularity for ratings will give him prominence in the edit.

I see legitimate reasons to vote for him based on how he has been in the jungle in a positive sense, it's just a shame that this is overshadowed by support for the wrong ones.

There is blind support for ignorance on Twitter of epic proportions.
Tragic.

Very good and true post

Totally agree! Great post. To me he is harmless, so what if he is acting up a bit with his stupidity he isn't being malicious or horrible with it.

Would he be as popular though if he was a plain ordinary bloke .
I think his looks play a major part in his popularity.

Not malicious, just very annoying, and an insult to the viewers' intelligence.

I am baffled why people find stupidity endearing.

I don't mind Joey but it's now getting boring seeing him and Matthew do the trials. I know they are quite entertaining but I want to see other people have a go. Like Steve said in the Bush telegraph it's like a holiday for the rest of them because they know who will be doing the trials day after day.
Come on public, mix it up a bit. I don't want it to be The Joey Show for the duration, it spoils a great show and with a good bunch of people this year there's more entertainment to be had in them all having their chance to shine or fail.

Welcome to Reality TV post Jade Goody.

You mean "baffed"?!
I don't dislike the boy, and I don't have a problem with people who don't have particularly high IQs.
But, I do have a major problem with the idea that it's cool and loveable to not know anything - it used to be that people would try to better themselves through education; the Jade/TOWIE factor is convincing a generation of kids that it's trendy to play "thick".
Or maybe I'm just getting old

I often think perhaps its my age that's the barrier to understanding why this is happening. Perhaps its also a sad refelection of our education system. These days some kids think they can become famous just by being like this but very few actually achieve the dizzy heights of going on Towie and Geordie Shore et al.

Its quite sad that this is the aspiration of some youngsters.

It always has been .....Try thinking along the lines of Stan Laurel, Norman Wisdom and Frank Spencer.

I don't like him but I blame the Producers not him. The promoting of him by both shows is the issue.

.....and every other ITV show.

Lorraine, This Morning and Loose Women sycophntically and gushingly reinforcing the Joey love.
Is it in their contracts?

He is a plain, ordinary bloke......just more uneducated, and my window cleaner is better looking.

I find it depressing - I have a friend who is a very simple little soul and he is always saying silly things. But he NEVER does it hoping to get a laugh, he's just genuinely a bit thick (his words, not mine) and takes an innocent enjoyment in everything.

What I can't STAND is watching shows like Celeb Pointless where the Z-listers seem to revel in their own stupidity. It's pathetic.

Most of the manipulation comes from the producers of these shows it's so tedious now

Maybe they have the same management as well as work for the same company. Don't expect ANY criticism of him on This Morning, they even believe he doesn't know how to blow his nose.

It does matter because we do want to see people being themselves and he obviously isn't.

I think he can be be nasty the way he rubbed it in Matthews face that first he won then the food. Also the way he spoke to Dec was not nice.

Didn't he say he'd 'throw' the next trial he was in as he really felt for them not having any food?