Tony Veitch got lots of famous people to say nice things about him.
I'm sure he is a lovely, bouncy, gorgeous person as a public speaker, a public broadcaster, a public person.
That does not even begin to excuse his behaviour in a private situation, when he kicked his former partner in the back while she was lying on the ground.
The "celebrities" who supported him have in effect condoned his behaviour. They should be ashamed of themselves.
Update: Susan Devoy says she feels misled about what the testimonial was for. H/T: Anonymous, in comments.
16 comments:
I saw the interview with Veitch on Campbell last night. it was sickening. He was disappointed that the other charges had been laid and implied that they were false because they had been dropped. His language was awful - he reacted, he was driven to that point.
I am completely sickened.
Of course people will support your public behaviour when that's all they see of you. I'm fantastic at acting nice to the face of my work mates too. It's what you do to get on in society.
It's not called Jeckyll and Hyde for nothing.
So Tony has friends. BFD. Most people do. That doesn't prevent them from being abusive assholes in private.
Last year a casual acquaintance was murdered by her ex who then turned the gun on himself. The local rag published a story one night about what a wonderful and much-beloved person she was, and then the next night it published a story about how wonderful and much-beloved (and sadly misunderstood) her murderer was. Puke. Heck, Ted Bundy charmed his victims before torturing and murdering them.
This could be one of those teaching moments -- most abusers aren't all asshole all the time and that's how they get away with it. Instead, a bunch of respected public figures have just told us that Veitch can't be bad because he was so nice to them.
Each new report on Veitch on the Herald, Stuff or Xtra sites makes me feel more uncomfortable, more angry, more disheartened;
Veitch was framed.
Veitch found dirt on Dunne-Powell that made the police drop the other charges.
Veitch is a nice bloke in public, so must also be in private.
Veitch is going to sue for defamation because news organisations reported on charges that have since been dropped.
Veitch has had it so damn tough, it wasn't fair... he was provoked... he was judged before the trial because he admitted he lashed out... he thought the relationship had ended amicably... he lost his jobs... he's suffered enough...
Thank god he did plead guilty on the one charge at least, because there is no damn way there could have been a fair trial as far as Dunne-Powell was concerned. In the meantime, he's set out a useful template for how men can get away basically scot-free with domestic violence of their own, and he's now doing everything in his bloody power to be judged innocent by the public, in spite of his guilty plea.
You can have your cake and eat it, so long as you look like a Nice Guy (TM) to onlookers... and the more onlookers, the better.
seems Susan Devoy is less than impressed about it too...
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/2341906/Devoy-feels-misled-over-Veitch-testimonial
Beautiful/popular/charming/famous people can do whatever they want, and their beautiful/popular/charming/famous friends will still give them character references on the front page of the paper. Unbelievable.
Near the end of Veitch's statement in the Dom Post it says, "But most of all, thank you to my wife, Zoe ... I quite simply say, I chose a goody".
Is it just me, or does that sound like yet another backhanded swipe at Dunne-Powell, who is presumably not "a goody", and therefore brought this upon herself? It's utterly disgusting.
I'm really relieved to see that; I was really disappointed to see her name on the list.
Looks like Tony and his cronies been doing some 'stitching up' of their own...
Shop girl, it's not just you. Veitch has repeatedly praised his wife for standing by her man - in a way that seems deliberately intended to contrast against the picture he's painted of Dunne-Powell (eg wife 'sensible' vs ex-girlfriend who wouldn't leave him alone). And he's also invoked the welfare of his only family as a reason why he should receive leniency and sympathy.
Go Susan Devoy - I think she's hit the nail on the head. Yes, people should have the chance to move on from their mistakes (once they've actually admitted their mistakes were mistakes), but that's completely different from cultivating sympathy to mitigate your sentence.
I have so much respect for Dunne-Powell after watching her interview on Campbell Live.
The whole thing is disgusting especially when Veitch keeps crying foul that he hasn't been able to tell his side of the story (which party was the one who hired the PR rep, and kept leaking stories to the papers)?
Tony Vietch's behavior creeps me out. The man kicked a woman in the back so hard it broke her back! How is this defensible? How is that justifiable?
Ugh. It makes me mad that people are prepared to have him back on our televisions.
The thing that annoys me the most is how Veitch and his lawyer keep implying the other charges were dropped because they were "false".
Joe/Jane Public should know that there was a plea bargain and in plea bargains some charges can be dropped if the offender aggrees to plead guilty to other charges.
Those charges were not dropped because they were false. There was a deal.
Veitch is a master manipulator and he's implying the other charges were false when in reality he struck a deal.
What really gets me is that, even if his self-mitigating version is 100% correct and somehow justifies his life choice at that instant, SURELY EVEN THEN he's not the best person to be a TV presenter.
There are 4 million people in this country, not to mention overseas journalists who might want to work here, and people with the judgement skills of Veitch, Ellis and Henry are the best we can do to fill probably less than 100 TV jobs?
Really?
Hell, Shortland Street's given TV time to enough people that even the best 25% could fill all the TV presenting jobs with some to leave over.
Let it rest! Move on!
Actually, clutching at straws again, Dame Susan actually said in regards to her comments being made public;
"She said she would not necessarily have refused to provide a testimonial for his sentencing"
She is trying to distance herself from the hate mobs that you have probably assembled outside each of their houses.
Why let it rest, Anon? Giving the message that domestic violence is OK in some situations is obviously dangerous for the women and children who face violence. Is that the kind of society you want to live in?
Anon 2, that's not correct. Susan Devoy said clearly that her testimony was intended to help Veitch get a passport, not mitigate his sentence. So while she might have been happy to put forward something for his sentencing, it may not have been the same document. The fact that she spoke out, and said her integrity had been compromised, suggests she wasn't comfortable supporting Veitch, doesn't it?
I don't really understand why you're so eager to defend Veitch? Do you think it's fair that prominent people should get lesser sentences than others?
The fact that Devoy and Dave Currie were asked to give testimonials under false pretenses actually doesn't speak highly of Veitch's integrity - but then, neither does breaking someone's back. I think it's harder to just 'move on' when you're permanently disfigured, and you can no longer work or live in your own country. But hey, this isn't about Veitch's victim, is it?
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