Perfect
Shpilband's dismissal has fired up figure-skating message boards and provided material for fan fiction writing fans who have yet to out themselves as fan fiction writers. Davis and White were the first to comment on the split, and were beyond reproach, but Tessa and Scott, with an astute assist from Beverly Smith, have outdone them, perhaps for the first time in their career history, in the appearance of candor meshing seamlessly with expressions of gratitude and respect. It has to be one of the most adroitly composed and deftly narrated "address the issues" pieces ever. This shows how it's possible to be both factual and discreet, to be generous, respectful and honest, without airing dirty (or any) laundry. It's professional.
I could parse this article for days.
There's this intro:
Olympic ice dancing champions Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir had been away from their rink in Canton, Ohio [Ohio?!!] for six weeks, when they heard that their two coaches, Marina Zoueva and Igor Shpilband were feuding.
Some of their friends in the rink, Arctic Edge Arena, had been keeping them in the loop in the six weeks away when they had performed across Canada on the Stars On Ice tour and during a vacation that included time in Jamaica for the wedding of Olympic pair skaters Anabelle Langlois and Cody Hay. Virtue and Moir had also been in touch with Zoueva.This is art. Beverly Smith smoothly embeds neat, intelligent distinctions and communicates significant information while protecting the subjects of the article and displaying wonderful tact and judgment. Has she considered a career in pr?
First paragraph: Tessa and Scott had already been gone six weeks when they heard Igor and Marina were feuding. It doesn't say Scott and Tessa didn't know there was conflict, nor suggest Tessa and Scott were clueless about where it could lead; it doesn't say they hadn't taken a position on the issues involved. It indicates they'd heard things had become adversarial. But if anyone wants to conclude that Tessa and Scott didn't find out there were problems til they wrapped up six weeks away from Canton, hey, Smith can't insist on an exact reading of her intro, and that's fine. But she knows what she's doing.
So we understand no fast ones are being attempted, in the second paragraph, Smith tells that during those six weeks, Tessa and Scott were in the loop. Without specifying about what, the reality that the skaters had to be aware there were issues that could potentially lead to the dissolution of the Zoueva/Shpilband team is acknowledged with that advisory. It includes the tip off that Virtue and Moir were in touch with Zoueva. Tact and discretion, but also key information. Smith artfully navigates between those lines.
Also in that "not a word wasted 'make every word tell*' second paragraph, Smith tells us by implication that part of both Tessa and Scott's vacation included attending the Anabel and Cody Jamaica wedding. It doesn't matter if Tessa went to Jamaica, what does is Smith didn't shoehorn in an "ex-girlfriend" reference, or squeeze in a clumsy allusion to Scott being one place during vacation and Tessa another. There's maturity displayed, and a respectful understanding that her readers aren't morons.
When they returned to train in early June, they found out that Shpilband had been fired. It came as a shock to Shpilband, a Russian-born coach who has put North American figure skating on the map.Doesn't say it came as a shock to Tessa and Scott.
Shpilband, 47, was told to leave the club by management who said a conflict between the two had created tensions in the club. "Marina and Igor just weren't seeing eye to eye on some really important things," Moir said. "And they had to split ways. It was really unfortunate."This is my favorite quote from Scott Moir, particularly in contrast to the quotes from Igor immediately following his dismissal. "Weren't seeing eye to eye on some really important things." He considers the issues valid and significant; he's aware of the problems and has an opinion. He's not saying the decision to split was mutual. He says "they HAD TO split ways." This clarifies Scott's position as different than Igor's while exhibiting diplomacy and tact.
Then they go on to give Igor his deserved appreciation, personally and professionally, in a tone that couldn't be more genuine.
There's intention in every syllable of this piece, but nothing cynical/calculated or disingenuous. Beverly Smith is stellar, but Scott matches her in his perfectly calibrated remarks. This is the guy some claim needs a muzzle, needs discipline, needs to play the part. But his comments here show faultless judgment - they register as authentic and intelligent, they observe boundaries and assume the reader understands and respects what is said and not said. By this article, maybe this is the guy they should have let off the leash.
____________________
*Strunk & White: Elements of Style
Could be that being free from constantly looking for opportunities to mention "separate" and/or "girlfriend-that's-not-Tessa," Scott can let loose his true capacity for tact and diplomacy.
ReplyDeleteAt his most natural there's an intelligent confidence in how he expresses himself - he's forthcoming but is comfortable drawing the line.
DeleteThere's nothing cheesy.
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=cheesy
(Love the above definition of "cheesy" from the urban dictionary - on the nose for both VM in many media situations and for Skate Canada with Barb MacDonald's "communications" style and Debbi Wilkes' while interviewing, commenting or moderating.)
What he and Tessa usually do is incredibly cheesy and what often happens is an affected sort of overcompensation - ridiculous embellishment and rationalization. They come off like twits sometimes. Almost as common is terse, fidgety tension and a tone that feels like almost frustrated-seeming bitchiness.
I'll never understand why and how it came to pass that Skate Canada, the Moirs, the Virtues and many others came to cooperate in complicating something to the point of absurdity. It ain't that hard.
"By this article, maybe this is the guy they should have let off the leash."
ReplyDeleteYou have got it exactly right. Scott is no dummy, on the contrary extremely savvy and intelligent in his comments to the media. How did he come to have a reputation as one who couldn't be trusted in front of a camera? Just because a couple times he was more honest than people would have liked? Tessa is the one who tends to be robotic in the way she relentlessly stays on message.
It looks like whenever they decide they can be honest with the public, they will do just fine.
He's tough in a really useful way. He's not a diva, but he doesn't appear hung up about whether people like him or not. He's astute. The public is smarter than they get credit for being and they tend to think positively about someone like Scott, as long as he's being genuine - positive or negative - they trust what they're getting. There's nothing wrong with having a very full personality and some temperment. He's self-aware too. So - why Scott wasn't simply encouraged to be himself and why they didn't simply let Scott himself serve as all the "barrier" Virtue and Moir needed, I will never understand. He knows how to do it, and when called upon seems to thrive doing it, and he's happy to take any flak. Why construct an entirely false social media personal life and involve a supporting cast of Skate Canada personnel, family and friends that lead to an ethical, marketing, and public relations debacle? It's absurd. He's the one who knows Tessa. He's the one who can play bad cop if he has to (or smile his face off and take the lead with interaction in order to create space for someone else), without, apparently, it affecting his ability to train or compete. Instead somebody who struggles being less than authentic ended up the face of the most revolting sham relationship in recent times - pretty much made to violate his nature and his instincts. All this work and effort for nothing. It's pitiful.
Delete"All this work and effort for nothing. It's pitiful."
DeleteIt's so unfortunate that "all this work and effort" is not only for nothing, but it's forever recorded on the internet and some people's hard drives. I hope they're prepared to deal with that kind of fallout.
"Could be that being free from constantly looking for opportunities to mention "separate" and/or "girlfriend-that's-not-Tessa," Scott can let loose his true capacity for tact and diplomacy."
ReplyDeleteI'd say the answer is a big fat YES.
I hope this stupid sham is finally over, because everybody could see it was driving Scott crazy by the end. What a total waste of time, energy, and opportunity.
"I'll never understand why and how it came to pass that Skate Canada, the Moirs, the Virtues and many others came to cooperate in complicating something to the point of absurdity."
It's because Tessa wanted it, and she's the princess that rules all. None of this would have happened if she hadn't wanted it so badly. SC and Debbie Wilkes couldn't have forced them to do any of this if they didn't want it. The Virtues wouldn't have paid for everything if she didn't want it. The Moirs wouldn't have cooperated if their daughter-in-law hadn't wanted it. Scott wouldn't walk separately from her in a shopping mall if she didn't want it so damn much.
I hope Tessa has finally grown up and stopped taking love for granted. Most people would kill for what she has treated so callously.
While my feelings on the sham are clear enough, I think we have to remember that's the public part of the relationship. The private part is Scott got everything he could have ever wanted from her, on and off the ice. She showed up for Vancouver and together they won gold when it's pretty amazing she was even training/competing. It's not necessary to recite everything she had to go through to make that happen, and she did it willingly. He never had to question it. So not only does she deliver her end of the bargain at the Olympics and Worlds, I think it's obvious she delivered the other dreams Scott had - the off ice dreams he had - that they both shared. Which is a pretty big deal. And she's the one who had the bigger job.
DeleteThat doesn't change the fact that I believe the motivations behind the sham were neurotic, stubbornly entrenched, immature, self-absorbed to an almost hair-raising degree, and a bunch of other things that IMO deserve every laceration it has received. However I don't think she has been callous with the love she and Scott share, although I feel that inadvertantly, she degraded it with the sham. They both did. It was a very unpleasant experience watching Scott debase himself for that scheme. He degraded the most profound and important part of himself all in the name of protecting it. When it gets to that point, you've fucked up.
I don't think Tessa has been callous either, and I agree the very big ick factor has been that Scott debased himself for the scheme. Making a PUBLIC DISPLAY of pretending to be having sex with one woman while actually being in a relationship and in love with another is beyond disgusting.
DeleteI don't know what's worse. Taking obviously staged photos at a resort with someone who's not your wife, or sitting next to your husband, while his baby is growing inside of you, and saying in an interview that you'd never be in a relationship with a figure skater. I was pregnant right around the same time Tessa was, and the thought of saying something like what she said is so far beyond the pale that it makes me sick just to think about it.
DeleteAnon 10:05 - well, it's hideous, and they acted, it almost seemed, ignorant-on-purpose as to context. Maybe they thought they were shaping their sham initiative to the audience and they thought the audience were a bunch of tacky, low class, in-your-face idiots and animals. So why not design a sham they'll like, while making fun of them between the lines!
DeleteThe idea of denying their relationship and claiming to be dating someone else isn't really something to be faulted. To a large extent, I think everybody can appreciate why they considered their situation unique. The way thy saw themselves, they weren't just protecting the relationship privacy but trying to manage pre-Olympic stressors that included the unexpected and traumatic such as Tessa's struggle with compartment syndrome beginning in late 2007, so near to the Olympic games. You can feel it from Scott when he speaks to the press after the 4CCs in 2009 - it's taking a toll - he's worried about her health in general, about her legs, he's worried about her skating in pain. They were under the gun - the Olympic games didn't have a negotiable time line - they were happening in 2010 and that's all Tessa/Scott wanted. Considering the way she has described her emotional state - however histrionic she makes it sound for whatever purpose, and considering she claims to have shut down everything in the run-up to the Olympics (only 7 people on her cell, she claims - even though a quick run down of those who'd have to be on it for professional reasons, let alone immediate family, exceeds 7 pretty fast), I could see them deciding that revealing the stunning, shocking truth (sarcasm)of their relationship while under this sort of pressure was not to be contemplated. Then they won the Olympics and Worlds, and do they really want to be Canada's sweethearts and pregnant in the rock star-esque circus ring we were encouraged to believe was their post-Olympic reality - remember how every.single.interview told us fans were obsessed with them being a couple? Who could have a peaceful pregnancy/book promotion/skating tour experience if their reality was hanging out for the world to see? And then by the time that was over, hey, Sochi is only a year and a half from now! Why not keep it going?
But then they made other choices. Who made them get pregnant, made them write a book they claimed revealed new, real stuff and go out and market the central anecdote - an easily disproved lie? Who made them whore out their sparkly "kids" personality as a sales device to get people to swallow lies they'd paid for?
DeleteWho made Scott and Tessa go on book promotions denying each other more than Peter denied Christ - pre-setting the question so as to shoot it down with patient graciousness?
Who made them compete at the 4CCs and Worlds that year and make a circus of their 4CCs?
Who decided that in the mainstream media they'd avoid specifics about Scott's romantc life. They'd only allude to its possible existence - but apart from an occasional "my girlfriend" in print media, in video interviews it was an abstract idea of a hypothetical girlfriend. But facebook - there, we're going to be rude, mean and gross.
For one, just accepting the fans he accepted as friends in the first place was a set up. Those fans were ripped off. There was nothing even commercially authentic in it - Scott and Tessa just wanted the lie to get out through social media channels and so fb was a one way street - he offered up nothing on his facebook.
As to facebook content, I imagine SC and the VM entourage learned via research that fans have a virtually nonexistent comprehension capacity. Something gave them that impression. Commence clubbing fans over the head - while snickering. (the buggy! Monaco! Babies! A kiss - on the lips!!)
There was a rhythm to the facebook nonsense. Scott and Tessa would, typically, set up huge teases in the mainstream media, baiting like mad, then immediately on facebook, bash in the hopes they'd purposefully incited. Kids, you're private. Why toy with people when you already know you're so so much more clever than they?
If you insist on indulging in or hinting at candor in legit media venues from time to time (say, at a press conference or in the occasional pre-season interview), why turn around and slam the drawer on fan fingers in such a coarse and meanspirited way?
Was it just fun?
Tanith/Evan made a few public appearances and put the photos on facebook, and even essayed one discreet smooch on fb in Paris. I don't recall the avalanche of public wall album garbage we were treated to from Scott and Jessica. It churned the stomachs of many who even knew the score. The smug, the self-congratulation, the barely concealed mocking tone, the cloying wall shit, the meant-to-be-overheard wall conversations that served as a virtual billboard for the fake. What was the purpose?
They needed to make it really convincing? Why? What would happen if people doubted? Nothing. What people thought or guessed made no difference.
VM had a different approach for different venues. It certainly lacked all narrative coherence as far as their supposed public were concerned. I imagine they didn't anticipate the public would pick up on the mixed signals. It was offensive in every way chronicled on this blog and then some, all unnecessary to their supposed agenda, which was privacy. Other agendas were piggybacked onto it.
Their reasons for staying private make sense. Their management of it doesn't. If they are ever answerable to anything, IMO, that's it.
I have to say I love your blog, I'm a bit obsessed with it I have to say....
ReplyDeleteBut how do you know that Scott and Tessa are a couple? Do you have some kind of inside information?
Yes, I know for a fact that they're a couple. I've never said how I know.
DeleteHow long have they been a couple?
DeleteWhen was the baby born?
DeleteDoes anyone think that Weaver/Poje and how they have gone about their business may perhaps influence V/M and their entourage?
ReplyDeleteNo, because W/P are following what V/M did, but even more stupidly. What is the point of releasing an article that says they live together and celebrate Christmas together, but are only platonic? How insulting to their fans.
DeleteAnon 1:07
ReplyDeleteDoes the V/M entourage pay attention to anything besides its own perceptions and stratagems? This is the big frustration, that they appear to be tone-deaf when it comes to dealing with the public with any decency or class regarding who they really are. IMO, the moment they decided to continue any sham past the teenage years they lost all perspective.
It certainly appears that everyone involved was obsessed with the Olympics but lacked any competence at all to manage this event and the projected fallout from the marketing and public side. They were obsessed also - far too obsessed - with the stardom projected for Tessa and Scott - especially Canadian stardom, and Skate Canada's strategy was centered around a blatant contempt for the same Canadian public they counted on to respond to Tessa and Scott with a renewed enthusiasm for figure skating. Every challenge was addressed from a ridiculous perspective that was grandiose instead of practical, and lacked all sense. They "managed" the spectrum of public relations at Skate Canada - however one wants that defined - from sponsor development to community relations to how they market their figure skaters - with a combination of dysfunction, indifference, self-aggrandizement, laziness and arrogance. There was no evidence of even rudimentary professionalism. It anything it comes off as if Skate Canada believed any type of communication = doing the public a favor in the middle of all the much more important business these very important people were handling. I don't recall a single straight up "good will" fan reach out from these people - everything was a set up.
DeleteThey believe themselves to have higher status than the public - and their sponsors - that came across loud and clear and still does (I am referring here to the Skate Canada influence that controlled the tone of the sham.). Also, Debbi Wilkes and Bill Thompson were obviously star struck - if not with the figure skaters themselves, then the star skaters' perceived star status and and the naked desire to use that status as a platform for the personal promotion of individual SC directors. Debbi never missed a beat getting her face on camera and neither did Barb, but providing timely photos from competitions, updating Skatebuzz, making their figure skaters accessible to the public without making Debbi a major part of the package, tweeting or writing something that wasn't inane or lazily patched together long after the relevant event had concluded - that was all too much for them. You're never going to make stars of anybody if you treat the public like you don't give a shit and half-assed is good enough. Maybe all this cloak and dagger and the absolute insanity of how the sham was staged is their idea of how to handle celebrities and it helped confirm (in their own minds) that VM were stars. So DUMB.
"I don't recall a single straight up "good will" fan reach out from these people - everything was a set up."
Delete^^ This.
In spite of V/M's blatant participation in "all this cloak and dagger and the absolute insanity of how the sham was staged," I can't help feeling sorry for them, being under the current bozos who are running Skate Canada. They've made such a mess of things.
Somebody else who has observed the sham remarked on something that had also occurred to me, as well as, I'm sure, others. Which is how self-serving the rationale behind the sham has been, extending beyond a desire for privacy and control taken to a neurotic and immature degree.
ReplyDeleteIt conveniently keeps Debbi Wilkes occupied with the very important business of "protecting" the stars. It occupies Barb MacDonald. These people wanted there to be a reason to sham. It justified their professional existence.
Of the SC directors who cultivate the spotlight most assiduously, only Mike Slipchuk has ever shown a glimmer of interest in a Skate Canada figure skater who isn't VM, Chan, Joannie Rochette, Jessica Dube (for non-skating reasons) or, from time to time, Phaneuf. Hell, the other skaters don't just suffer lack of interest, they're treated with disdain. Ask Amelie Lacoste. Or, last season, Moore-Towers/Moscovitch.
I think to an extent it was the same for the skaters' families. They wanted there to be a reason to sham. It allowed the families to participate and share in Tessa and Scott's experience - an experience all of them had invested in and supported while the two were working towards the goal of an Olympic championship. It gave the families a continued important role even after the Olympic goal had been achieved.
The star system exists inside families, too. It just happens. It doesn't mean the skaters expect or insist on star treatment from their loved ones; it's just so common for families to be extremely eager to have a continued part of and share in what the stars in their family are experiencing. They want to be needed.
Tessa and Scott had the coaching situation nailed - that's often an area where the entourage sticks in their .02, but Tessa and Scott didn't need any advice there. Even if on occasion the competitive results weren't what VM felt they deserved, at the end of the day they're the reining Olympic champions, the reining World Champions and the 2010 World Champions. So there's not much advocacy required either.
Remember that both the Moirs and the Virtues are part of Skate Canada and you get an entourage with adjustment issues, people that might chafe at being kept back on the farm, people who would appreciate the "need" for a specific ongoing contribution. You get figure skaters aware of what their families have sacrificed in order for them to reach this point. So there's enabling all over the place, and the rationale for that enabling has been continually reverse-engineered.
I love how you parsed this article. It shows how well-spoken and classy Tessa and Scott can be and the truth is, going back to their earliest interviews as young skaters they had these same qualities when speaking to the media.
ReplyDeleteHow strange that someone (or some ones) decided V/M wouldn't have the ability to be sincere yet discreet, and so instead they set them on the path of this ridiculous scheme where their genuine qualities had to be channeled into being cheesy and dishonest in all the stupid embellishments and set-ups. Even aside from a natural desire for privacy, I don't see why they would have carried this out to such a degree and for so long - but oh yes, the SC officials and others from the V/M camp needed a reason to make themselves "indispensable" to Scott and Tessa.
As shown in this article, Tessa and Scott don't need to be hiding behind elaborate schemes of lies. It looks like they would manage any fallout as adults, with tact and class.
I wonder if they think that hiding their relationship is necessary to protect their creative process. That is to say, that maybe they would feel so uncomfortable being so intimate and frankly sexual on the ice if people knew that they were also intimate in real life. Maybe they think it would feel too vulnerable or voyeuristic if audiences were watching them with the knowledge that they also had an intimate personal relationship.
ReplyDeleteJust a theory...
I know I'd feel a bit weird about it.
Anon 4:02
DeleteWhat about the many skaters who were acknowledged couples, like Gordeeva/Grinkov, or Daubreil/Lauzon? The public knowledge of their real relationship off-ice wasn't a deterrent to creativity or romantic skating portraying intimacy. Being in a relationship and/or married is simply a very normal fact of real life. Tessa and Scott are adults and it seems ridiculous to think they would feel "vulnerable." They aren't any different than any other person on the planet who is in a relationship - which is the majority of all adults.
I can see your point. There are married and/or involved actors who feel a bit squicky about it if they perform opposite each other - wondering if the public imagines they're getting a look into how they do things at home. Of course a little weirdness might come with the territory initially, but as anon 6:05 says, it's a normal fact of real life. The majority of adults are in an adult relationship or have experience with adult relationships. Scott, Tessa and Marina are all gifted with inherent good taste and humor. People already squeal and coo over what they do. There is a precedent as well - they're not the first gold medal winning, gorgeous, young, true love skating team with heart-stopping chemistry to perform before the public. G&G were popular in the States and Canada at the height of the figure skating frenzy and managed fine.
DeleteAnd let's not forget how many people - including a not-insignificant number of fans here and abroad - already know they're together - have known it since before the Olympics. Most of the skating world too. Most of the skating-centric media. They're not all close friends of Scott and Tessa despite knowing Scott and Tessa's actual relationship - many (fans in particular) are strangers. It doesn't seem to stress VM that much that literally hundreds of people who watch them skate know they're together.
All that a reveal would change is it would be official and in legit media. What would happen then? Gossip that they can't make it work? It's worked! They have no obligation to tell the media all their personal and professional plans, so it's not as if even after a reveal they've invited everybody into their goal-setting and decision-making process. They don't have to share that stuff. They don't have to backtrack into the history of their real relationship either, unless they think there's profit in it. I've seen how when profit and privacy are weighed, they often can't help choosing the latter.
A few fans might speculate and comment in an unseemly way - what a huge change from now (just stick an eye roll here).
As suggested in this discussion, just throw Scott in front and let him handle it. For God's sake, at a post-comp press conference this past season somebody asked Tessa about ditching the Audrey gloves and she said it made gripping Scott too slippery, and Scott agreed saying he preferred to feel her bare hands. Whereupon Fabian made what was clearly a dirty sotto voce snark, Scott smacked him and said "on my neck!" and then, not letting it die, reached over and took Tessa's hands, which were under the table, and placed them on the table where people could see them. It's Scott that extended the slightly ribald joke and I didn't notice Tessa passing out like a Victorian maiden.
It's skating. They're grown-ups, they're living a grown-up life. They have living, breathing evidence toddling around that they're not platonic. What the public sees on ice are feats of athleticism, skating skill, choreogaphy and trust. They use a more or less conventional vocabulary of romantic expression that shines because it's natural, immediate and so present. It's as Tatiana Volosozhar said - they're riveting because they are so present, they keep the audience in suspense - nothing is canned.
Huh. That's really well put. I'm loving this conversation.
DeleteWhat I'm really curious about is who takes care of the child while Scott and Tessa are training and travelling?
ReplyDeleteI can barely get out the door with my kids let alone be traveling all over the world.
Well, the bottom line is their advantage is they have available family (family members willing able to travel with them, who don't need to work), and even if those family members decide they didn't want to pitch in, they can afford help. Resources make a huge difference, particularly if the primary resources are family members. They live a very anachronistic life in some respects. All sets of grandparents, first cousins once-removed, great aunt/uncles located in the London/Ilderton area, many already involved in skating. They're very fortunate in their resources, both financially and with family.
DeleteAlso I cant believe nobody has ever seen this child. I mean, do they really keep him/her totally hidden away or are the legit media just looking the other way?
Delete^Of all the questions people ask, "where do they keep this child?" puzzles the most. Do you know where Scott and Tessa were this past weekend (unless they were at an already publicized appearance, in which case, consider the question rhetorical)? Apart from the Cody/Anabelle wedding, do you know where they spent the six weeks away from Canton when not on tour? Do you know where they live, or even for certain if during the traing season they reside in Michigan or across the border? If a fan saw the child at an event, would they know it was Scott or Tessa's? Are fans able to peak into the skyboxes to see everyone inside? Do we know who travels with them, or who might pitch in, especially from the lower profile Virtue side of the family/friends matrix? And with these examples we're speaking of competition only, where Tessa and Scott have said they consider themselves on stage for the duration, the instant they're in the vicinity of the venue. The child is a toddler. There's no "made by Virtue and Moir" label so fans will know it's THE baby. As for the media, the media had a grand old time teasing the information, starting with the lead "Scott Moir has cut the cord." They are simply officially platonic and officially there's no child. That's on the record stuff. Off the record, there's no need to stash the kid in an attic somewhere - people know.
ReplyDeleteI'm interested to see how much the media enables the fictionalized aspects of Scott and Tessa's situation going forward. I think they've reachd the point where those who know better are still treading on thin ice asking Scott and Tessa to define their relationship for the umpteenth time, knowing they're setting them up to lie, or while keeping quiet that they know the answer even as they frame a question that pretends they don't (such as Tracy Wilson at Worlds asking them to explain their relationship. "Best friends? Brother and sister?" As she, better than most, knows the answer, that was pretty shady, even if the purpose was to do Scott and Tessa a favor by being the person to do the interview versus someone a lot more obnoxious).
I'm freakin' ecstatic for the next season. I honestly hope that what we've seen so far is a change for the better. Whether they're hiding a child/marriage or not, I hope, for their sake, that they can come clean with the fans. I think we can handle it.
DeleteAnon 11:03
DeleteI wouldn't hold my breath if I were you.
Wow, I just can't imagine how they can come clean after keeping such huge secrets. I feel like they wouldn't do that either until after they retire from the amateur circuit/competition or maybe even never.
DeleteIs Scott going to get another fake girlfriend to last through until Sochi? I don't understand what the plan is now.
DeleteAnon 6:19
ReplyDeleteI wish I could laugh at this, but their history makes me cynical. I wouldn't be surprised at any of various possible scenarios:
Scott pretending to "make up" with Jessica; Scott having another fake GF; or Tessa doing the deed and acquiring a fake BF with whom she'll frolic at beach vacations and family weddings. Either way, I'm not expecting sincerity. However, I'll be more than happy to be proven wrong. I'm just waiting to see how they proceed.
I'm just considering the idea that this blog may be useful for Tessa and Scott. Now they don't really need to "come clean" in the real term, they don't need to "reveal big secrets that everybody didn't know". The existence of this blog has given the truth 4 years before Sochi, so a lot of time before their retirement. Fans are used to know the truth, even if they don't believe it. I think there won't be any scandal about it.
ReplyDeleteThere have been more than enough opportunities for Tessa and Scott to come clean. It's always a good time, IMO.
DeleteWhat strikes me about this article and the positive comments on here about it, is that Tessa and Scott are more than capable of publicly handling controversial or thorny situations. The arguments that coming clean is difficult, or the wrong time, or it would be scandalous, or whatever, are not really applicable. They don't come clean because they choose not to and that's it. They've already decided that honesty with the public concerning their relationship is not important and I don't see them changing this mindset.
I'd rephrase your last sentence to read "They've already decided that dishonesty with the public concerning their relationship is important."
DeleteIf honesty were simply a low, not-important priority, then they wouldn't have been so aggressive with their lies. Dishonesty was very important.
They don't need to come clean because this blog has already done that for them. They know all the fans who care about their relationship know about this blog. Why do they have to do work that's already been done?
ReplyDeleteAnon 5:52
Delete"Why do they have to do work that's already been done?"
Really? In other words, when they're asked about their relationship they now feel free to say they're a couple off-ice? Yeah right.
Until they admit the truth, they're not coming clean and in fact they're trying really hard to pretend there's no blog anywhere that has outed them.
I think that they need to come clean in any case, but, thankfully to this blog, the truth will not be a "big revelation" so there is an advantage for them.
DeleteIt is possible that they'll do what anon 5.52 said, but I'm quite confident they'll say something true one day.
I think they'll never come clean. They don't have to.
DeleteFirst, they're only asked about their relationship when they want to be asked about their relationship. That question never puts them into a corner they don't want to be in.
Second, even if their kid becomes a champion figure skater and its publicly announced that the kid was born in 2010 or 2011, they still don't need to "come clean." No one will ever publicly ask them "How was the kid born then? I thought you weren't together?" Fans will talk privately, just like they are doing right now. Anyone who acts surprised will be shut down by other fans who will say "they've always been together" in a smug tone, because that's what people do when they think they're part of a big secret.
They're not going to come clean because everybody already knows. Who do they need to come clean to? The 5 people who want to live in denial?
ReplyDeletePlus it would be too embarrassing to publicly acknowledge it all. Far preferable to just say nothing and let people think whatever they think
ReplyDeleteI think the embarrassment is about 99% of it at the moment, just from familiarity with how celebrities/public figures often think. The sham was created to "protect" them but the solution has become the problem. Instead of protecting their privacy, they're protecting their pride and trying to save face. IMO.
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