Those of us with a love for science-fiction know that the Hugo Awards are the Oscars of the literary world - prestigious symbols of excellence for those who bring us fables of fantasy. But to the mainstream public they are probably still only known to those who glance at credits on the dust-jacket of their latest purchase from Waterstone's or if they note a strange rocket-like symbol on promotional posters. So it would have seemed a great idea to have a host for the annual awards ceremony who was guaranteed to pull in a wider audience.
It was decided, at the suggestion of no less than Neil Gaiman, to ask Jonathan Ross.
Ross not only accepted the invitation, but volunteered to do it for free.
The announcement was made by the loncon committe responsible for the awards... and suddenly several prominent 'tweeters' decided the idea was not to their liking. Citing some of the controversies of the past, some felt that Ross might make a mockery of their event and for the next few hours, a very vocal minority expressed their displeasure - in no uncertain terms.
Author Seanan McGuire tweeted (we've starred out the profanity) : "Wait. WAIT. They're letting JONATHAN ROSS present the Hugos? WHAT THE F*CKING F*CK. You know, I've really enjoyed knowing that, were I to be nominated for a Hugo, the host wouldn't see me and make fat jokes. Like, that thought has actually crossed my mind, when shopping for Hugo dresses. The host won't mock me. Thanks, @loncon3, for taking that small bit of comfort and reassurance away from me."
Others were also critical of the decision, with some - apparently unaware of Ross's love for the genre - asking about his basic credentials for the job. After further insults started to fly, with comments eventually going in both directions, Ross announced that the loncon committee had reluctantly accepted his withdrawl and he was formally stepping away from the event, but wished it luck.
Now, there's no denying that Jonathan Ross is a marmite personality. Equally there's no wallpapering over some juvenile stunts he's pulled in his time - the most infamous being the Andrew Sachs controversy (which whether spearheaded by the Daily Mail's righteous indignation or not was still a lamentable lapse of judgement on anyone's part - for which Ross ultimately lost his job). However, on the flipside, he's also a quite brilliant host when he wants to be and has a genuine love for all things fantastical - from cinema (he was the host of the BBC's flagship Film Review) to comics (for which he's written several titles such as Turf) and science-fiction in general. Such is his well-documented love for fantasy that there was little chance his hosting of the Hugos would have produced anything more/less than some good-natured, self-depricating ribbing and perhaps, at worst, a bit of colourful language.
While not a fan or apologist for his sometimes-wilder persona, I did had the pleasure of having Ross on one of my panels at Kapow! a few years ago and he was nothing short of a delightfully energetic, but respectful and knowledgable geek of the first order - exactly the kind of personality that could have done wonders for the Hugos if they needed more attention but still wanted a host worthy of the genre. Sadly, though the Hugos have now got more publicity than they might ever have imagined, it's all been largely negative - many pointing out, with some irony, that a community that sometimes frets over being marginalised and the victims of presumptive stereotype, has kicked to the kerb one of its potentially most enthusiastic ambassadors based on a perception from a few people over what he MIGHT have done.
Several prominent authors have decried the attacks on Ross with some declaring THEY will now not attend the event themselves, though one has to wonder if that will be a self-defeating gesture. Loncon / The Hugos have yet to announce who the replacement will be.
There's a novel in here somewhere, but whether it would be a 'true crime' of self-mutilation or the story of a Ouroboros-like creature eating itself, is not entirely clear...
