I'll make this quick and dirty.
I may spew a little venom here and there on my website, but believe it or not, there are scant few people in this world I truly can't stand. I'm not talking about the kind of people who annoy or mildly irritate; I'm talking about the ones whose mere existence just infuriates the hell out of me; whose lack of any discernible contribution to humanity makes me want to take a hostage; whose voice alone can shatter my spine like glass.
Among this highly specialized group of horrid, worthless dirtbags -- I'm not sure anyone is more thoroughly contemptible or patently offensive than Gloria Allred.
Cut from the same cloth as Nancy Grace, another feckless troll who treats the legal profession like her own personal litter-box-cum-slot-machine, Allred can typically be found wherever TV cameras are present. She's the alien queen of the ambulance-chasing high-profile lawyer set -- the sort of loathsome caricature that could only thrive in a place as morally capricious as L.A. Over the course of her diabolically lengthy career, she's represented such celebs-via-circumstance as Amber Frey, Paula Jones, Nicole Brown Simpson, Melanie "Scary Spice" Brown and Britney Spears's bodyguard -- all the while representing, in reality, only one person: Gloria Allred. She's inserted herself into the surreal debacle that was the Michael Jackson trial. She's manipulated an all-too-willing media into doing her bidding, which always involves beaming her gruesome, opportunistic ass into every home in America in what would seem to be a concerted effort to turn us all to stone. What Al Sharpton is to race relations in this country, Gloria Allred is to its legal system.
And now -- of course -- she's representing Rob Lowe's nanny.
This morning, Allred appeared with 24 year old Jessica Gibson on NBC's Today show to do her copyrighted "Angry Mom Whose Innocent Daughter has Just Been Victimized" routine. For those of you lucky enough to have not heard a peep about this case, Rob Lowe says Gibson is a trash-talker who exploited his family's goodwill; Gibson says Lowe sexually harassed her while she was caring for his kids. Honestly, who gives a crap either way?
Gloria Allred, of course.
Her performance this morning was pure theater -- pure Gloria: She held Gibson's hand like a supportive best friend; contorted her face into a steely grimace while shrilly heaping irresponsible invective onto Lowe; wouldn't let anyone get a word in that might counter her carefully rehearsed indignation; looked like she was always one involuntary impulse away from digging into Gibson's neck to drink her sweet, young blood. The only thing missing was a fucking trapeze act.
The good news is that by allowing herself to be preyed on by this wicked witch -- by accepting the shiny red apple of a big money settlement that was no doubt offered so seductively -- Jessica Gibson has all but ensured that she'll lose in court. Sure, she'll get a lot of free press, but in the end, thanks to Allred's unholy puppetry, she'll get a few bucks from posing for Playboy and eventually be known as 2008's Darva Conger.
Remember her?
Yeah, I didn't think so.
Good job there, Gloria.
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Okay, how about a Pay Per View for the Trust Fund Managers Relief:
5 Rounds, Gloria Alred v. John McCain.....no holes bared.
Must be in High Def so we can see the turkey necks of both
boxers in detail.
Gloria Allred's firm is excellent. A number of its lawyers--Dolores Leal and Nate Goldberg, for two--are among the finest and most ethical employment lawyers in the country. Allred is execrable, and a bad joke to those in the employee-side employment law community.
She was elected a Hillary Clinton delegate in a West LA caucus this past Sunday. Sort of perfect, n'est-ce pas?
Lawyers clean up dirty messes that no one else will touch in our society. Give me a break. Its a hard and dirty job, and it is impossible to look good down in the muck of humanity all the time. Gloria Allred is an important jurist whose work has benefitted hundreds of thousands of Americans. So, it is unseemly for Gloria Allred to zealously work for the rights of her client? I hope it is unseemly. Injustice is unseemly. Getting justice is hard hard work, and when mining diamonds, one does get covered in dust.
thank you
Gloria Allred would show up for the opening of an envelope.
Chez, I thought this was going to be one of those articles that had universal agreement. Naturally, I was wrong.
WITCHES - - how could I have known there were so many delusional people waiting to attack your TITLE? Would people be upset if you said, Maim the Martian? (Another fictional character)
To all the people who think they are witches: No, you're not. There are no witches. You have deluded yourself into believing you have powers that don't exist. You are also stupid, boring, and need a hug. Maybe you should talk to Glenda about your illness.
Ed Graham
Yeah, your right!!!
If you really want to dig up some dirt, get her birth certificate. I think she's lost a decade or so off her resume.
Yeah I don't think she was a good choice for a lawyer either but maybe she was the only one willing to work with this case? Who knows. Gloria is way too loud and in your face!
and Maureen Dowd.
"Gibson says Lowe sexually harassed her while she was caring for his kids. Honestly, who gives a crap either way?"
uhm, yeah, like i''m hoping a lot of people care about sexual harassment in the workplace and consider it a fundamental civil rights issue. how telling to single out gloria allred who deserves to be burned at the stake. some might have offered robert shapiro or F lee bailey as additional kindling. but no, nancy grace is your choice. and it's "the sound of their voice" that can "shatter your spine". wow, of all the sleeze bag lawyers that you could have singled out. and "burn the witch" is as offensive as it gets. it's like lynching in another context. and p.s. al sharpton has done many more good things for race relations than your asinine comments ever will.
"Build a bridge outta 'er!"
Gloria Allred is a media whore
She's a leech, she needs to dig a hole and crawl inside it and stay there..........
Ok, that's IT..
Stop using that stupid analogy of BURN THE WITCH.
I'm a traditional witch, so, you can perhaps understand WHY this is abhorrent to me and others.
Watch it, kid.
My bindings are powerful.
People who think they're witches seem to issue threats on the internet an awful lot. I'm not complaining, I just wish they'd make good on it.
Maybe their magicks are useless against me since I look like like a toad already.
Also..as a Modern(Male ) Witch, taking some offense to a tired cliche....Otherwise..You are spot on about this media whore...keep on keepin on...love your work
Loud, sustained applause!
Do I spot a dangerous mini-trend here? Is right to counsel the new liberal boogey man? What is wrong with Gloria-bashing is that it ignores the fact that one day there will be statues of Gloria in every law school in America. She has done more to protect women in the work place than anyone else and her publicity seeking has often been a matter of seeking publicity for the issue whether the issue is civil rights, women's rights or our society's abuse of the victims of rape. Thank God for Gloria Allred. If she likes publicity and manages to look good as a mature woman the cats will be out to get her, but stop and think for a minute. If you are a woman, Gloria has fought hard for you. If you like civil liberties, Gloria has been your champion. Let's cut her some slack. I compare her to Clarence Darrow, not Nancy Grace.
And Al Sharpton has done some good things too.
I agree that Gloria Allred has done a number of good things in her career, but she does seem to try many of her high profile cases in the media vs. the courtroom, which is patently unjust.
"Gibson says Lowe sexually harassed her while she was caring for his kids. Honestly, who gives a crap either way?"
************************************************************************
While I agree 100% with your characterization of the carrion scavenging Allred, the quote above is reprehensible.
At this time there are only allegations, and too frequently, claims made by former employees of people like Lowe are merely lies perpetrated to extort money.
But what if they are true? What if Gibson was made to believe that her then current, and future employment hinged on her capitulation to Lowe's demands? No one knows for certain yet.
It is up to the courts to determine whether this woman is telling the truth or that it's a scam(the more likely scenario), but you seem to have been able to determine the facts without the trial having begun because of your disdain for Allred, and that just isn't right.
Quick: Name the best civil trial lawyers in America.
Unless you're in the legal profession, you probably don't have a clue. That's not a coincidence. Great trial lawyers get results for their clients because they're busy working their tails off preparing their cases, instead of tackling every TV camera operator they find in the hopes of getting Face Time.
All of which leads me to throw out a couple of questions that always occur to me whenever I turn on my TV and see Ms. Allred doing her Righteous Indignation Act:
When was the last time she tried a case to a jury?
When was the last time she obtained a verdict that resulted in a substantial award of damages for her client?
Just wondering.
John Edwards?
I have the utmost respect for most lawyers. Hell, some of my best friends are lawyers.
Sharpton is an unabashed race hustler...with a phony clerical title that somehow imparts respectability. He doesn't pay income taxes, has acted as an informant for the FBI...in short he he's just a brother stickin' it to the Man. Allred is a far more cynical figure. Taking up any high profile case to guarantee herown media exposure. New York is filled with aggressive, egocentric lawyers like her.
Isn't she also representing the victim of the attack by eight girls in Florida - the video of which MSNBC practically played on a loop? She's like that attorney Larry Birkhead fired. They're moths to the flame of fame, I agree. Although, Chez's criticism wreaks of hyperbole for the sake of sensationalism, which probably comes naturally to the former new producer.
Sheesh. You are SO SADLY TYPICAL. But then again here on Huffpost, the status quo and the closed minded, stereotype mentality does work.
Sharpton CHALLENGED the status quo. He made white males uncomfortable. Boo frickin' hoo. For every "mistake" in representation Al made there were hundreds of cases where he was on the mark. Still men like you are still hysterical because in some cases a few rich white boys were "innocent."
Well, there are thousands of innocent black men imprisoned because of the injustice in this country and without the Al Sharpton's of the world, no change would ever be made. And even with Al's work, the change is slow and tedious.
Gloria is a pushy, assertive woman. So of course, she is a witch.
Give me a break. Grow out of you insecure male adolescence and deal with the real world.
"insecure male adolescence" - Jesse Spano, Saved by the Bell
The title words "Burn the Witch" are totally inappropriate. No matter how much one dislikes Gloria Allred -- and there are good reasons for disliking her -- calling for a person to be killed should be out of bounds, and calling a woman a witch is very inappropriate, like calling a blalck person "boy" is. This from a white male, by the way.
But here on Huffpost, sexism is not only tolerated it is celebrated.
Gloria is the original gender hustler.
Woman good.
Man bad.
I think that victims should have fierce advocates like Alred and Grace to counteract those slimy defense attorneeys who get a lot of media attention. But, sometimes they've gone overboard so it's hard to tell what's credible anymore. I guess that's what the courts are for. I mean, isn't that where the trials take place and not in the media?
Who cares about the harassment charges against Lowe? Presumably the nanny does and as well, all women should. Yes, Gloria Allred is publicity hound but this trait allows her to have a light shown on conduct that is usually hidden with sufficient power and influence. As obnoxious as I find Gloria Allred, I wish there were more attorneys like her. For every Lowe's nanny that can obtain legal representation, there are many who experience sexual harassment and worse in the work place with no effective legal redress because they cannot afford counsel.
Well, let us be fair. I have seen at the work place just the opposite. Women ganged up the
male boss because they did not like him and then accused of him of sexual harassment.
Good men lost their jobs because of it. I am a woman and I saw this happening and I told myself
I would not want to be a man in today's world. That said, I remember the scandals of Rob Lowe
in the past, some kind of sex freak, so I would not be shocked to hear that he exposed himself.
May or may not be the truth. But it will be hard for him to prove otherwise.
Okay ladies...errr..I mean WOMEN..I am one of you..53..in a male industry...and I say..get over it...of course,..if a boss shows you his dong..and says kiss it or I'll fire you...that IS worthy of jail time... but if I had a dollar for every naughty joke or lewd commend I've heard...well..I'd be sitting on a beach in the Caribbean....
I saw a young woman slug a man (hard but in jest)..on his arm..can you IMAGINE if he hit her back.."in jest"...I looked at her and said..you cannot have it both ways...
re Gloria...she had potential..but only took on the "celebrity cases"...my sister..at age 55 was terminated after building an office from scratch...I called Gloria's office...but...my sister is a nobody..ergo..sorry...we pass...(and it's actually a no-brainer to win this one!)..
Like Hillary..gloris is an embarrassment to me..as a woman...
Can't resist a Hill-bash while you're throwing water on the witch, huh?
I think Alred is a big mouth and the Today Show interview was so obviously rehearsed, which I think is what lawyers do with all their clients in court.
Having said this, Chez (is that as in shay or chez like cheese?) displays a really immature, undisciplined reaction that says more about him than it does about Alred. We already know she is an opportunist and that she's lost several cases or had to settle for less. But Chez's rant reveals not a man who rarely feels this way but a man who has a very deep rage about something; Alred (and the "few others" )are merely a catalyst for this rage.
It's pathetic, really.
4/16/08
9:37am
Alexandria, VA
I, too, went to Gloria Allred's office thinking that she was the champion of women's legal rights. Don't know why she turned down the case but I was down and out in Los Angeles and the case would've been easy for her.
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Posted April 15, 2008 | 09:29 PM (EST)