COLOURFUL FABRIC LOSES MAGICAL OUTRAGE POWERS
In 2014, British astrophysicist Matt Taylor was part of a scientific team that landed a module on a comet some 480 million kilometres from earth. This astonishing achievement was overshadowed, however, by the shirt Taylor wore during a televised media update.
In 2014, British astrophysicist Matt Taylor was part of a scientific team that landed a module on a comet some 480 million kilometres from earth. This astonishing achievement was overshadowed, however, by the shirt Taylor wore during a televised media update.
Following a global outcry over the shirt, which was designed by one of the astrophysicist’s friends, Taylor was forced to make a tearful apology:
The scientist who caused a furore by wearing a sexist shirt as he gave a progress report on the Rosetta mission on Wednesday has made an emotional apology for his “big mistake”.
Matt Taylor was more plainly dressed on Friday as he broke down in tears at a briefing, apparently struggling to speak before confessing: “I made a big mistake and I offended many people, and I am very sorry about this.”
Taylor’s gaudy clothing, including images of semi-naked women, sparked a row over his wardrobe and infuriated fellow scientists.
Yesterday I conducted a little experiment. All day I wore a shirt identical to Taylor’s, purchased some time ago from his friend's site.
I wore it at a crowded marina, aboard a boat with friends, at a bottle shop, during a visit to the supermarket and while giving street directions to confused youngsters. I wore it chatting with neighbours inside their impressive new RV. I wore it everywhere.
And nobody said a single thing about the shirt – except my boat mates, who were quite taken with it.