When I stop loving her it will open the floodgates of resentment.
– Owen Morris
Every so often I’ll get an anonymous email out of the blue with a PDF or other such attachment, and some brief explanation of what it is I’m looking at; the sender is always careful to cover his identity, and in each case the account from which the correspondence originated is a temporary one which is deleted as soon as the source is sure that I’ve got what he sent and understand what it is. It’s happened three times so far; the first two were in the summer of last year, and I shared the revelations they contained in the columns “Tangled Web” and “Show and Tell”. But this time was different: though the first two exposed hidden information on people I do not like, this time it involved someone I like very much. At first, I had no idea what I was looking at; the sender was even more reticent than in the previous cases, and promised only that I would find the attachment “interesting”. But as I scanned down the first page, the name “Brooke” leaped out at me and I realized I was reading an excerpt from the diary of Mr. George Owen Morris, ex-boyfriend of my friend Brooke Magnanti, who is currently suing her for libel and defamation of character. A quick search for passages she has previously shared on her own blog (he gave her a copy of the diary in 2005) confirmed that this was indeed the same document.
Obviously, I was not about to publish the thing or even read any further (just what I had already seen on the first page felt uncomfortably like spying on her) without asking her how she felt about it; she replied “I’m a bit at a loss to explain how it came out, but I think if I trust anyone to comment on it, it’s you…When he gave it to me in 2005 it was specifically because he wanted me to read it, so it can hardly be considered ‘confidential’ now can it.” I suspect my informant is someone inside some solicitor’s office, or perhaps at the Daily Mail (which has given Mr. Morris a platform for his bizarre allegations), but it hardly matters; what is important is the rather unflattering picture it paints of its author. Now, there are a few important points to consider before we go any further. First, I cannot be sure how much of the original text this represents; it is forty-six pages long and covers the period from late August to mid-December, 2004, but starts and ends so abruptly it seems likely to be a fragment of a longer work. Second, the document was provided to me as a PDF composed of a series of what are obviously optical scans of typewritten or printed pages upon which the font changes a number of times; though Morris does make reference at one point to typing the diary, I do not actually know that all of the original was typed. Furthermore, since I suspect most people are pretty careless about spelling and grammar in personal writing, I will correct any mistakes in the excerpts I include. Third, though this was ostensibly a private diary, Morris apparently entertained plans to publish it or otherwise make the material known even while writing it, so everything must be viewed with that in mind.
I’ve uploaded the entire excerpt, so you can read it if you like; however, there are only a few points that I think are of major importance with regard to the ridiculous claims Morris makes in his lawsuit. The first and most astonishing of these is the allegation that Brooke was never actually an escort, that she merely made it all up for her blog and books, and that he would “never knowingly sleep with a prostitute”. But the diary makes it abundantly clear that not only was he knowingly sleeping with one (“she said that I would always think of her as a whore, I tried to tell her I didn’t but deep down was again upset by her escorting”), but that the thought was making him crazy enough to spy on her and actually go through her trash looking for used condoms:
Took her to work and came back to do the horrible check, still really surprised to feel so nervous and sick. The two…condoms from the handbag were back in the box, I was so happy! But I checked again and found that three of the ones that were in the box were gone. Went to the rubbish and found one unopened one!?? What does this mean. Missing condoms surely mean she is having johns but not if they are turning up opened. On her table I found a bank slip dated the 28th. It showed that a Jason had met her [and] paid her 400 pounds…
When he first made the incredible statements to the Mail at the beginning of August I was at a loss to understand what he might be thinking, but having read the diary I now realize that this might be the end result of a decade of rationalizations which were clearly well underway by the summer of 2004. It is certainly possible that Morris eventually convinced himself of its truth just as “survivors” convince themselves of the verity of their outlandish tales, but it is equally possible that it is merely a poorly-considered plan for the revenge he admits to contemplating against her and another of her boyfriends:
I had got myself quite worked up over Brooke…and was thinking about when and how I would drop them both in it. Not if, but when. And I realized that the press turning up to see Nick could be quite a subtle revenge. If he doesn’t realize she has written about him it could be quite a shock…
Another thing the diary makes clear is that the other major allegation of Morris’ suit – that his known association with an infamous harlot ruined his career and has somehow kept him from gainful employment since – is merely the latest and most extreme manifestation of a pattern of blaming Brooke for his troubles which permeates the diary. Now, I am not by any means suggesting that Brooke was not partially to blame for the collapse of their relationship, but as the saying goes it takes two to tango; Morris repeatedly depicts himself as a blameless martyr under the spell of the “schizophrenic” and “autistic” Brooke, and as a virile, wise paladin sought by many women who could surely solve all of her problems if she would only give herself completely to him. He also states, “she complains that I have no job when she herself lost me my previous two”, but does not explain how this was supposed to have occurred other than a later allusion to arguments on the phone that he appears to have conducted without leaving the office.
I’m not sure what light his pronounced tendency for projection might shed upon the current proceedings; he repeatedly accuses her of jealousy, spying and refusing to accept responsibility for her own problems…while at the same time admitting to jealousy and spying and blaming her for all of his problems. And then there are the hints at a violent temper: “it was a dangerous game to play me off against Nick, people would get hurt” and “The fact that she began to double-lock the door for the first time…indicates…she really doesn’t know me; does she really think I couldn’t smash my way in?!”
But the most striking character flaw which the diary revealed to me was Morris’ disturbing tendency to keep a mental balance sheet in which he apparently kept track of not only how many favors each performed for the other, but how much money each spent. Now, I understand that many younger people have been raised with the rather odd idea that women should pay equally or at least semi-equally in relationships, but this goes far beyond that; from the first page to the last disturbingly exact sums of money are mentioned over and over and over again, interspersed with much-too-descriptive accounts of the great sex he was getting from her for free even though (as we have established) he knew she was an escort. And I can’t help but link this in my mind to the absurd sum for which he has asked in his suit…an amount which, incidentally, is larger than any ever awarded in a Scottish defamation case, ever. I’m not sure what other claims Morris may decide to make as the case progresses over the coming months, but I’m glad my mystery correspondent has enabled me to ensure that a refutation of it from Morris’ own pen is readily available on a server residing outside the reach of Britain’s daffy libel laws.
Hell have no fury like a Man scorned????
Naturally I’m sure Dr Magnanti must have left a trail of destroyed male lives, assuming of course she had more than one boyfriend in her life (or perhaps we are to believe he was the only one).
Or perhaps this particular individual is dysfunctional and is simply blaming Dr Magnanti for the problems that are of his creation.
It is after all far easier to blame someone else for your own mistakes than confront the reality that you yourself are the problem.
None of her other boyfriends seem to have been so affected, and her husband’s career is perfectly intact despite her having been outed in 2009. Mr. Morris apparently wants us to believe he’s uniquely vulnerable.
I suspect that was sarcasm.
Yep, just not very good sarcasm 🙂
Oh, I knew it was sarcasm! I was just making it clear for other readers who might not be as familiar with the goings-on. Sorry about that. 🙂
Not much for commenting on public pissing contests … there’s some good wanking material in the pdf though.
I should pop in to comment, Maggie contacted me as soon as she realised what this material was, to ask if I was okay with it being in the public domain. I am. Apparently anyone can make a CPR 5.4C application to the Royal Courts of Justice to obtain information about cases, which I didn’t know, and where in retrospect it probably came from.
Best wishes on resolving this and thank you for the Sex Myth.
That’s very kind of you – thank you.
I’m sorry you are having to go through this, Dr Magnanti. You know it’s out there and it must be very awkward. You are handling it with your usual style.
Is it common for males to keep minutely detailed diaries like this? (I have only read the first two pages.)
Sort of like a deranged Samuel Pepys.
I do not know any man that keeps a personal diary, and I myself have never been tempted at all. It seemed to be all the rage with a lot of girls way back at at school though. The only form I have seen used by a man is that of a research diary, which is something different: It holds ideas and insights and results of experiments.
As to this person, I can only suspect some advanced-stage mental illness, as he seems to have lost any contact to reality. Well, I hope this is resolved in a timely and decisive manner and most decidedly not in his favor.
BTW, I somehow stumbled over “Belle’s” diary way back before it became well known and they gave me quite a bit of entertainment and some insights. Thanks!
Never kept a diary, never known any male to keep a diary, but then I very much doubt most men would admit to this either, I live in the UK and am I suspect about the same age as Dr Magnanti so quite possibly same age bracket and culture as the gentleman.
But then none of my ex’s have had to double lock their doors in front of me, in fact most of them are still friends on Facebook.
I did for a few months, about 15 years ago; it was about the kids growing up, and supposed to be an aide memoir for the year end round robin. When it reached 150,000 words I realised I’d written enough, and stopped.
I don’t think men have kept diaries like this since the early 20th century. That said, with the invention of Facebook and blogging, I consider those diaries as well.
The extremely petty tab keeping is the sign of someone who was never invested in the relationship. He needs help. A lot of it.
Yes, blogs, FaceBook – those are diaries too and men do keep those although … like in my case they are merely “scratch pads” where I write down thoughts or cool things that happened – I think I wrote one “emotional” thing in my scratch pad blog right after I met a girl – which I regret now but it stays – oh well. A very detailed blog like this? No, I don’t know of any men who write this detailed about the “emotional” stuff he’s writing.
He does explain why he keeps the diary … somewhere in there … I read it. Basically he needs to talk through his feelings and he can’t do it with her … a real Beta Male this guy sounds like – which is why I’m wondering why she spent so much time with him. She’s a beautiful woman who could have her pick of any decent man – I’m just wondering what she saw in this one.
Like I said – I don’t like to comment on pissing contests – and this is because … I DO NOT know Ms. Magnanti and therefore can’t say whether or not all the “shoes” have dropped here.
As far as his diary being “proof” of anything – well it would be I suppose if anyone was willing to stipulate that ALL of it is true, which I highly doubt they are. I highly doubt that all of it is true, or … “un-exaggerated” so picking out what’s true and what’s false is going to be difficult and time consuming.
I mean … the salacious parts (which are incredibly HOT imo and make ME want to meet this woman!) … they aren’t going to damage Ms. Magnanti. As far as I know the only real damage would come if it were proven she had never been a sex worker – which is something I think she’s already done independent of this diary.
The last sentence might be confusing … I meant to say that I think BM has “proven” her credentials as a sex worker. Barring any fantastic evidence to the contrary that is still waiting to be revealed.
Just for once, Mr krulac, I entirely agree with your thoughts. (Just don’t think it will last.)
Don’t call me “Mister” – My momma was married to my daddy! 😀
Playing word-association here: men, diaries, Bridget Jones’ Diary, the film thereof, the funniest and most un-choreographed fight scene ever.
I regret to say that my own late mother was like that. People always thought she was nice and generous until they realized she was keeping a mental balance statement of goodness deposits and withdrawals. She’d never hesitate to play that card either, when the time came for her to cash in. 🙁
My maman’s mother is like that, which is why I don’t get along with her. I was one of the few people to tell grandma where she could stick that mentality. But maman still lets herself be controlled by her. Drives me up the wall.
Typewritten? Look at an ‘i’ and a ‘C’ or ‘B’; the ‘i’ is much narrower than the other letters, this is characteristic of proportional spacing. Typewriters are almost always mono-spaced, that is an ‘i’ is the same width as a ‘B’. Further, there is at least one octothorpe (#) in the text; this is unusual on a typewriter. So, it’s a word-processed document. It uses what appear to be Times New Roman, Arial and Courier, in a variety of sizes; in a couple of places the regular font text also has an oblique or italic version on the same line. Not only word-processed, but probably on a PC rather than a Mac, because of the octothorpe.
Typos? Well, there are a few, where letters are omitted or transposed; but there are a lot of very idiosyncratic spellings; in other places, the text is almost error-free.
Content? Res ipse loquitor.
Let me add my name to those who wish Dr Magnanti well, with a rapid and satisfactory resolution of this nonsense.
I was using typewritten as opposed to hand-written, not as opposed to word-processed; I rather assume anything typed in the past 15 years was typed on a computer rather than an actual typewriter.
I really did mean to add a comment to this effect…and realised immediately after I’d pressed the send button that I’d forgotten. #failagain 🙁
Octothorpe… now there’s a word I haven’t encountered before, even if I have encountered a lot of octothorpes. Like this blushing face:
#^_^#
Crazy people be crazy. Male, female; partnered, single; old, young. Whatever. Some people, simply, are nuts. Happily, the courts deal with them all the time and can probably recognise the type. Hmm. Might downgrade “probably” to “hopefully”.
Liars find it hard to trust.
I was wondering if you could elaborate on a line in the post. It’s tangential to the topic, but it’s niggling at me.
“Now, I understand that many younger people have been raised with the rather odd idea that women should pay equally or at least semi-equally in relationships”
Far as I can tell, the practice in question is one that follows down the line of “feminism killed chivalry,” though that is probably a gross oversimplification of the situation. All the same, I’ve known several girls who insisted on paying a part, though I can’t speak for their motivations.
(and yes, I am a younger person)
I’m not really concerned with the whys and wherefores of it (not in this particular post, anyway); I’m merely acknowledging that this idea of the woman “paying her way” might not seem nearly as weird to Mr. Morris and Dr. Magnanti as it seems to me, who never heard it proposed as a serious practice until I was years past the whole dating scene.
It only happened to me once, but that wasn’t a date, rather a recent ‘tweet-up’. I invited, she said she would pay. But I did give her a bottle of ‘creative writing medicine’ (poteen).
[…] Mr Morris says he would “never knowingly” sleep with a prostitute. I will be presenting a diary Mr Morris wrote in 2003-04 that he gave to me in 2005; in it he records several references to his knowledge of my sex work. The diary details his thoughts, as early as 2003, about how he was going to reveal me to the press “not if but when”. Maggie McNeill later obtained, and published, the entire diary on her site. […]
BEAUTIFUL!
I’ve more to respond/reply to & write/right! Lol!
I’ve got to run some errands … But the ‘Legalities’ of ALL ‘This’ – Whooo!
I’m not sure if my LE/O Side is ‘Raging’ & Wanting to REACT ‘More’, right now …
Or if my Paralegal Mind is IN ‘Overdrive’ & Creating & Composing, EVERY SINGLE, Possible/Potential LEGAL Document – With its Corresponding ACTION!
THAT I could have Assembled & Further ‘SERVED’ With a Supporting AFFADAVIT, Directly ‘To’ & ‘On’ that Mother-Fucker!
Oooh!
My Blood Pressure is thru the Fricken’ Roof!
CptKD ⚖