by Isis Smyth, Liverpool South Socialist Party
BBC Panorama recently detailed allegations of sexual exploitation made against former West Ham United football club chairperson David Sullivan. Sullivan’s previous nickname was ‘King Porn’, after the industry that made him one of the richest men in the UK by the end of the 1990s. He also owned the Sunday Sport newspaper — a paper consisting of ‘bizarre, salacious articles, and topless photos’. These ‘lads mags’ often included images of partially clothed schoolgirls, ‘going topless’ as soon as they turned 16.
While his past seems to have been forgotten until recently, his behaviour has left scars on multiple people’s lives. In the Panorama documentary, at least eight women accused Sulivan of sexual exploitation, with multiple women being offered modelling jobs in his paper on the condition that they must sleep with him first. Saying ‘no’ meant getting worse jobs, they alleged. Although he has recently stepped down as co-chair of West Ham, Sullivan claims these accusations are untrue, and are ‘fundamentally unfair’. He has some nerve!
What’s really unfair is the impact this sleazy, exploitative behaviour of millionaires has on workers, particularly women. One woman alleged that, after meeting Sullivan for a job interview, she was raped by him, after she said no multiple times. She said in the BBC Panorama documentary that she was left feeling suicidal for years but never reported it. She says the consensus within her industry was that nothing would be done: “Even if it wasn’t at work, who would give a shit?”
These accusations come to light at a time when people are still reeling from the shocking revelations regarding Jeffrey Epstein, and his links to Prince Andrew and Peter Mandelson – people who have held immense power in society, and got rich off the backs of workers. This is another tale in the same story – millionaires and billionaires preying on vulnerable young women, and establishment institutions that cover for them – despite multiple women going to the police about him over the years. Talk about two-tier policing!
The capitalist system expects women to perform all kinds of sexual services for rich men, as if it’s all we’re made for. Nick Cracknell defends Sullivan, his former business partner, saying that women were attracted to Sullivan as he is a multi-billionaire, so it’s up to him what he does, and different rules apply. He said he found it funny that throughout the whole of the #MeToo movement, they had never received any complaints. With these attitudes existing so strongly in society, it’s no surprise victims often have a hard time coming forward, or only feel confident enough to do so years later. This is still an issue, despite improvements being observed during and after the #MeToo movement.
For many, the terrifying thought of ‘who else?’ will be ringing in their minds. How many other children and young people are being exploited that we don’t know about? How many other millionaires and billionaires are behaving as if their wealth buys them exemption from the law? How much longer are we going to have to share a society with wealthy men who think they can do whatever they want, and face no consequences?
On top of all of this, it has recently been revealed that Sullivan had restricted access to West Ham’s women’s and youth teams since 2023, due to a safeguarding investigation following yet another sexual misconduct allegation. This may come as a shock to many West Ham fans, but he won’t be missed. The former owner of the club was already deeply unpopular due to the team’s recent historic stadium change and relegation, and this news will only deepen that sentiment.
We need to build a socialist society, ran under democratic workers’ control, where these ills will be a thing of the past. Under socialism, sexist ideas about women could be fought against and cease to exist in a society in which men and women would exist on an equal playing field. Join the Socialist Party to make that fight a reality!