Marie Claire Marie Claire
  • Celebrity
  • Fashion
  • Beauty
  • Culture
  • Power
  • Nice Talk
  • Style At Large
  • More
    • Politics
    • Career & Money
    • Health & Fitness
    • Power Play
    • Travel
    • Promo Codes
    • Food & Cocktails
    • About Us
    • Subscribe
    • Sex & Love
  • Newsletter SIGN UP TO OUR NEWSLETTER
  • Marie Claire
    Marie Claire Newsletter

    Celebrity news, beauty, fashion advice, and fascinating features, delivered straight to your inbox!


    By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

    You are now subscribed

    Your newsletter sign-up was successful


    Want to add more newsletters?

    Marie Claire Daily

    Delivered daily

    Marie Claire Daily

    Get exclusive access to fashion and beauty trends, hot-off-the-press celebrity news, and more.

    Marie Claire Self Checkout

    Sent weekly on Saturday

    Marie Claire Self Checkout

    Exclusive access to expert shopping and styling advice from Nikki Ogunnaike, Marie Claire's editor-in-chief.

    Maire Claire Face Forward

    Once a week

    Maire Claire Face Forward

    Insider tips and recommendations for skin, hair, makeup, nails and more from Hannah Baxter, Marie Claire's beauty director.

    Livingetc

    Once a week

    Livingetc

    Your shortcut to the now and the next in contemporary home decoration, from designing a fashion-forward kitchen to decoding color schemes, and the latest interiors trends.

    Homes & Gardens

    Delivered Daily

    Homes & Gardens

    The ultimate interior design resource from the world's leading experts - discover inspiring decorating ideas, color scheming know-how, garden inspiration and shopping expertise.


    An account already exists for this email address, please log in.
    Trending
    • The Stan Smith Revival
    • New Books
    • Postpartum Texts
    • Life In Plastic
    • Blurred Blush
    1. Politics

    Politician Says Woman Is "Too Ugly" to Be a Rape Victim

    Is this real life?

    By Lauren Valenti
    Published 5 January 2015 In News

    When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

    Serena Bowles Rape Case: Rape is Rape sign
    (Image credit: Getty Images)
    • Facebook
    • X
    • Pinterest
    Share this article
    Join the conversation
    Follow us
    Add us as a preferred source on Google
    Subscribe to our newsletter

    Consider yourself warned: The following is so reprehensible that your morning coffee will inevitably end up splattered all over your computer screen.

    Philip Drury, a shadow cabinet leader of East Hampshire District Council in the UK, had the gall recently to suggest that a woman was too unattractive to be raped. *Bangs head against wall*

    Drury made the comment about 21-year-old student Serena Bowles, who claims she was raped during a college trip to Florence and has since been accused by Italian police of making the whole thing up. "Not sure anyone would want to even think about it looking at her lol," he wrote under an image of Bowles in a thread discussing the case on Facebook. 

    Latest Videos FromMarie Claire
    Watch full video here:

    Naturally, his nausea-inducing remark was met with outrage—one user depicted him as a "pitiful excuse for a human being." Yeah, sounds about right.

    After the comment was made, Drury was even quoted by Solent News Agency justifying his actions without so much as an apology: "I was excessively tired and was working nights," he said. "I had just come back from an excessive Chinese business trip—I was tired. I will remain on the council."

    You may like
    • lisitng Anti-Trans Legislation Isn't About "Protecting Girls"—It's About Distracting Us From What Matters
    • Prince Philip grimacing in a suit Prince Philip Found This Part of Royal Life "Hurtful and Infuriating"
    • A portrait of Jessica Tarlov seated outdoors in a teal pantsuit. Fox News’s Favorite Nasty Woman

    Fortunately, despite a council investigation deciding that no action should be taken against Drury because he was acting in a private capacity, he's announced that he's standing down.

    But don't think for a second it's because he's actually owning up to his misogynist idiocy. He's bowing out "due to work pressure," because he's the real victim in all this, right? 

    Marie Claire Newsletter

    Celebrity news, beauty, fashion advice, and fascinating features, delivered straight to your inbox!

    By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

    Sadly, we'll have to file this as yet another instance of a woman's rape claim being disparaged by an old guy in the public eye. Not to mention a reminder that in 2015, we still have a long way to go.

    You should also check out:

    Sexual Assault Survivors Speak Out Against Campus Rape

    Is This The Most Condescending Political Ad Ever?

    Lauren Valenti
    Social Links Navigation
    Beauty Editor

    Lauren Valenti is Vogue’s former senior beauty editor. Her work has also appeared on ELLE.com, MarieClaire.com, and in In Style. She graduated with a liberal arts degree from Eugene Lang College, The New School for Liberal Arts, with a concentration on Culture and Media Studies and a minor in Journalism.

    Read more
    A portrait of Jessica Tarlov seated outdoors in a teal pantsuit.
    Politics Fox News’s Favorite Nasty Woman
    By Noor Ibrahim
    Prince Philip walking past smiling people in a three-piece suit
    Royals Prince Philip Was So Angry About One Rumor the Palace Issued a Rare Denial
    By Kristin Contino
     
     
    Princess Kate Middleton wears a green dress and has long wavy brown hair and Duchess Meghan Markle wears a white shirt and wears her hair in a ponytail
    Royals Negative Royal Stories Reduce All Women to "Witches"
    By Amy Mackelden
    Queen Mette-Marit wearing a red hat
    Royals Meet Norway's Controversial New Queen Mette-Marit
    By Kristin Contino
     
     
    Latest in Politics
    collage of gloria Steinem
    Politics Gloria Steinem "Passes Away Peacefully" at 92
    Black-and-white three-panel collage of mothers holding and cuddling their babies.
    Politics We Asked Women to Share Private Texts, Searches, and Notes From Their Darkest Postpartum Days
     
     
    A portrait of Jessica Tarlov seated outdoors in a teal pantsuit.
    Politics Fox News’s Favorite Nasty Woman
    lisitng
    Politics Anti-Trans Legislation Isn't About "Protecting Girls"—It's About Distracting Us From What Matters
     
     
    Latest in News
    Prince William at King Harald's funeral
    Royals Prince William Pivots From Eton Dropoff to King Harald's Funeral
    Zoey Deutch is the campaign star for the fashion collaboration between Banana Republic and La Ligne
    Fall fashion Attention New Yorkers: Banana Republic x La Ligne "Only Gets Better With Age"
     
     
    Princess Kate holding an umbrella walking next to Prince George
    Royals Princess Kate's Eton College Jewelry Echoes Princess Diana
    Nikki Ogunnaike's outfit formulas she'll rely on this Fashion Month
    Fall fashion 4 Editor-In-Chief Approved Outfit Formulas to Carry You Through Fashion Month
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Marie Claire
    RSS
    • About us
    • Contact Future's experts
    • Contact us
    • Advertise Online
    • Newsletter
    • Terms and conditions
    • Privacy policy
    • Cookies policy
    • Careers
    Add as a preferred source on Google Add as a preferred source on Google

    Marie Claire is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

    © Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.