Hello everyone, first time posting here! Tell me if I'm not doing it right...and apologies for length. I have lots of observations about this chick!
I'm so glad to see these threads about JM as I thought I was the only one who saw through her BS. I used to think she was ok although her culinary ability was always clearly completely exaggerated - an early recipe of hers in the Guard was, IIRC, 'cheesy peas pasta' which was pasta, mushy peas and cheese all heated up together. That was it. That was the recipe. The only way that could be seen as a serious recipe would be if it was on a blog for hardcore stoners who can barely find their kitchen let alone cook in it. But still - I just thought it was the usual Guardian fetishization of the 'deserving poor' especially since she was pretty and LGBT - usual stuff from the Graun.
But as the years went on I could see more and more how fake she is. The first red flags were the constant new health / identity dramas - trans / anorexia / alcoholism / autism etc etc. It was always something. And when I began following her on Twitter I realised that her 'working class single mum' shtick was as fake as they come. Her tone, phraseology and vocabulary are all very middle class and very privately educated posh girl middle class at that. Other working class people on this thread will know exactly what I mean. I grew up WC but got into the MC through going to uni and getting into a MC profession so I've been well placed to see the fundamental differences in the way people communicate. That humorously self-deprecating tone, the arch irony, the quirks like ironically using capitals for A Very Important Thing, subtle word choices (e.g. "your support means the ABSOLUTE WORLD") - WC people just do not talk like this. They are more direct and very, very rarely use self deprecating exaggeration at all. She's faking her background. Of course, Jack's fans wouldn't recognise this as they are all MC themselves.
As for the period of poverty. I believe it's totally exaggerated: not necessarily the depth of it but certainly the time period. Reading between the lines of various interviews I reckon what happened was that she lost her job at the fire station and then had to wait the customary 6 weeks for her benefits to come through. And yeah, if you don't have savings, that 6 weeks is hell. If you have maybe £150 of savings or can get a loan or overdraft then you can eke it out on food but without housing benefit you are truly stuffed when it comes to rent. And yeah it is depressing and terrifying, I fully get that. The thing is it's not uncommon. The things she's talked about (unscrewing lightbulbs, going to bed with clothes on cos cold, not having second helpings) are things that I and many on this thread and MILLIONS of others in this country have experienced, many for much longer than 6 weeks. It's horrible, but usually you manage to get out of it. And it's far from uncommon. But she's made it her entire personality and uses it to fish for constant attention and to bully and dogpile others. I mean, how did she get her big break in the Guardian anyway? I know loads of single mums and none of them have got fawning Guardian articles because they cooked a basic meal. Believe me the girl has media connections. No way did the Guardian just 'find' her. And the thing is her followers believe her tale of woe because they're all MC and the idea of having to ration your heating to them sounds like the equivalent of living in Raqqa under ISIS because they have no idea that this is normal and sometimes what less well-off people just have to do.
As for the dirty hands. I'm ethnically similar to Jack - but a bit further east and both parents. I'm much darker skinned than she is. So I can tell you without a shadow of a doubt that that's not melanin, it's DIRT.
FFS, this girl is fake and she's poison. I have some observations about her shitty, damaging use of AA and alcoholism claims too and also the possible psychological effects of her upbringing which could explain her current behaviour but will stop now as don't want to thread hog on my first outing lol