Note: Most details here are alleged / not proven, with some exceptions that are on public record (such as Liz's bankruptcy, the dates of her marriage and divorce, or formal complaints against her.) Anything Liz has published speaks for itself.
Where possible, links are archived both in case of the site going down, and for those who would rather not direct traffic to the
Daily Mail's website.
About Liz
Liz Jones is a writer who started her career in fashion journalism, and was editor of the UK edition of
Marie Claire from 1999-2002
. She then worked at the
Evening Standard until 2006, when she moved to the
Daily Mail and
Mail on Sunday. In 2014, Liz appeared on
Celebrity Big Brother and subsequently left the
Mail; she
says that she was sacked for appearing on CBB. She continued to write for the MoS until the
Mail took her back in 2019.
She writes a weekly column that began in the
Guardian as "The Wedding Planner" in 2002, then continued in the
Evening Standard and MoS as "Liz Jones's Diary." As of 2024 it is still running although the
Mail has now put it behind a paywall. She has also published several books, and hosted a podcast. Liz moved from London to Exmoor after her divorce and now lives in the Yorkshire Dales.
Liz has built much of her career around "confessional" writing which is very harsh and insulting about the people in her life. This includes her family and a number of current and former partners. Her "USP" as a writer is being extremely negative, rude, arrogant, entitled, and critical, with an endless list of demands and an obsession with designer brands.
Handy recap of the saga so far.
References Liz has made to Tattle
Liz mentioned Tattle in a
column published on August 15th, 2021 in which she called us "haters" and "jellyfish". She defines the latter as "
People who insert thinly veiled, stinging comments into the conversation, as in Bridget Jones". Tattlers appreciate the shout-out but would like to point out that we are, in fact, quite forthright with our views. In the podcast that week, Liz briefly mentioned Tattle or, as she mistakenly called us, "Tattletale".
Liz's
column on 5th March, 2022 stated that she was upset when a Twitter follower linked her to her Tattle thread. (Note that Tattle does not allow users to send links to the person being discussed.) Liz also mentioned us in that week's
episode of her podcast, at 26:10. She suggests this is the first time she heard of Tattle - not true, as she had already written about us in August 2021.
In her column dated 11th June, 2023 Liz
referred to "trolls" who "run forums discussing (her.)" It's just one thread out of thousands on the forum, but as always we appreciate the mention.
Liz's writing
Liz writes exclusively for the
Mail and
Mail on Sunday. She previously wrote for other publications as well but no longer does. She publishes regular articles in the
Mail, typically about fashion, lifestyle, celebrities, or right-wing clickbait. Until she was sacked in 2014, she was the
Mail's fashion editor and had a column in the weekly paper called "Liz Jones Moans" (in addition to her weekly MOS column.) Liz does not like being seen as "just" a fashion writer, and often points out that she has published many articles about sensitive or topical issues. This is true, however her attempts to write on these subjects don't always go well - see "Controversial articles" below.
Her main contribution to the
Mail on Sunday is her column "Liz Jones's Diary"; which is about her personal life, romances, and caring for her many animals. The column frequently includes contradictions and recycled stories.
Liz has published the following books:
- Slave to the Rhythm (1997), published as Purple Reign in the USA - A biography of (the artist formerly known as) Prince.
- Liz Jones's Diary: How One Single Girl Got Married (2005) - A compilation of Liz's columns about her relationship with Nirpal.
- Fur Babies: Why We Love Cats (2007) - A book about cats.
- The Exmoor Files: How I Lost a Husband and Found Rural Bliss (2009) - A compilation of Liz's columns detailing her life in Exmoor after she and Nirpal got divorced.
- Girl Least Likely To: 30 years of fashion, fasting and Fleet Street (2013) - A memoir about her early life and career.
- Eight and a Half Stone (2020) - Liz's first novel, heavily based on her columns.
Eight and a Half Stone was criticised for a number of very offensive lines. These include the protagonist wishing for someone to "get mugged by a huge black man" (presented as a normal thing to say, not an obviously racist remark), joking about using her kids as sweatshop labour because they're half Indian, and lines about "looking like someone with Down's Syndrome" and disabled people being "cabbages."
Liz planned to release a second novel called
The Tortoise but has said that she couldn't find a publisher. The first chapter can be previewed
here. It's obvious to anyone who has read Liz's column over the years that the characters she's writing about are her ex David Scrace and his previous girlfriend - called "Garnier Fructis Woman" in the column. Material about them is lifted verbatim from Liz's column and she even repeats a real conversation she had with GFW (according to
GFW herself who wrote about it on Digital Spy.) She also insults fat people and uses the word "r*t*rded", again this is in the first chapter alone.
Liz's podcast
Liz's podcast is called "Liz Jones's Diary" (same as her column.) It ran for 187 episodes between February 1, 2020 and September 1, 2023. She co-hosted the podcast with her friend/employee Nic. In each episode Liz would read out her upcoming column from the week's
Mail on Sunday, and an "archive" column or article she wrote at some point in the past. She and Nic also discussed their lives, current events, celebrities etc.
The content of the podcast was often highly unpleasant, here are examples:
- Liz viciously criticising or insulting others, including her family, exes, and local people that listeners could identify.
- Liz promoting medical quackery and COVID conspiracy theories.
- Liz bragging about threatening or intimidating people in service industries.
- Liz making very misogynistic criticisms of other women, especially those who take maternity leave.
- Nasty and vicious "jokes" at Nic's expense including her weight, accent, and perceived "lower class" habits (such as buying clothes from chain shops rather than designer brands.)
- Nic sharing very serious disclosures about past abuse and sexual assault. While it is admirable of her to speak openly about this, a podcast marketed as comedy may not be the best platform for it. There are also no content warnings in the relevant episodes.
- Very graphic detail about animal abuse (Liz and Nic's pet cause), again with no content warnings.
On September 1, 2023 Liz announced the podcast would be taking a "break" while she and Nic went on holiday. This was suspicious because she was supposedly only taking a short weekend trip in the UK. Later, on October 20, Nic
told fans on Twitter/X that the podcast would not be returning - suggesting this was the
Mail's decision rather than Liz's. This may be related to a previous incident where, following Liz's disastrous reunion with her ex-husband Nirpal (see "Controversial articles" below) in July, there was no new episode of the podcast that week despite Liz promising to tell all about what happened with Nirpal. Suggesting that lawyers had to be involved and this may have contributed to the podcast being cancelled.
People regularly mentioned in Liz's columns
Nirpal Dhaliwal = Liz's ex-husband, also a writer. They divorced in 2007 but to this day are still writing about the problems in the marriage and blaming each other for its breakdown.
Nicola "Nic" Bebb = Liz's friend and self-proclaimed "wingman", who works as her personal assistant and cares for her animals. Co-hosted Liz's podcast with her. She manages a lot of Liz's business affairs because of the restrictions placed on Liz by HMRC and her previous bankruptcy. Nic is known to attack people on social media if they criticise Liz, and by her own admission has physically assaulted multiple people she saw as animal abusers.
Nic disappeared from social media in November 2023. We question if her health got too poor to continue in her job (Nic has serious health problems), and/or if she has had a falling out with Liz. In a February 2024 column, Liz hinted they had argued because she wanted to cut Nic's wages due to "reduced workload" - presumably referring to Nic not being able to work when she's ill, and/or two of Liz's pets having recently died. Either way we can see why Nic wasn't happy.
Jones Family = Liz is from a large family who have been the subject of numerous columns and articles over the years. Liz's memoir
Girl Least Likely To goes into extensive detail about them. See "Controversial articles and claims" for writings about her mother.
Rock Star / "Ex-ex" = Supposedly a famous rock star who was at the height of his fame in the 1980s and whom Liz dated for over a year around 2011-12. She repeatedly hints that he is Jim Kerr, but none of the details add up and she makes poor excuses as to why she's never been seen or photographed with him. Hence why her critics refer to him as FRS (Fake / Fictional Rock Star.) In 2022 Liz claimed they were dating again but then that they broke up towards the end of the year.
David Scrace = Liz's on-off boyfriend/fiancé, whom she says she was first attracted to in her early 20s but they did not get together until her 50s. When they are "on", Liz frequently publishes insulting criticisms of David. When they are "off", she continues using him for column material and hinting that they might get back together. As of 2024 she claims they are back together and engaged, however, we suspect this to be made up for column inches. She's oh so subtly "hinted" at reasons why she may back out of the marriage and has made it clear that she doesn't want the day to day responsibility for an infirm old man.
Sue Needleman,
Dawn, Isobel, Helen, Andrea = Friends of Liz. Sue Needleman is always referred to by her full name - probably name-dropping, as she is well known as a casting director and socialite. Isobel is alleged to have cheated Liz in her house purchase by making a deal with the vendor to inflate the price and give Isobel a cut of the money.
Nigel = A man whom Liz has repeatedly expressed romantic interest in, including when he was married. He works as a war photographer and lives in Australia. Liz often talks about wanting to visit him even though by her own admission she thinks he has remarried now.
Kevin Le Gendre ("Osama Bin Laden Lookalike") = Music journalist and Liz's ex-boyfriend. She sensitively refers to him as "Osama Bin Laden Lookalike" and says he broke her heart and if not for him dumping her, she would not have married Nirpal.
Kerry = Liz's former PA and best friend prior to Nic. Apparently abruptly stopped talking to Liz shortly after her marriage to Nirpal.
Recurring themes of Liz's work
Liz Bingo (credit to Tarotbaby for original concept / most of the entries)
- Her insolvency, lamenting her financial situation while insisting she has "paid more tax than anyone I know"
- Body weight and her eating disorder (Liz suffered from anorexia for many years)
- Animal welfare (despite questionable treatment of her own animals)
- Name-dropping brands
- Feeling that she is constantly rejected or treated poorly by others because she is a woman, in her 60s, straight, white, not "woke" enough, single, childless, a dog-owner, a vegan, or some other reason
- Has never taken a holiday in her entire adult life, despite often describing trips and "mini-breaks" with former partners.
- Alleged veganism - Liz still eats cheese and eggs, wears wool and leather, and promotes N.Peal (a brand that sells real fur.)
- Being ostracised by the fashion industry and banned from designers' shows and flagship stores.
- Complaining that people in her life were ungrateful for expensive designer goods she bought them.
- Vogue magazine
- Comparing herself to Bridget Jones, Carrie Bradshaw in Sex and the City, and / or Miranda Priestly in The Devil Wears Prada
- Her dry clean only Myla thong, apparently the only underwear she owns.
- TMI about her sex life, body functions, "extreme waxing" and more.
- Any special occasion requires teeth steaming, knee-waxing, and a full Hollywood wax, which Liz will detail graphically in this week's column. Liz states that she uses a drawing pin to separate her eyelashes, which is not wise behaviour since she suffers from frequent dizzy spells.
Questionable/problematic behaviour
Personal attacks
Liz frequently makes personal and spiteful comments about others in print and on her podcast. This includes everyone from her own family and friends to complete strangers. Since they are private individuals they have no right of reply. Liz says that she does not ask others' permission to write about them in the national press otherwise she "would never be able to write anything."
She will often criticise or insult someone in print, giving enough detail over time to make it clear who it is, but then defend herself by saying that she never named or identified them.
This comment (from the Digital Spy forum) is an excellent description of her MO:
So, if, say, in week 1, I write about "buying my niece an aardvark.," Then in week 2 I refer to "being bullied by a woman who I'd let into my house with her daughter", and in week 3 I refer to "being bullied by someone even though I bought her daughter an aardvark," then you don't have to be Inspector Morse to grasp the full picture of who I'm on about. Liz does this time and time again, dropping in a different set of little details each time which give a clear overall picture....and then she claims she kept it anonymous so she doesn't understand why the person is upset.
Liz has published information that could harm other people's careers, businesses, and relationships. She regularly wrote about flirting with Nigel when he was married, published in the
Mail on Sunday where his wife or anyone else could see it. Another example is when she
told the world that her friend Isobel's business was reportedly haunted; Isobel had explicitly said she did not want anyone to know about this, as it would make it difficult to hire staff working at night.
Liz
named a man in her column and on her podcast, and threatened to sue him, because he'd questioned whether she was fit to adopt a rescue dog. On another occasion, she threatened to sue someone for repeating something
Liz herself wrote about having moved in next to a convicted stalker.
Inappropriate articles
Liz takes an insensitive and inappropriate tone when writing about tragedies or suffering people. For instance, comparing people suffering through war or disasters to trivial events in her personal life. Or complaining about minor inconveniences she experienced when visiting a poverty-stricken area. See "Controversial articles" section.
She often contradicts herself in print, including recycling the same stories with different people.
She makes attention-seeking claims such as
saying that she had developed a terrible drinking problem and drank a bottle of wine a day, and
later writing that her addiction was miraculously cured in less than a week by going on a spa holiday.
She
publishes what amounts to softcore "pro-ana" content, where she is disdainful of fat people and talks about feeling disgusted by food or watching people eat. This is just one example, Liz has published a number of similar articles.
Writings about her family
Liz publishes very harsh things about her family and airs their dirty laundry in public. Examples:
- An offensive article about her mother's dementia, see "Controversial articles" below.
- Humiliating descriptions of her sister's, and sister-in-law's, alcoholism - naming both women as well.
- An article about her sister's death that mentioned many sensitive details about the deceased, and tried to imply her death from alcohol abuse was caused by feminism making her want a career. (This sister had marriages and children and had spent time as a SAHM.) Liz subsequently said her family were so upset by the article that they banned her from the funeral.
- Writing in the national press that all three of her sisters had affairs with married men.
- Accusing her sister Sue of bullying, "narcissism", elder abuse, and causing Liz's anorexia and bankruptcy. See "Other dramas." Liz sometimes devotes entire columns to insulting her, this one is especially bad as it turns someone else's tragedy (the death of a beloved aunt) into a rant about Sue.
- Frequently calling members of her family ungrateful for money she spent on them. Even calling them "bloodsucking leeches" in print. This is often in reference to Liz buying them designer goods they didn't ask for, or paying for something that was for her own benefit (e.g. for them to stay in a country house for her wedding.)
Abusing people in the service industry
Liz likes to brag about being rude to, or threatening, people in the service industry (waiters, shop assistants, cabin crew, cab drivers etc.) On her podcast she calls it "having a Miranda Priestly moment" after Meryl Streep's character in
The Devil Wears Prada; as if this behaviour is funny or chic. She will even do this when it clearly wasn't the fault of the person in question - e.g., she criticised an Uber driver for not taking her straight to the door of the restaurant she was going to, even though he was not allowed to stop on that road.
Obviously we don't hear the poor worker's side of the story, however on one occasion, Liz attended a student training session at a beauty college and had a pedicure. She
published an article in which she was rude and patronising about the experience, and suggested the students were incompetent. The girl who did Liz's pedicure was understandably angry and left
comments on a blog post, saying the article had dented her confidence. (Link archived as the site is no longer active - scroll down to the bottom, comments by Paige.)
Racism
Liz has made numerous racist or culturally insensitive remarks. Here are some examples:
- Referring to Chinese people as "bat-eaters" who should be blamed/punished for the COVID-19 pandemic. Using "but they abuse animals!" as a thin excuse for her obvious dislike of Chinese people.
- Referring to her ex-boyfriend as "Osama Bin Laden Lookalike."
- Writing about her attraction to South Asian men in stereotypical and borderline racist terms.
- This article criticising Nadiya Hussain.
- Complaining about a Muslim-owned airline because they wouldn't let her drink alcohol on board a flight.
- Equating difficulty finding vegetarian food in a restaurant with anti-Black racism.
- Caitlin Moran published an article about Emily Eavis (farmer and Glastonbury organiser) being unable to get visas to take in a Ukrainian family. Liz tweeted this response, equating refugee children with cattle.
- In an article complaining about shop service, Liz used "special needs" as an insult and mocked people for speaking broken English.
- Liz's novel 8 and a Half Stone contains many racist lines, see above.
Crank medical views
Liz
publishes and retweets anti-vax / anti-mask / COVID conspiracy theory content, encouraging her largely older, vulnerable audience not to be vaccinated or wear masks. On an episode of her podcast she suggested the reason masks were introduced was as a cover for sexual assault and other crimes.
She believes that HRT is dangerous and is "over-medicalising" a natural process with "synthetic drugs." She thinks menopause symptoms are a woman's own fault and are caused by an unhealthy lifestyle. That's deeply hypocritical because she says she didn't have many symptoms due to her eating disorder affecting her hormones, which is not healthy at all.
This commentary highlights why what Liz has said is ignorant and offensive.
Liz advocates homoeopathy and "alternative" therapies, both for humans and animals. There is no credible evidence that any of these things work. She likes to preach about how she "doesn't want to put things in her body" (vaccines, hormones, food, etc.) yet has no problem with getting Botox, plastic surgery, or invasive beauty treatments. In general she is extremely negative towards the NHS, perhaps in accordance with the political views of the paper she writes for.
Comments on poverty
Liz criticises poor and unemployed people as lazy, and
says she voted Tory partly because she wanted state benefits to be cut. She insists that being a newspaper columnist is a harder job than trying to support a family on minimum wage. She often says that if workers take breaks, holidays, sickness/maternity leave, or don't work overtime they do not deserve a fair wage.
In
an attack on Jack Monroe, Liz stated that poor people do not deserve sympathy if they eat meat.
Alleged emotional abuse
Liz's ex-husband Nirpal
alleges that she was emotionally abusive and used money to control him during their relationship. Liz denies most of these claims, but does admit that she lied to him about
her age and where her family is from. When they met, he was 26 and she was 42 years old, but told him she was 36; at this time she also falsely stated in her column that she was 36. She has admitted in her column that she frequently called him fat, useless, and so on, although she says this was because he was cheating on her.
She has repeatedly insulted David Scrace in her column; shared very personal and embarrassing details about him; and wrote proudly about shouting at him or belittling him. See "Controversial articles and claims."
David's ex
Liz published
vicious insults against David's ex-girlfriend, whom she called "Garnier Fructis Woman." (Making fun of this woman for using cheap shampoo.) Liz printed information that could identify GFW, including physical descriptions, details about her family, and even her initials and uncommon surname. GFW said on the Digital Spy forum that Liz
had posed as David on Facebook and messaged her from his account. When Liz and David broke up, Liz stole David's cat so that GFW, who was the cat's original owner, couldn't take her back.
Selfish pet ownership
Liz owns a number of collies which she has allowed to kill neighbours' sheep, savage one of her cats and kill another, cause damage to rental properties, and regularly bother people and other animals on walks. She believes she is entitled to bring her dogs with her everywhere, regardless of inconvenience to others. For instance, in
this column she wanted a small hotel to let her bring four dogs with her on a brief weekend stay, despite two of them being "doubly incontinent." Liz alternately claimed she
tried to rent a flat without telling the landlady about her dogs (but came clean), or that she
actually did move in and keep the dogs secret despite the landlady not allowing pets.
She has also written about very poor animal care which includes giving her pets the wrong diet and failing to train her dogs in any way. See "Animals" section for more.
She falsely claims her dogs are hearing dogs when they're not, and deliberately
parks in disabled spaces (which she is not entitled to use) so the dogs can be in the shade. See Disability section.
Insulting mothers
Liz often attacks mothers as lazy, malingering, dependent on men, and unfairly demanding privileges over everyone else. Examples:
- A typical rant about maternity leave. She has frequently complained about Marie Claire staff taking maternity leave when she was editor.
- An article in which Liz complains about mothers supposedly demanding special privileges, and calls Sarah Jessica Parker's then-baby daughter "it" and "hideous."
- In the first 15 minutes of this episode of her podcast, Liz repeatedly insults mothers and complains that feminists are more concerned with women giving birth than with animal welfare - "why don't they think about other mums (i.e. animals) instead of themselves?" This is a bit like asking why (for instance) Greenpeace is more concerned with the environment than the plight of refugees.
Disregard for safety
Liz has often admitted to driving dangerously. This includes speeding (mentioned in her book
Liz Jones's Diary),
falling asleep at the wheel,
using her phone when driving, driving during dizzy spells, driving without working seatbelts (claiming her dogs destroyed them), and
driving with her dog unsecured in the car. She stated in
an episode of her podcast (at 5:40) that she doesn't look behind her properly when driving because it makes her dizzy.
She demonstrates a very casual approach to online safety, including identifying her home address in her column, and giving out her phone number to complete strangers messaging her on Twitter.
Nightmare tenant
By Liz's own admission, she has been evicted from multiple rental properties because her dogs had destroyed furniture. She has often publicly insulted past landlords, and admits she has lied to them about things that would break the terms of her contract (such as lying about how many dogs she had.)
She currently lives in a rented cottage that she treats as if she owned it, saying she is entitled to live there because she's spent over £50,000 renovating the house. Some of this was for things that the landlady should have been expected to pay for (such as the central heating) and others were simply things Liz wanted - putting in a bath and designer fridge. When her landlady put the house up for sale, Liz repeatedly tried to stall it and admitted that she often cancelled viewings at short notice. She also publicly insulted the landlady multiple times. The new owner of the house eventually agreed to continue renting to her.
Animals
Liz has owned dozens of dogs and cats over the years, along with many horses. When she lived in Exmoor, she owned a farm and kept chickens and other animals; at that time she claimed she
had 113 animals and held investments for them. Currently she has a couple of horses, and three rescue collies. She refers to her fully grown, elderly dogs as "puppies."
She believes animals should be granted the same legal rights as humans in all circumstances, and often complains about feminist groups, Amnesty International, etc. because they don't talk about animal welfare. Liz states that she voted for Brexit because Boris Johnson promised her that Britain would have higher animal welfare standards outside the EU - at the time of the referendum he wasn't even Prime Minister! On her social media she often shares very graphic descriptions and photos of abused animals.
Despite her claims to be a passionate advocate of animal rights, she has made several statements in print that raise questions about her as a pet owner. Examples of her being a very selfish owner:
- She writes about her dogs being off the lead and chasing cyclists, walkers, or joggers. One dog ate a neighbour's sheep, and another bit a walker, resulting in police asking Liz to put up a fence to keep the dogs in.
- Falsely claims her collies are hearing dogs (see "Disability" section) and demands they be allowed in public places. She often insults businesses in print because they would not let her bring her dogs in.
- She says she has had to move out of multiple rental properties because her dogs had ruined furniture. When Liz sold her Yorkshire country house on Rightmove, damage caused by the dogs was visible. Liz says she lied to a previous landlady about having no pets, and has lied when booking hotels that she was only bringing one or two dogs rather than four.
- Shows a total lack of concern for how others are affected by her dogs. She got angry when a neighbour on holiday did not want her dogs in his garden around his children, and complained about being asked to control her dogs when they were bothering a blind person's guide dog.
Examples of poor treatment of her animals. All of these come from Liz herself:
- She admits her dogs are not trained or disciplined - Nic and David have both said that Liz does not even train them to sit! Collies will develop a pack mentality and could attack her or someone else.
- Won't let her animals eat dog/cat food designed for their needs, as she thinks it contains "euthanised former pets." Instead she will only give them "human food" or vegan pet food, neither of which are a suitable diet for a dog or cat.
- Her dogs savaged her cat Sweetie - WARNING for disturbing descriptions of animal cruelty in this link. She did nothing about it and, less than three years later, one of her dogs killed another of Liz's cats. Again WARNING for animal cruelty and death in this link.
- Has written multiple times about refusing to have a very ill or dying pet humanely put to sleep when advised by a vet, or missing very obvious signs of illness. On one occasion she said one of her dogs had begun "having periods" (not possible, as the dog was spayed) - predictably, the dog had a tumour and died soon afterwards. Another time, when the vet said that Liz's dog Mini was close to the end, Liz insisted that Mini not be put to sleep because she'd planned to take Mini away with her on a weekend break to Devon. Why would you take your dying dog halfway across the country on a holiday that she is too ill to enjoy, especially when her body cannot cope with the stress of travelling?
- Wrote about leaving her dogs in the car on a hot day when she was at a spa. The article was removed from the Mail's website but the text is copied here and letters of response can be found online. Liz later denied writing it.
- A Mumsnet poster alleged that one of Liz's horses died from neglect. See "Other dramas."
- Adopting her dog Teddy from Romania and having him shipped all the way to the UK, causing distress to both Teddy (who has complex medical needs) and her other dogs, which were all elderly.
Liz has stated that her dogs' poor behaviour doesn't affect anyone but herself. This is clearly not true, as it affects the owners of properties she has rented; people the dogs have attacked; and people in public spaces where she demanded to be allowed to bring her dogs even though she admits they can't behave.
Disability
Liz says she is "profoundly deaf" which is
also stated on her agent's website. In medical terms, a profoundly deaf person has total or near-total hearing loss. It is questionable whether this applies to Liz because with hearing aids she can have a normal conversation, make phone calls, record a podcast, go to fashion shows, and similar activities. Liz has equated her circumstances to those of Rose Ayling-Ellis, this is not a fair comparison as Rose has far less hearing than Liz. She says she has been discriminated against by not being allowed a disabled parking badge. As Deaf activist Charlie Swinbourne
pointed out, parking badges are given only to people with mobility problems, which Liz does not have.
Liz insists her collies are hearing dogs and must be allowed into public places with her. By her own admission, her dogs all have behavioural problems and won't follow even simple commands - unlike hearing dogs which are specially bred and trained from birth. Hearing Dogs for Deaf People has
made complaints about her claiming to have hearing dogs when she does not. Liz attacked HDDP saying they want to profit by being the only trainer of hearing dogs; this is a bit like claiming Ofcom wants to profit by being the only organisation that can set broadcasting standards.
This article sums up the problem with her dogs: "(...) She takes (the dogs) in public places where pets are usually not allowed, claims they are ‘hearing dogs’ and admits that they don’t always behave in public! She also deliberately misleads readers by posting a stock photo of a spaniel in an old Hearing Dog jacket whilst talking about her dogs."
Controversial articles
Several of Liz's articles have led to criticism, controversy, or even legal action.
Sperm theft
Liz stated in an article for the
Mail, and repeated the claim in a TV interview, that she had previously "stolen" at least two partners' sperm (Nirpal and another ex) out of used condoms in an attempt to get pregnant. This prompted many clickbait articles in response, complaints from fathers' rights groups, and earned her the nicknames Jizz Loans or Jizzy Lizzie.
Article.
TV interview.
Somalia refugee camp
Liz was asked to report on a refugee camp in Somalia. The resulting article was self-centered and tactless, with Liz equating her eating disorder and elective plastic surgery to refugees suffering from famine and birth defects. Subsequent backlash included a parody Twitter account being set up to raise funds for the refugees.
Article,
Response,
Twitter account.
Donations from Mail readers
In 2009 Liz published
an account of her financial difficulties. She said she had contemplated suicide at the thought of being unable to afford to care for her farm animals. In a follow-up, she wrote that 4100 readers had either offered or sent her money (which she had returned.) Pensioners and genuinely poor people were offering their money to Liz, who was on a high six-figure salary and by her own admission couldn't control her spending.
Joanna Yeates murder
Liz was widely criticised for an article she wrote about the 2011 murder of Joanna Yeates. The article was written in the manner of a lifestyle piece, making comments on matters such as a pizza the victim bought and a pub she visited before her death. Liz concluded with a bizarre attempt to compare the murder to not having enough change for the bridge toll: "Isn’t it interesting that you can snatch a young woman’s life away from her in the most violent, painful, frightening way possible, take away her future children, her future Christmases, take away everything she loves, and yet there are elaborate systems in place to ensure you do not cross a bridge for only 30 pence?"
Liz also criticised the police investigation and steps taken by the local authorities to improve safety. This article received widespread criticism and spawned parodies.
Article. Responses:
1,
2,
3,
Daily Mash parody.
Mother's dementia
Liz wrote for the
Mail about her mother Edna's dementia; going into graphic detail about Edna's bodily functions and other needs. Some photos originally included in the article were later removed at the request of Liz's family.
Article. Liz has
stated that she chose to spend the day with her sick cat rather than visit Edna, and has
also said she was "relieved" that Edna had dementia and could no longer tell anyone Liz's real age.
Liz vs the Countryside
Liz moved to Exmoor after her divorce, and later to rural Yorkshire. Despite it being her choice to live there, she has frequently complained about life in the countryside, and described local people in unpleasant terms. This has prompted many responses in local press, and led to an incident where vandals allegedly shot at her house. Example articles:
Note these are just a few examples, there are many more instances of Liz criticising her neighbours and local community in the press.
The Rock Star
For over a year, Liz
claimed to be dating a rock star who was famous in the 1980s. She took great pleasure in dropping hints about his identity - trying to suggest that it was Jim Kerr of Simple Minds fame. This was implausible, as he was living in Sicily with his long-term girlfriend. Liz even claimed that a tabloid had offered her thousands of pounds to reveal the Rock Star's identity.
She continued to imply she was dating Kerr until she
suddenly stated in an interview that it wasn't him and shortly afterwards wrote that she and the Rock Star broke up. Liz
has since said the Rock Star's lawyers sent her a "cease and desist" letter, it is widely rumoured that Kerr's legal team really did write to her. She has continued to keep the Rock Star as a character in her columns and in 2022 wrote that they were back together. Giving increasingly implausible explanations as to why they'd never been spotted or photographed together (such as a hotel bar conveniently being empty when they went in.)
David Scrace
Whilst dating David, Liz frequently insulted him in her column, often for trivial things. She revealed details that could embarrass him or affect his business (he owned a bakery at the time), and bragged about verbally abusing him. Liz repeatedly refused to stop doing this even after he had asked her not to write about him. Examples:
Liz has used David as column fodder for years after they broke up. For a while she referred to him only as "the ex" but made it very clear it was David and even mentioning places/people in his life by name.
Libel accusations
In 2009, Sophie Dahl sued the
Daily Mail after Liz had suggested in print that Dahl had an eating disorder. They already had history with each other because Liz called Dahl fat whilst editor at
Marie Claire. Neither Liz nor the
Mail learned anything from this experience and in 2013, Liz published a very similar article suggesting Kate Winslet promoted unhealthy body image; Winslet sued as well. The internet has been largely scrubbed of the allegations and both articles removed as part of the legal action, but some traces remain:
Dahl lawsuit,
Winslet lawsuit.
Fat suit
To promote her novel
Eight and a Half Stone, about a woman who has weight loss surgery, the
Mail had Liz wear a "bariatric empathy suit" (fat suit) and write about the experience. Her article was poorly received for the way she spoke about fat people and promoted an unhealthy body image.
Article. Responses:
1,
2,
3.
"Film star" love interest
In late 2021, Liz
wrote about a retired "film star" with whom she had a romantic encounter as a teenager. The man in question had a few bit parts in the 1980s-90s, and has never been famous. She
joined multiple subscription sites so she could track him down online, then began emailing him and
writing as if they were a potential romance - he has a long-term partner, as a quick Google search shows. A few weeks later she abruptly stopped mentioning him, leading Tattle to suspect that he threatened legal action.
Rental crisis
Liz published an article about the then-current UK rental crisis, saying that she felt vulnerable because she was 64 and still renting. She said she had spent £59,000 renovating the house and felt entitled to stay there; repeatedly insulting her landlady. Comments pointed out that the £59,000 would be better spent as a deposit for a house.
Article.
Liz implied she was being unfairly singled out, but Rightmove shows that the entire close (all owned by the same landlady) was put up for sale. Although not included in this screenshot, number 6 was also for sale.
Before this, Liz had complained about the sale many times on her podcast and in her column; and said on multiple occasions that she'd asked the landlady to cancel viewings. The
Rightmove listing for the house shows that Liz insisted the kitchen and bathroom fittings not be included in the sale, unless she were paid for them separately.
Liz vs Nirpal - 2023 rematch!
Liz and her ex-husband Nirpal took part in an article and photoshoot for the
Mail where they reunited to discuss their feelings about their marriage. This was ostensibly the first time they had seen each other in the 15 years since they broke up, however, Liz had previously written that Nirpal had visited her a couple of times when she lived in Exmoor. In the article Liz came across as neurotic and self-obsessed, while Nirpal went into a misogynistic rant about how he'd had to repeatedly cheat on her because she was so unappealing.
Liz's name trended on Twitter for a short time and the article got a lot of attention. While a lot of the comments on social media were sympathetic to her, bear in mind that this was after she'd spent 15 years repeatedly trashing him in print. She would also have seen the article before it was published. We suspect she agreed to it for sympathy and social media engagement.
Article. Summary of Twitter reactions.
Nirpal was subsequently featured on
Lorraine (UK talk show) where he continued to insult Liz. She submitted a "right to reply" that was aired on the show, in which she claimed she was engaged to her current partner. Nic admitted on Twitter that Liz was lying about this just to get back at Nirpal. Liz said that the podcast that week would reveal many more details about Nirpal and their marriage - but it never came out. Nic claimed there had been "technical difficulties" at the
Mail's end, however if that were the case it wouldn't take days to resolve. The obvious explanation is that their legal team could not allow the episode to be released. The attention seems to have gone to Liz's head and she may have said something defamatory or that the
Mail doesn't want to be associated with. Did this contribute to the
Mail's decision to cancel Liz's podcast two months later?
Princess of Wales health
Liz has been criticised for writing a number of overwrought, dramatic, and over-familiar articles about Kate, Princess of Wales after Kate went through abdominal surgery and then a cancer diagnosis.
Other dramas
Naturally, Liz can't help causing chaos outside of the newspapers as well.
India Knight feud
Liz and India were friends in the early 2000s but have since engaged in a
public feud. Liz is an old friend of India's ex-husband and took his side in the divorce. She has also repeatedly complained that India didn't show enough gratitude for a present Liz gave for the birth of her first child; it was a cashmere onesie, which is hardly practical for a new baby. Frequent references are made in Liz's column to India calling her "a rancid cat-wanker" in print, or as Liz describes it, "(India) said I have sex with my cats."
Mumsnet
Liz has had conflict with Mumsnet at least twice. On one occasion a Mumsnet poster claimed to have witnessed Liz snorting cocaine at a party, and shared a picture of her at the event as proof the poster was there. The thread was removed, but Liz complained that she had been
"trolled" and said she had asked Mumsnet for compensation. Another time, someone alleged on MN that one of Liz's horses (who, according to Liz, had died from colic) actually died as a result of neglect. Liz says she wanted to sue over this but was advised by her editor not to pursue the case.
Fired from the Daily Mail
Liz lost her job as fashion editor of the
Daily Mail in 2014. She says she was dismissed for appearing on
Celebrity Big Brother. By her own admission she was told not to take part if she wanted to keep her job - yet did it anyway. In that case she can hardly complain. She attempted to market herself as a freelance writer after this but wasn't successful. However, the
Mail on Sunday kept her on and she eventually returned to the main paper as a regular writer in 2019.
Sister's house
Liz has repeatedly printed attacks on her sister Sue, whom she calls a "bully" and "narcissist." Among other things, she has accused Sue of abusing their parents, and of causing Liz's anorexia, alcoholism, and bankruptcy. The latter happened when Liz lived in her Exmoor farm and accepted money from Sue to convert a barn on the grounds into a cottage. The renovation happened but then Liz sold the farm - saying she was forced to do so for financial reasons. She suggests that she was intimidated into taking out a mortgage for Sue, however, Liz had been paid for the barn conversion and was now obliged to either return the money or buy Sue another house. If the matter had gone to court, the law would have been on Sue's side. Liz has since said multiple times that Sue is the reason she went bankrupt, but has also said it was due to her neighbour being a stalker, and/or (more honestly) Liz's huge debt and unpaid tax. Which is it?
Alleged stalker
When Liz owned her Yorkshire country house, she lived next to a farmer who she says stalked, threatened, and intimidated her and Nic. This included leaving dead animals on their doorsteps and a sex toy on Nic's. He was later charged with stalking Nic, and received a conditional discharge. However, local residents allege that Liz took advantage of this man's crush on Nic and would send her over to charm him into letting Liz use his land. He had learning difficulties and may not have realised he was being manipulated. He was friendly with Nic at one point and she shared photos on social media (now private) of the three of them hanging out together, including playing around with an inflatable penis. Is this where the "sex toy on the doorstep" story came from?
Liz said at one point that she had given the farmer a bottle of whiskey for Christmas, even though at this time he was supposedly threatening her and had frightened Nic by showing up drunk at her house. Was Liz encouraging him to drink in the hope of a story to tell in her column? The farmer has sadly since passed away, and only Liz and Nic know the truth. It seems this was one of many reasons why Liz came into conflict with her neighbours, one of whom gave
an account of events on the Digital Spy forum.
Lionesses
After the England women's football team won the 2022 UEFA Women's Championship, Liz tweeted calling them "Kathy Beales" with "Pantene hair", implying the team members are all lower-class and "common." This is insulting, hypocritical (Liz is from a working-class family in Essex), and typical of her desire to always rain on others' parade. When she was criticised, Liz backtracked and wrote an article for MailPlus saying her tweets weren't meant negatively.
Gagging order
In spring 2023, Liz began dropping heavy hints in her column that something terrible had happened to her but that she could not talk about it as she had been "threatened with a legal letter." However, she was confident she could find a way around it and promised to reveal more details as soon as possible. She has said that what happened resulted in a huge change to her appearance - suggesting a botched cosmetic procedure or perhaps just stress. However, photos of her published throughout the year do not show a dramatic difference apart from what looks like extensions for thicker hair (Liz had written about losing her hair in 2022 after an illness.) We wait to see if she'll ever bring it up again.
Bankruptcy and financial worries
Liz claimed at the time of appearing in CBB that she'd earned
£500,000 in the last year as a writer (most of which would have been at the
Mail.) Despite this, she has a long history of financial problems. In 2009 she
estimated that she owed around £150,000 in credit cards and loans - partly because she makes a lot of luxury purchases, some of which are described in
this article. She has made other unwise financial decisions such as using store cards, which are infamous for their high interest rates.
She entered an IVA and in 2017 was eventually declared bankrupt. At that time, Liz
wrote that her bankruptcy was due to unpaid tax. Since then, she has changed her story, claiming the bankruptcy wasn't her fault and had nothing to do with her tax or spending. At different times she has said the bankruptcy was caused by having to buy
her sister Sue a house (see above.) Or by having to
sell her house at a huge loss because her neighbour was a convicted stalker. She has also
alleged that she was unjustly penalised by the Official Receiver.
Liz has continued to spend extravagantly after bankruptcy. Her column and articles frequently describe money spent on designer clothes, cosmetics, beauty treatments, and stays in expensive hotels. She has alternately claimed that she spent either
£40,000 or
£59,000 renovating her rented cottage, which included a designer bath and fridge. Also stating that she was given a £200,000 mortgage offer. How she managed to get a mortgage, or borrow a large sum for home renovation, is questionable - all this is before the six-year discharge period for bankruptcy. She is known to have had Nic sell items on eBay for her (such as furniture and horse equipment) so that Liz won't have to declare it as income.
Private Eye reported that Liz gave the following statement to her creditors:
"I am currently working for the Mail on Sunday
writing my column 'Liz Jones Diary'. I would like to make my creditors aware that my column and any other article I write is ficticious (sic). It is my job to write about an extravagant lifestyle. My professional persona and my real persona are significantly different, particularly financially." This is despite Liz claiming in her writing and podcasts that she is always honest in print.
Partial list of contradictions / implausibilities in Liz's writing
These are just a few of the inconsistencies or implausible details in her writing; even a cursory glance at her columns or articles will unearth many more. We are not suggesting that other writers don't embellish, exaggerate, or make up details for effect. We are also not saying anything specifically is an outright lie. This section is included as a contrast to Liz's assertion that she "only tells the truth"; and to establish that she has a history of contradicting herself.
- As above: Liz states that she is honest in print, but reportedly wrote to her creditors that all her work is fiction.
- How she reconnected with David Scrace. She gave one story in an article (subsequently retracted) in 2005, and a different version in a later column.
- Liz has never been photographed with the Rock Star, even though she claimed to have attended several high-profile events with him and been backstage at his concerts. Since she started writing about him again in 2022, she has been giving obvious excuses as to why no one has seen them together e.g. that a hotel bar happened to be empty when they arrived.
- Her memoir Girl Least Likely To contains a number of minor inaccuracies about her family (such as dates of birth or where they lived) and other details, e.g. saying she first saw the film Quadrophenia on a cinema date in high school - it was released in September 1979 when Liz was 21 years of age. These errors may just be due to her remembering wrongly, but you would expect an editor to have picked up on some of them.
- Wrote about leaving her dogs in the car on a hot day, but denied it in print years later.
- Liz says that after taking prescription steroids, her breasts grew uncomfortably large and she needed a reduction. (Steroids do not cause women to grow larger breasts.) She claims this was when she was 29 (in 1987-88.) Photos of her from that time or just after don't show a noticeable change in her shape. It's possible she had the surgery earlier or later, if she did at all. On one occasion she wrote about Nirpal not visiting her in hospital and suggested it was when she was having her breast reduction which would have meant she had it in her mid-40s.
- Repeatedly recycling a story about appearing in The Matchgirls, a musical about a real life strike in 1888 by women working in a match factory. She has alternately said she was in The Matchgirls at college (Liz Jones's Diary and Girl Least Likely To) or an amateur production when she lived in Exmoor (in this column and The Exmoor Files.) The version in The Exmoor Files includes the Rock Star, but the version in her column was published more than a year before she ever mentioned him.
- Her neighbour in Yorkshire was charged with stalking Nic (he received a conditional discharge.) Liz has given two different versions of a story about him showing up at her house uninvited, and alternately said that he was or wasn't convicted of stalking when she moved in.
- In 2007 Liz was sent to Canada to report on seal culling. She gave an account of an animal rights activist telling her about hearing mother seals cry for their slaughtered babies. But in 2008 she said in another article that she heard and witnessed it herself. Essentially, this is taking credit for someone else's work.
- At least three versions of a story about how Liz tried to pawn a pearl necklace her father had given her, only to be told it was fake. She has said this happened in her 20s when she was living in London for the first time, in her 30s when living with a boyfriend, or in 2009 when challenged to live on £65 a week (the then-current rate of Jobseeker's Allowance) for a Mail article.
- Claims she became a vegetarian at the age of 11 and is now a vegan. But she regularly talks about wearing cashmere, leather, and eating eggs and cheese - including Parmesan and feta, which contain rennet so they are not even vegetarian.
- An implausible story about her overnight bag being "detonated" by the CIA when she was sent to interview then-President Donald Trump during his visit to the UK. If there had been any kind of security incident during Trump's visit, it would have made the national news.
- Saying no one helped her when she was in financial difficulty. Over 4000 of her own readers offered her money, see "Controversial articles / claims."
- Claiming to have received letters of response on a Monday about a column published the previous day.
- See Disability section: it is questionable whether Liz is in fact profoundly deaf. She has also described being able to hear people quietly muttering nasty remarks about her, or finding a rock festival too loud even without her hearing aids.
- Despite writing about her huge consumer debt and tax arrears, Liz has claimed at least twice (in an episode of her podcast and in this article) that her bankruptcy was caused by her financial obligations to her sister Sue - given the time frame, this was when she owed money over the barn conversion that Sue had already paid her for. Later still, she blamed the bankruptcy on the stalker living next door.
- This article highlights that some of Liz's writings about her anorexia are implausible (the author has also experienced anorexia.)
- Liz wrote in May 2019 that she had fallen off her horse Swirly and bruised her ribs but didn't break anything. In April 2022 she claimed she had "broken several ribs" in the fall and as a result could no longer ride her horses.
- At least four different accounts of an encounter with the late Michael Hutchence and what he allegedly said to her: here, here, here, and here. Claiming they slept together, despite previously having said that nothing happened between them. She has previously attributed the "Thank you for your support" line to the Rock Star, either after she interviewed him in the 1980s, or after sex when they dated in 2014.
- At least four different accounts of her breakup with her ex-boyfriend, Kevin Le Gendre ("Osama Bin Laden lookalike"): here, here, here and another one in an early column that was re-published in the book Liz Jones's Diary.
- Her brother, Nick Jones, was briefly in the band Cockney Rebel in 1972. Liz claims that he should have stayed in the group so he could have lived off the royalties of the hit song "Make Me Smile." He was no longer in Cockney Rebel by the time "Make Me Smile" was recorded, and wouldn't be entitled to royalties - if he worked on the song at all, it was likely as a session musician.
FAQs
What is Liz's real age?
As of September 2023, Liz is 65 (born on 5 September 1958.) Confusion ensued because she lied for years (in her column and to Nirpal) that she was younger, and because trolls sometimes edit her Wikipedia article to change her date of birth.
Did Liz ever date Jim Kerr and did his lawyers write to her?
Liz did not date him - he lives in Sicily and has a long-term girlfriend of over 20 years. She deliberately tried to make the "Rock Star" sound like Kerr, only to change her tune and say that it wasn't him. Shortly before this, Liz had claimed in her column that she received a letter from the Rock Star's lawyer, asking that she not write any more about their relationship. It's possible Kerr's lawyers did write to her, or she could have just made it up as part of the "Rock Star" storyline (perhaps she was running out of material or knew she couldn't continue the charade much longer.)
How many sisters does Liz have?
She has three older sisters: Clare, Lyn, and Sue. This causes a bit of confusion, as she has written that two of them worked as nurses; two of them had serious health problems; and all three had affairs with married men. Clare sadly passed away as a result of alcohol abuse, and Liz wrote the infamous article that she says got her banned from the funeral. Lyn passed away in late 2023; she lived in Australia and was sometimes mentioned in context of Liz's desire to visit Nigel. Sue is the sister that Liz accuses of bullying.
Who is the "Film Star?"
Liz has referred to at least two separate "Film Stars" in her column. One is the man she wrote about as a potential love interest, only to abruptly stop mentioning him (as stated above, we believe he may have made a formal complaint about Liz.) The other "Film Star" is supposedly a Hollywood actress who offered to help Liz sell her screenplay. Liz hinted that it was either Glenn Close or Rebel Wilson, both of whom were starring in West End plays at the time. This sounds like another of her tall tales.
Why is Liz's column still running?
We don't know. The
Mail is evidently aware of backlash, as they often don't allow comments on her weekly column. Unless Liz has "kompromat" on someone at the paper, they probably just think she is good for producing right-wing clickbait.
Nicknames/in-jokes
Lizard - Liz
Nirps - Nirpal, her ex-husband
DScrace, Dirty Baker - David Scrace, Liz's on-off boyfriend. "Dirty Baker" comes from the fact that he was working as a baker when Liz first got back together with him, and she frequently complained about his personal hygiene.
Drear/Dreary - "Liz Jones's Diary", her column
Plod/Plodcast - Podcast
Farticle - Article
MichaelSamBadger - One of Liz's old dogs (now long-dead) who infamously ate a neighbour's sheep. Liz alternately referred to him as either Michael, Sam, or Badger but it was the same dog.
Poo Cottage - Liz's old cottage in Yorkshire. So-called because she often writes about how it was covered in dog poo/piss from her untrained collies.
Annexe - Liz currently owns a house which she says is a period vicarage and makes out she owns the entire property. In fact, as listings show, it is an annexe to the original vicarage and "Liz's" garden is a communal one for local residents.
Myla Thong - Legendary piece of underwear that Liz frequently mentions, and seemingly wears for all dates or special occasions. It may be very old indeed, as she says it is dry clean only; Myla (designer brand) hasn't sold any dry clean underwear in a very long time.
The Turtle's Head -
The Tortoise, Liz's unpublished novel. She describes it as a raunchy revenge thriller.
The first chapter shows it is in fact poorly written, offensive, and may cause legal problems - since it contains thinly veiled versions of David Scrace and his ex-girlfriend.
Mouse Brows - Refers to Liz's eyebrow transplant, which was documented in the
Mail.
Midnight Storm - How Liz describes her box-dyed hair colour. She once said a hairdresser had found her hair to be so damaged that it no longer reflects light!
