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Julie Burchill (born 3 July 1959) is an English writer. Beginning as a staff writer at the ''
New Musical Express ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...
'' at the age of 17, she has since contributed to newspapers such as ''
The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...
'', ''
The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, whi ...
'' and ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
''. Her writing, which was described by ''
The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the w ...
'' in 2002 as "outrageously outspoken" and "usually offensive," has been the subject of legal action on several occasions. Burchill is also a novelist, and her 2004 novel '' Sugar Rush'' was adapted for television.


Early life and education

Julie Burchill was born in
Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
and educated at
Brislington Brislington is an area in the south east of the city of Bristol, England. It is on the edge of Bristol and from Bath. Brislington Brook runs through the area in the woodlands of Nightingale Valley and St Anne's Wood. Brislington formerly hou ...
Comprehensive School. Her father was a
Communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...
union activist who worked in a distillery. Her mother had a job in a cardboard box factory.
Yvonne Roberts Yvonne Roberts (born 1948) is an English journalist. She was born in Newport Pagnell, Buckinghamshire. Her family moved to Madrid for three years when she was a few months old and she lived in a number of locations through the rest of her child ...
, ''
The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'', 11 June 2000
Julie Burchill: Not so much journalist as court jester
/ref> In 2010, Burchill wrote of her parents: "I don't care much for families. I adored my mum and dad, but to be honest I don't miss them much now they're dead"; three years later she contradicted this when she said she couldn't return to Bristol, as every time she heard someone speaking with her parents' Bristol accent it would remind her how much she missed them. She did not attend university, leaving the
A-level The A-Level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational aut ...
s she had started a few weeks earlier to begin writing for the ''
New Musical Express ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...
'' (NME).


Writing and broadcasting career


At the ''NME''

She began her writing career at the ''
New Musical Express ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...
'' (''NME'') in 1976, aged 17, after responding (coincidentally with her future husband Tony Parsons) to an advert in that paper seeking "hip young gunslingers" to write about the then emerging
punk movement The punk subculture includes a diverse and widely known array of ideologies, fashion, and other forms of expression, visual art, dance, literature, and film. Largely characterised by anti-establishment views, the promotion of individual freedom ...
. She gained the job by submitting a "eulogy" of
Patti Smith Patricia Lee Smith (born December 30, 1946) is an American singer, songwriter, poet, painter and author who became an influential component of the New York City punk rock movement with her 1975 debut album ''Horses''. Called the "punk poet ...
's '' Horses''. She later wrote that at the time she only liked black music, and said: "When I actually heard a punk record, I thought, 'Oh my Lord! This is not music, this is just shouting'." Indeed, she managed to decry the very first self-released punk album in the UK, The Outsiders' ''
Calling on Youth ''Calling on Youth'' is the debut studio album by English punk rock band the Outsiders, led by vocalist/guitarist Adrian Borland, who would go on to form the Sound. It was released in May 1977 by record label Raw Edge. History In 1973, Borl ...
'' featuring
Adrian Borland Adrian Kelvin Borland (6 December 1957 – 26 April 1999) was an English singer, songwriter, guitarist and record producer, best known as the frontman of post-punk band the Sound. Following a substantial musical career spanning numerous group ...
: "Apple-cheeked Ade has a complexion that would turn a Devon milkmaid green with envy." Fortunately for her, as she later said, "Punk was over in two years. That was the only damn good thing about it." She left her position at the ''NME'' at the age of 20, and started freelancing to be able to write about other subjects, although she has never completely given up writing about pop music.


1980s

Her main employers after the ''NME'' were ''
The Face The face is a part of the body, the front of the head. Face may also refer to: Film * ''The Magician'' (1958 film) or ''The Face'' * ''The Face'' (1996 film), an American television film * ''Face'' (1997 film), a British crime drama by Antonia ...
'' and ''
The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, whi ...
'', where she wrote about politics, pop, fashion and society, and was their film critic from 1984 to 1986. She admitted in 2008 to making up film reviews and having "skived" from screenings, and her ex-husband, Cosmo Landesman, has admitted to attending screenings on her behalf. During the
Falklands War The Falklands War ( es, link=no, Guerra de las Malvinas) was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and its territorial de ...
in 1982, Burchill argued that the military dictatorship of General Galtieri represented a greater evil. She wrote articles favourable to
Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. S ...
. Her sympathy for Thatcher helped in gaining a column for ''
The Mail on Sunday ''The Mail on Sunday'' is a British conservative newspaper, published in a tabloid format. It is the biggest-selling Sunday newspaper in the UK and was launched in 1982 by Lord Rothermere. Its sister paper, the ''Daily Mail'', was first pub ...
'', where in 1987 she went against the paper's usual political line by urging its readers to vote Labour. Though she claims to like the ''MoS'', she said of journalists on the ''
Daily Mail The ''Daily Mail'' is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper and news websitePeter Wilb"Paul Dacre of the Daily Mail: The man who hates liberal Britain", ''New Statesman'', 19 December 2013 (online version: 2 January 2014) publish ...
'' in 2008: "Everybody knows that hacks are the biggest bunch of adulterers, the most misbehaving profession in the world – and you have people writing for the ''Daily Mail'' writing as though they are vicars ... moralising on single mothers and whatnot."


Into the 1990s

Burchill has spoken repeatedly and frankly of her relationship with drugs, writing that she had "put enough toot up my admittedly sizeable snout to stun the entire
Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...
n armed forces". She declared that "As one who suffered from chronic shyness and a low boredom threshold ... I simply can't imagine that I could have ever had any kind of social life without ocaine let alone have reigned as Queen of the
Groucho Club The Groucho Club is a private members' club formed in 1985 located on Dean Street in London's Soho. Its members are mostly drawn from the publishing, media, entertainment and arts industries. The club has rooms on several floors, including th ...
for a good part of the '80s and '90s." While Burchill has frequently drawn on her personal life for her writing, her personal life has been a subject of public comment, especially during this period, when "everything about her – her marriages, her debauchery, her children – seemed to be news." In 1991, Burchill, Landesman and
Toby Young Toby Daniel Moorsom Young (born 17 October 1963) is a British social commentator. He is the founder and director of the Free Speech Union, an associate editor of ''The Spectator'', and a former associate editor at ''Quillette.'' A graduate of ...
established a short-lived magazine '' Modern Review'' through which she met
Charlotte Raven Charlotte Raven (born 1969) is a British author and journalist. She studied English at the University of Manchester. As a Labour Club activist there in the late 1980s and early 1990s, she was part of a successful campaign to oust then student uni ...
, with whom she had a much publicised affair. " was only a lesbian for about six weeks in 1995," she said in an interview with
Lynn Barber Lynn Barber (born 22 May 1944) is a British journalist who has worked for many publications, including ''The Sunday Times''. Early life Barber attended Lady Eleanor Holles School in south-west London. While she was studying for her A-Levels she ...
in 2004,Lynn Barbe
"Growing pains"
''The Observer'', 22 August 2004. Retrieved 3 August 2008.
or "my very enjoyable six months of lesbianism" in a 2000 article.Julie Burchil
"Self indulgent"
''The Guardian'', 17 June 2000. Retrieved 3 August 2008.
Launched under the slogan "Low culture for high brows", the magazine lasted until 1995, when Burchill and her colleagues fell out. It was briefly revived by Burchill, with Raven editing, in 1997. The "Fax war" in 1993 between Burchill and author
Camille Paglia Camille Anna Paglia (; born April 2, 1947) is an American feminist academic and social critic. Paglia has been a professor at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, since 1984. She is critical of many aspects of modern cultu ...
, published in the ''Modern Review'', gained much attention. In 1995, Burchill wrote a column for ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
'', titled "I'm a bitch, and I'm proud", in which she argued that women should reclaim the word 'bitch,' used as a slur. She wrote: "it is the nature of these things that, in recent years, the slighted have taken steps to repossess the slight; thus, we have blacks who call each other 'nigger', pansies who call each other 'queer' and upper-class cretins who quite happily call each other 'Henry'." In 1996, the actor, author, playwright and theatre director
Steven Berkoff Steven Berkoff (born Leslie Steven Berks; 3 August 1937) is an English actor, author, playwright, theatre practitioner and theatre director. As a theatre maker he is recognised for staging work with a heightened performance style eponymously k ...
won a libel action against Burchill in respect of one of her articles, published in the ''
Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, whi ...
'' newspaper, which included comments suggesting that he was "hideously ugly". The judge ruled that Burchill's actions "held him to ridicule and contempt." The late 1990s were a turbulent period for Burchill as she has recalled:


From 2000 to 2004

A user of
cocaine Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechuan languages, Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly recreational drug use, used recreationally for its euphoria, euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from t ...
, sharing in the activity in the company of
Will Self William Woodard Self (born 26 September 1961) is an English author, journalist, political commentator and broadcaster. He has written 11 novels, five collections of shorter fiction, three novellas and nine collections of non-fiction writing. Sel ...
among others, she was positive about her use in ''The Guardian'' in 2000 when defending actress
Danniella Westbrook Danniella Westbrook (born 5 November 1973) is an English actress, best known for originally playing Sam Mitchell in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' on and off from 1990 to 2000 and 2009 to 2016. Away from ''EastEnders'', she has presented var ...
for Westbrook's loss of her
nasal septum The nasal septum () separates the left and right airways of the Human nose, nasal cavity, dividing the two nostrils. It is Depression (kinesiology), depressed by the depressor septi nasi muscle. Structure The fleshy external end of the nasal ...
because of cocaine use. Journalist
Deborah Orr Deborah Jane Orr (23 September 1962 – 19 October 2019) was a British journalist who worked for ''The Guardian'', ''The Independent'' and other publications. Early life and education Orr was born on 23 September 1962 to Winifred "Win" and John ...
, who was then married to Self, was scathing in ''
The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'' of Burchill and her article: "She does not identify herself as a cocaine addict, so she has no pity for Ms Westbrook." In revenge for Deborah Orr's article, Burchill invented a supposedly long-standing crush on Will Self with the intention of upsetting Orr. A letter in ''The Independent'' in June 2000 from the head waitress at the Groucho Club at the time, Deborah Bosley, caused a minor stir. Responding to an article by
Yvonne Roberts Yvonne Roberts (born 1948) is an English journalist. She was born in Newport Pagnell, Buckinghamshire. Her family moved to Madrid for three years when she was a few months old and she lived in a number of locations through the rest of her child ...
, Bosley, at the time the partner of
Richard Ingrams Richard Reid Ingrams (born 19 August 1937 in Chelsea, London, Chelsea, London) is an English journalist, a co-founder and second editor of the British satire, satirical magazine ''Private Eye (magazine), Private Eye'', and founding editor of ' ...
, a long standing critic of Burchill, stated that Burchill was merely "a fat bird in a blue mac sitting in the corner" when ensconced at the Groucho. The following year's ''Burchill on Beckham'' (2001), a short book about Burchill's opinions concerning
David Beckham David Robert Joseph Beckham (; born 2 May 1975) is an English former professional footballer, the current president and co-owner of Inter Miami CF and co-owner of Salford City. Known for his range of passing, crossing ability and bending fr ...
's life, career, and relationship with
Victoria Beckham Victoria Caroline Beckham (; born 17 April 1974) is an English fashion designer, singer, and television personality. She rose to prominence in the 1990s as a member of the girl group the Spice Girls, in which she was nicknamed Posh Spice. Wi ...
, attracted "some of the worst notices since Jeffrey Archer's heyday. 'Burchill is to football writing what
Jimmy Hill James William Thomas Hill, OBE (22 July 1928 – 19 December 2015) was an English footballer and later a television personality. His career included almost every role in the sport, including player, trade union leader, coach, manager, director ...
is to feminist polemics'," wrote one reviewer. According to
Robert Winder Robert Winder, formerly literary editor of ''The Independent'' for five years and Deputy Editor of ''Granta'' magazine during the late 1990s, is the author of ''Hell for Leather'', a book about modern cricket, a book about British immigration, and ...
in the ''
New Statesman The ''New Statesman'' is a British political and cultural magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first connected with Sidney and Beatrice Webb and other leading members ...
'': "The book fits in with Burchill's theme of praising the working class; Burchill presents Beckham as an anti-laddish symbol of old working-class values – he reminds her of those proud men of her childhood, 'paragons of generosity, industry and chastity'." For five years until 2003, Burchill wrote a weekly column in ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
''. Appointed in 1998 by Orr, while editor of the ''Guardian Weekend'' supplement, Burchill's career was in trouble; she had been sacked by the revived ''
Punch Punch commonly refers to: * Punch (combat), a strike made using the hand closed into a fist * Punch (drink), a wide assortment of drinks, non-alcoholic or alcoholic, generally containing fruit or fruit juice Punch may also refer to: Places * Pun ...
'' magazine. Burchill frequently thanked Deborah Orr for rescuing her. One of the pieces she wrote for ''The Guardian'' was in reaction to the murder of BBC TV presenter
Jill Dando Jill Wendy Dando (9 November 1961 – 26 April 1999) was an English journalist, television presenter and newsreader. She spent most of her career at the BBC and was the corporation's Personality of the Year in 1997. At the time of her death, her ...
in 1999. She compared the shock of Dando's murder to finding a "tarantula in a
punnet A punnet is a small box or square basket for the gathering, transport and sale of fruit and vegetables, typically for small berries susceptible to bruising, spoiling and squashing that are therefore best kept in small rigid containers. Punnets s ...
full of strawberries". In 2002 she narrowly escaped prosecution for
incitement to racial hatred Incitement to ethnic or racial hatred is a crime under the laws of several countries. Australia In Australia, the Racial Hatred Act 1995 amends the Racial Discrimination Act 1975, inserting Part IIA – Offensive Behaviour Because of Race, Colour ...
, "following a ''Guardian'' column where she described Ireland as being synonymous with child molestation, Nazi-sympathising, and the oppression of women".O'Brien, Jonatha
"Unruly Julie: Julie Burchill"
''
The Sunday Business Post The ''Business Post'' (formerly ''The Sunday Business Post'') is a Sunday newspaper distributed nationally in Ireland and an online publication. It is focused mainly on business and financial issues in Ireland. Founding to Irish financial crisi ...
'' (Wayback Machine Internet Archive), 25 August 2002.
Burchill had expressed
anti-Irish sentiment Anti-Irish sentiment includes oppression, persecution, discrimination, or hatred of Irish people as an ethnic group or a nation. It can be directed against the island of Ireland in general, or directed against Irish emigrants and their descendan ...
several times throughout her career, announcing in the London journal '' Time Out'' that "I hate the Irish, I think they're appalling". She supported the
Iraq War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق (Kurdish languages, Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict (2003–present), I ...
, writing in ''The Guardian'' in 2003 that she was "in favour of a smaller war now rather than a far worse war later", and criticised those opposed to the war as "pro-Saddam apologists". She justified her stance by stating that "this war is about freedom, justice – and oil" and that because Britain and the United States sold weapons to Iraq that, "it is our responsibility to redress our greed and ignorance by doing the lion's share in getting rid of him". Burchill left ''The Guardian'' acrimoniously, saying in an interview that they had offered her a sofa in lieu of a pay rise. She stated that she left the newspaper in protest at what she saw as its "vile
anti-Semitism Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...
".


From 2005 to 2009

Burchill was an early critic of the fashion for denigrating lower social classes as "
chav "Chav" (), also "charver", "scally" and "roadman" in parts of England, is a British term, usually used in a pejorative way. The term is used to describe an anti-social lower-class youth dressed in sportswear. * * * * "Chavette" is a related te ...
s". In 2005, she presented the
Sky One Sky One was a British pay television channel operated and owned by Sky Group (a division of Comcast). Originally launched on 26 April 1982 as Satellite Television, it was Europe's first satellite and non-terrestrial channel. From 31 July 1989, ...
documentary ''In Defence of Chavs''. "Picking on people worse off than you are isn't humour. It's pathetic, it's cowardly and it's bullying," she commented in an interview for ''
The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...
'' at the time. "It's all to do with self-loathing. ... The middle classes can't bear to see people having more fun, so they attack Chavs for things like their cheap jewellery. It's jealousy, because they secretly know Chavs are better than them. They're even better looking." Following her departure from ''The Guardian'', in early 2005 she moved to ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
'', who were more willing to meet her demands, doubling her previous salary. Shortly after starting her weekly column, she referred to
George Galloway George Galloway (born 16 August 1954) is a British politician, broadcaster, and writer who is currently leader of the Workers Party of Britain, serving since 2019. Between 1987 and 2010, and then between 2012 and 2015, Galloway was a Member o ...
, but appeared to confuse him with former MP
Ron Brown Ronald Harmon Brown (August 1, 1941 – April 3, 1996) was an American politician. He served as the United States Secretary of Commerce during the first term of President of the United States, President Bill Clinton. Prior to this he was chairm ...
, reporting the misdeeds of Brown as those of Galloway, "he incited Arabs to fight British troops in Iraq." She apologised in her column and ''The Times'' paid damages thought to have been £50,000. In 2006, ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
'' dropped her Saturday column, and arranged a more flexible arrangement with Burchill writing for the daily paper. Later it emerged, during a ''Guardian'' interview published on 4 August 2008,Ben Dowel
Interview: Julie Burchill: 'I have no ambition left'
''The Guardian'', 4 August 2008.
that eventually she "was given the jolly old heave ho" by ''The Times'', and paid off for the last year of her three-year contract, still receiving the £300,000 she would have earned if she had been obliged to provide copy. She later described her columns for her abbreviated ''Times'' contract, which ended abruptly in 2007, thus: "I was totally taking the piss. I didn't spend much time on them and they were such arrant crap." In February 2006, she announced plans for a year's sabbatical from journalism, planning, among other things, to study
theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...
. In June 2007, she announced that she would not be returning to journalism, but instead concentrate on writing books and TV scripts and finally undertake a theology degree,Stephen Broo
"Julie Burchill bows out of journalism"
''The Guardian'', 21 June 2007. Retrieved 23 June 2007.
but she returned to writing for ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' newspaper. Burchill's co-written book with Chas Newkey-Burden, ''Not in My Name: A Compendium of Modern Hypocrisy'', appeared in August 2008, and is dedicated "to Arik and Bibi" (
Ariel Sharon Ariel Sharon (; ; ; also known by his diminutive Arik, , born Ariel Scheinermann, ; 26 February 1928 – 11 January 2014) was an Israeli general and politician who served as the 11th Prime Minister of Israel from March 2001 until April 2006. S ...
and
Benjamin Netanyahu Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu (; ; born 21 October 1949) is an Israeli politician who served as the ninth prime minister of Israel from 1996 to 1999 and again from 2009 to 2021. He is currently serving as Leader of the Opposition and Chairman of ...
). According to
Gerald Jacobs Gerald Jacobs is a British author and the literary editor of ''The Jewish Chronicle''. His book ''Sacred Games'' is an account of a Hungarian Jew, Nicholas (Miklós) Hammer, a Holocaust survivor, was published in 1995. Hammer was a Hungarian Jew c ...
, writing for ''
The Jewish Chronicle ''The'' () is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite ...
'' in 2008, "this book does not merely stand up for Israel, it jumps up and down, cheers and waves its arms".Gerald Jacob
"Julie Burchill: Brash, outspoken and wishing she was Jewish"
''The Jewish Chronicle'', 8 August 2008
The newspaper described her as "Israel's staunchest supporter in the UK media". When asked if Israel has any flaws, she responded: "Yes. They are much too tolerant of their freaking neighbours, much too reasonable". She declared in 2005, after
Ariel Sharon Ariel Sharon (; ; ; also known by his diminutive Arik, , born Ariel Scheinermann, ; 26 February 1928 – 11 January 2014) was an Israeli general and politician who served as the 11th Prime Minister of Israel from March 2001 until April 2006. S ...
's withdrawal of Israeli settlers from the
Gaza Strip The Gaza Strip (;The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p.761 "Gaza Strip /'gɑːzə/ a strip of territory under the control of the Palestinian National Authority and Hamas, on the SE Mediterranean coast including the town of Gaza.. ...
, that "Israel is the only country I would fucking die for. He's the enemy of the Jews. Chucking his own people off the Gaza; to me that's disgusting". Besides writing occasional pieces for ''The Guardian'', she wrote four articles for the centre-right politics and culture magazine '' Standpoint'' between July and October 2008.


2010s

At the end of June 2010 it was announced Burchill would be writing exclusively for ''The Independent'', contributing a weekly full-page column for the paper. The connection lasted less than 18 months. Burchill wrote her last column for ''The Independent'' at the end of October 2011. Admitting he had tried to recruit Burchill for '' The Sun'' in the 1980s,
Roy Greenslade Roy Greenslade (born 31 December 1946) is a British author and freelance journalist, and a former professor of journalism. He worked in the UK newspaper industry from the 1960s onwards. As a media commentator, he wrote a daily blog from 2006 to ...
commented: "my admittedly occasional reading of her columns in recent years has left efeeling that she realises her old schtick is no longer working. She has run out of steam – and sympathetic newspaper editors". Commenting on the
Egyptian Revolution of 2011 The 2011 Egyptian revolution, also known as the 25 January revolution ( ar, ثورة ٢٥ يناير; ), began on 25 January 2011 and spread across Egypt. The date was set by various youth groups to coincide with the annual Egyptian "Police ho ...
, Burchill wrote in ''The Independent'': "It would be wonderful to think that what replaces Mubarak will be better. But here's the thing about Middle Eastern regimes: they're all vile. The ones that are 'friendly' are vile and the ones that hate us are vile. Revolutions in the region have a habit of going horribly wrong, and this may well have something to do with the fact that Islam and democracy appear to find it difficult to co-exist for long." On 13 January 2013, Burchill wrote an article for ''
The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the w ...
'' defending
Suzanne Moore Suzanne Lynn Moore (born 17 July 1958) is an English journalist. Early life and education Moore is the daughter of an American father and a working-class British mother, who split up during her childhood. As a child, she was told that her mo ...
after a reference by Moore to transsexuals had been greeted with a great deal of criticism. In Burchill's view, it showed the "
chutzpah Chutzpah () is the quality of audacity, for good or for bad. It derives from the Hebrew word ' (), meaning "insolence", "cheek" or "audacity". Thus the original Yiddish word has a strongly negative connotation but the form which entered English ...
" of transsexuals to have their "cock cut off and then plead special privileges as women". There were a number of objections to her writing from members of the transgender community and non-transgender community alike. The editor of ''The Observer'', John Mulholland, responded on the comments page to what he described as "many emails protesting about this piece" and stated that he would be looking into the issue.
Liberal Democrat Several political parties from around the world have been called the Liberal Democratic Party or Liberal Democrats. These parties usually follow a liberal democratic ideology. Active parties Former parties See also *Liberal democracy *Lib ...
MP
Lynne Featherstone Lynne Choona Featherstone, Baroness Featherstone, (''née'' Ryness; born 20 December 1951) is a British politician, businesswoman and Liberal Democrat member of the House of Lords. Prior to entering politics, Featherstone was a successful bus ...
, formerly a junior Minister for Women and Equalities, called for the dismissal of Burchill and Mulholland in response to the piece. The article was withdrawn from the website the following day and replaced with a message from Mulholland, but reappeared on the ''Telegraph'' website. On 18 January, ''The Observer''s Readers Editor Stephen Pritchard defended the decision to remove the article from the newspaper's website, quoting the editor who took that decision as saying "This clearly fell outside what we might consider reasonable. The piece should not have been published in that form. I don't want the ''Observer'' to be conducting debates on those terms or with that language. It was offensive, needlessly. We made a misjudgment and we apologise for that".


Religion and philo-semitism

In her 1987 essay collection ''Damaged Gods: Cults and Heroes Reappraised'', Burchill criticised what she called "the
anti-Semitism Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...
of politicized American blacks" such as
Jesse Jackson Jesse Louis Jackson (né Burns; born October 8, 1941) is an American political activist, Baptist minister, and politician. He was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988 and served as a shadow U.S. senator ...
, who had referred to
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
as "Hymietown." Burchill wrote, "imagine how the blacks would have gnashed their diamond-studded teeth if a Jewish leader had publicly referred to
Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street (Manhattan), 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and 110th Street (Manhattan), ...
as 'Nigger-town'!". In 1999, Burchill said she "found God", and became a
Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...
and later a "self-confessed Christian Zionist". In June 2007, she announced that she would undertake a theology degree, although she subsequently decided to do voluntary work instead as a way to learn more about Christianity. In June 2009, ''
The Jewish Chronicle ''The'' () is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite ...
'' reported that Burchill had become a Friend of Brighton and Hove Progressive Synagogue and was again considering a conversion to Judaism. According to ''TheJC'', she had attended
Shabbat Shabbat (, , or ; he, שַׁבָּת, Šabbāṯ, , ) or the Sabbath (), also called Shabbos (, ) by Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the week—i.e., Saturday. On this day, religious Jews remember the biblical storie ...
services for a month, and studying Hebrew, she described herself as an "ex-Christian", pointing out that she had been pondering on her conversion since the age of 25. Burchill said that "At a time of rising and increasingly vicious anti-semitism from both left and right, becoming Jewish especially appeals to me. ... Added to the fact that I admire Israel so much, it does seem to make sense – assuming of course that the Jews will have me". She wrote in November 2012: "The things I love about the Jews are: their religion, their language and their ancient country". Burchill clashed with Rabbi Elli Tikvah Sarah of the Brighton and Hove Progressive Synagogue, and the Rabbi's lesbian partner, Jess Woods. Among the reasons for their differences was Rabbi Sarah's defence of Muslims and her advocacy of the Palestinian cause. In Burchill's words, the rabbi "respects PIG ISLAM". Rabbi Sarah told ''The Independent'' in September 2014: "The problem is urchilldoesn’t have any in-depth knowledge. I can imagine her endlessly watching the film ''
Exodus Exodus or the Exodus may refer to: Religion * Book of Exodus, second book of the Hebrew Torah and the Christian Bible * The Exodus, the biblical story of the migration of the ancient Israelites from Egypt into Canaan Historical events * Ex ...
'' with
Paul Newman Paul Leonard Newman (January 26, 1925 – September 26, 2008) was an American actor, film director, race car driver, philanthropist, and entrepreneur. He was the recipient of numerous awards, including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, three ...
. She’s got a kind of Hollywood view of Jews. You know, ‘Jews are so clever, we’ve survived ...'." In 2014, Burchill's
crowdfunded Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising money from a large number of people, typically via the internet. Crowdfunding is a form of crowdsourcing and alternative finance. In 2015, over was raised worldwide by crow ...
book ''Unchosen: The Memoirs of a Philo-Semite'' was published.
Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...
-based writer Akin Ajayi in ''
Haaretz ''Haaretz'' ( , originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , ) is an Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel, and is now published in both Hebrew and English in the Berliner f ...
'' thought "the reactionary
solipsism Solipsism (; ) is the philosophical idea that only one's mind is sure to exist. As an epistemological position, solipsism holds that knowledge of anything outside one's own mind is unsure; the external world and other minds cannot be known an ...
of ''Unchosen'' is far removed from the affectionate warmness that a love of the Jewish people can be". Burchill's ex-husband, Cosmo Landesman, considered it to be an "exhilarating and exasperating mix of the utterly brilliant and the totally bonkers". He observes that "there are plenty of Jews Julie doesn't love" including the "millions of Jews around the world who have ever criticised Israel. Her love is blind, deaf and dumb to such an obvious contradiction". ''Guardian'' columnist
Hadley Freeman Hadley Clare Freeman (born 15 May 1978) is an American British journalist based in London. She writes for ''The Sunday Times'', having previously written for ''The Guardian''. Early life Freeman was born in New York City to a Jewish family. ...
wrote: "Burchill divides up the chosen people into Good Jews (hardliners, Israelites) and Bad Jews (liberal Jews) with the enthusiasm of an antisemite. Hilariously, she sets herself up as the Jewishness Police, railing against Jews who are not Jewish enough". In his review in ''
The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'', Keith Kahn-Harris, described ''Unchosen'' as "occasionally touching, sometimes bigoted and sporadically hilarious" but that it "often degenerates into EDL-style abuse that lacks any redeeming wit."


Other books and television programmes

Burchill has written novels and made television documentaries. Her lesbian-themed novel for teenagers '' Sugar Rush'' (2004) was adapted into a television drama series produced by
Shine Limited Shine TV is a British media production company and part of Banijay with offices in London and Manchester. Shine was founded in March 2001 by Elisabeth Murdoch, daughter of News Corporation CEO Rupert Murdoch. The company was 80% owned by Elis ...
for
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...
.
Lenora Crichlow Lenora Isabella Crichlow (born 4 January 1985) is a British actress. She became known for her starring roles as Maria "Sugar" Sweet in the Channel 4 comedy-drama series '' Sugar Rush'', Annie Sawyer in the BBC Three supernatural drama series '' ...
's portrayal of the central character Maria Sweet inspired the 2007 sequel novel ''Sweet''. Burchill has made television documentaries about the death of her father from
asbestosis Asbestosis is long-term inflammation and pulmonary fibrosis, scarring of the human lung, lungs due to asbestos, asbestos fibers. Symptoms may include shortness of breath, cough, wheezing, and chest pain, chest tightness. Complications may include ...
in 2002 (
BBC Four BBC Four is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002
) and ''
Heat In thermodynamics, heat is defined as the form of energy crossing the boundary of a thermodynamic system by virtue of a temperature difference across the boundary. A thermodynamic system does not ''contain'' heat. Nevertheless, the term is al ...
'' magazine broadcast on
Sky One Sky One was a British pay television channel operated and owned by Sky Group (a division of Comcast). Originally launched on 26 April 1982 as Satellite Television, it was Europe's first satellite and non-terrestrial channel. From 31 July 1989, ...
in 2006.


''Welcome to the Woke Trials''

''Welcome To The
Woke ''Woke'' ( ) is an adjective derived from African-American Vernacular English (AAVE) meaning "alert to racial prejudice and Racial discrimination, discrimination". Beginning in the 2010s, it came to encompass a broader awareness of social ineq ...
Trials: How #Identity Killed Progressive Politics'' was planned to be issued by Tabatha Stirling of Stirling Publishing in summer 2021 after being dropped by its original publisher following Burchill's defamatory tweets to
Ash Sarkar Ashna Sarkar (born 1992) is a British journalist and libertarian communist political activist. She is a senior editor at Novara Media and teaches at the Sandberg Institute in Amsterdam. Sarkar is a contributor to ''The Guardian'' and ''The I ...
. On 14 March 2021, when referencing her new publisher Burchill announced that, with Stirling, "I've found someone who's JUST LIKE ME." Stirling is alleged to have written a series of articles for
Patriotic Alternative Patriotic Alternative (PA) is a British far-right, white nationalist and fascist group which states that it has active branches nationwide. Its stance has been variously described as antisemitic, Islamophobic, fascist and racist. History Patr ...
as "Miss Britannia", describing her son's school as "a hellhole for sensible, secure White boys" and claimed "there is one member of staff who is openly gay, and I mean
RuPaul RuPaul Andre Charles (born November 17, 1960; stylized as RuPaul) is an American drag queen, television personality, actor, musician, and model. Best known for producing, hosting, and judging the reality competition series ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' ...
extra gay". On 16 March 2021, Burchill announced she would not publish her book with Stirling Publishing, the same day she issued a public apology for libel and harassment of Sarkar. The book was subsequently published by
Academica Press Academica Press is a scholarly and trade publisher of non-fiction, particularly research in the social sciences, humanities, education, law, public policy, international relations, and other disciplines. Founded by Robert Redfern-West and managed ...
.


Statements and responses

Burchill has described her own style as "the writing equivalent of screaming and throwing things".''
Scotland on Sunday ''Scotland on Sunday'' is a Scottish Sunday newspaper, published in Edinburgh by JPIMedia and consequently assuming the role of Sunday sister to its daily stablemate ''The Scotsman''. It was originally printed in broadsheet format but in 2013 ...
'', 3 August 2008,
'I live the life of a provincial vegetable, then twice a week I get off my head on drugs' – Julie Burchill interview
''The Guardian'', 13 May 2009
'I know we've had our spats'
/ref> For her novel ''Sugar Rush'' her publicist described her as "Britain's most famous and controversial journalist". One of her most consistent themes is the championing of the working class against the middle class in most cases, and she has been particularly vocal in defending '
chav "Chav" (), also "charver", "scally" and "roadman" in parts of England, is a British term, usually used in a pejorative way. The term is used to describe an anti-social lower-class youth dressed in sportswear. * * * * "Chavette" is a related te ...
s'. According to Will Self, "Burchill's great talent as a journalist is to beautifully articulate the inarticulate sentiments and prejudices of her readers". For
Michael Bywater Michael Bywater (born 11 May 1953) is an English non-fiction writer and broadcaster. He has worked for many London newspapers and periodicals and contributed to the design of computer games. Biography Bywater was educated at the independent Nottin ...
, Burchill's "insights were, and remain, negligible, on the level of a toddler having a tantrum". John Arlidge wrote in ''
The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the w ...
'' in 2002: "If Burchill is famous for anything it is for being Julie Burchill, the brilliant, unpredictable, outrageously outspoken writer who has an iconoclastic, usually offensive, view on everything. In November 1980, former
Sex Pistols The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band formed in London in 1975. Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years, they were one of the most groundbreaking acts in the history of popular music. They were responsible for ...
front man
John Lydon John Joseph Lydon (; born 31 January 1956), also known by his former stage name Johnny Rotten, is an English singer and songwriter. He was the lead singer of the late-1970s punk band the Sex Pistols, which lasted from 1975 until 1978, and aga ...
gave an interview to
Ann Louise Bardach Ann Louise Bardach .L. Bardachis an American journalist and non-fiction author. Bardach is best known for her work on Cuba and Miami and was called "the go-to journalist on all things Cuban and Miami," by the ''Columbia Journalism Review'', hav ...
in which he referred to Burchill and Tony Parsons as "toss-bag journalists, desperately trying to get in on something" in response to their book, ''The Boy Looked at Johnny'', and described its chapter on amphetamines as "stupidity". Lydon was incensed by Burchill and Parsons attributing his talent to his alleged use of the drug in their book. In October 1999, in an article for ''The Guardian'', she wrote: "young men succeed in suicide more often than girls isn't really the point. Indeed, the more callous among us would say that it was quite nice for young men finally to find something that they're better at than girls". After a previous occasion when Burchill wrote "suicides should be left to get on with it", she "received a small number of letters from people whose sons had killed themselves". In 2002, her life was the subject of a one-woman West End play, ''Julie Burchill is Away'', by
Tim Fountain Tim Fountain (born 23 December 1967) is a British writer. Early life Fountain was born in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire. An only child, he was brought up in a pub in the village of West Ardsley, West Yorkshire. He was educated at Batley Grammar ...
, with Burchill played by her friend
Jackie Clune Jackie Clune (born 13 December 1965) is a British actress and writer. She became established through her Edinburgh Fringe one-woman cabaret shows and her 1995 Karen Carpenter tribute act before graduating to mainstream acting. Early life Jacki ...
. A sequel by Fountain, ''Julie Burchill: Absolute Cult'', followed in 2014, with
Lizzie Roper Lizzie Roper (born 1967) is a British actress. Career Trained at the Guildford School of Acting after gaining a degree in drama from Aberystwyth University. Lizzie fell into Comedy whilst performing with Lenny Beige at The Regency Rooms as Sad ...
in the central role.Neil Coope
"Burchill back in spotlight as play shows she remains a Cult figure"
''The Herald'' (Glasgow), 7 August 2014
In 2003, Burchill was ranked number 85 in Channel 4's poll of ''100 Worst Britons''. The poll was inspired by the BBC series ''
100 Greatest Britons ''100 Greatest Britons'' is a television series that was broadcast by the BBC in 2002. It was based on a television poll conducted to determine who the British people at that time considered the greatest Britons in history. The series included in ...
'', though it was less serious in nature. The aim was to discover the "100 worst Britons we love to hate". The poll specified that the nominees had to be British, alive and not currently in prison or pending trial. In 2005, on the 25th anniversary of
John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...
's murder, she told ''The Guardian'': "I don't remember where I was but I was really pleased he was dead, as he was a wife-beater, gay-basher, anti-Semite and all-round bully-boy." In the essay "Born Again Cows" published in ''Damaged Gods'' (1987), she wrote: "When the sex war is won prostitutes should be shot as collaborators for their terrible betrayal of all women." On 6 June 2021, and shortly after the announcement of the birth of the daughter of the
Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ran ...
and
Duchess of Sussex Meghan, Duchess of Sussex (; born Rachel Meghan Markle; August 4, 1981) is an American member of the British royal family and former actress. She is the wife of Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, the younger son of King Charles III. Meghan was ...
, Burchill tweeted: "What a missed opportunity. They could have called it Georgina Floydina!”, a reference to
George Floyd George Perry Floyd Jr. (October 14, 1973 – May 25, 2020) was an African-American man who was murdered by a police officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota, during an arrest made after a store clerk suspected Floyd may have used a counterfeit twe ...
. Her comments were widely condemned, with racial equality activist
Shola Mos-Shogbamimu Adeshola Mos-Shogbamimu (' Babington-Ashaye) is a British-Nigerian lawyer and academic, notable as an activist and political commentator. She frequently comments on women's rights, law, politics, diversity, inequality and exclusion. Her debut ...
stating: "She’s (Lilibet) referred to as 'IT'. The utter disrespect & dehumanisation of #HarryandMeghan children because of their proximity to ‘Blackness’ is Racist"; actress Kelechi Okafor wrote: "Likening baby Lilibet to George Floyd is to hone in on the fact she isn't fully white...She refers to Lilbet as 'it' even though it has been announced that the baby is a girl and she could've addressed her as such...Disgusting scenes." On 8 June, via her Facebook account, Burchill announced that she had been sacked by ''
The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...
'' as a result of her online comments.


Libel and harassment of Ash Sarkar

In December 2020, Burchill posted a series of defamatory tweets and Facebook posts about journalist
Ash Sarkar Ashna Sarkar (born 1992) is a British journalist and libertarian communist political activist. She is a senior editor at Novara Media and teaches at the Sandberg Institute in Amsterdam. Sarkar is a contributor to ''The Guardian'' and ''The I ...
, which included claims that Sarkar condones
paedophilia Pedophilia ( alternatively spelt paedophilia) is a psychiatric disorder in which an adult or older adolescent experiences a primary or exclusive sexual attraction to prepubescent children. Although girls typically begin the process of puberty ...
and is supportive of Islamist terrorism. Burchill called on her Facebook followers to "wade in on Twitter" against "the Islamists" and the "nonces". As a result of the comments, her publisher,
Little, Brown Book Group Little, Brown Book Group is a UK publishing company created in 1992, with multiple predecessors. Since 2006 Little, Brown Book Group has been owned by Hachette UK, a subsidiary of Hachette Livre. It was acquired in 2006 from Time Warner of New ...
, cancelled the scheduled publication of ''Welcome to the Woke Trials'', stating that her comments about Islam were “not defensible from a moral or intellectual standpoint”. In March 2021, after being sued for libel and harassment, Burchill retracted her comments, issued a full apology and paid substantial damages to Sarkar, including her legal costs. Burchill stated: "I should not have sent these tweets, some of which included racist and misogynist comments regarding Ms Sarkar's appearance and her sex life." She further apologised for "liking" posts calling on Sarkar to kill herself and promised to refrain from any further harassment of Sarkar.


Personal life

Burchill married Tony Parsons (whom she met at ''NME'') in 1979 at the age of 20. She left Parsons three years later, leaving behind a son, which was followed by years of rancour in the media, described in 2002 as "a steady stream of vitriol in both directions"; she had claimed to have persevered with the "sexual side" of their marriage "by pretending that my husband was my friend
Peter York Peter York (born Peter Wallis; 1944) is a British management consultant, author and broadcaster best known for writing ''Harpers & Queen's'' ''The Official Sloane Ranger Handbook'' with Ann Barr. He has worked as a columnist for ''The Indepe ...
". Her relationships, particularly with Parsons, have featured in her work; Parsons later wrote that "It's like having a stalker. I don't understand her fascination with someone whom she split up with 15 years ago". Immediately after her relationship with Parsons, Burchill married Cosmo Landesman, the son of
Fran Fran may refer to: People and fictional characters * Fran (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Fran (footballer, born 1969) or Francisco Javier González Pérez * Fran (footballer, born 1972), Spanish retired football ...
and
Jay Landesman Irving Ned "Jay" Landesman (July 15, 1919 – February 20, 2011) was an American publisher, nightclub owner, writer, and long-time expatriate resident in London, England. With the Beats He was born in St. Louis, Missouri, the youngest of the fo ...
, with whom she also had a son. The sons from her marriages with Parsons and Landesman lived with their fathers after the separations. After splitting from Landesman in 1992, she married for a third time in 2004, to Daniel Raven, around 13 years her junior, and the brother of her former lover
Charlotte Raven Charlotte Raven (born 1969) is a British author and journalist. She studied English at the University of Manchester. As a Labour Club activist there in the late 1980s and early 1990s, she was part of a successful campaign to oust then student uni ...
. She wrote of the joys of having a "toyboy" in her ''Times'' column in 2010. Fellow NME journalist/author Paul Wellings wrote about their friendship in his book ''I'm A Journalist...Get Me Out of Here''. She has written about her lesbian relationships, and declared that "I would never describe myself as 'heterosexual', 'straight' or anything else. Especially not 'bisexual' (it sounds like a sort of communal vehicle missing a mudguard). I like 'spontaneous' as a sexual description". In 2009 she said that she was only attracted to girls in their 20s, and since she was now nearly 50, "I really don't want to be an old perv. So best leave it". She has lived in
Brighton and Hove Brighton and Hove () is a city and unitary authority in East Sussex, England. It consists primarily of the settlements of Brighton and Hove, alongside neighbouring villages. Often referred to synonymously as Brighton, the City of Brighton and H ...
since 1995 and a book on her adopted home town titled ''Made in Brighton'' (Virgin Books) was published in April 2007. Her house in Hove was sold (and demolished for redevelopment as high-density flats) around 2005 for £1.5 million, of which she has given away £300,000, citing
Andrew Carnegie Andrew Carnegie (, ; November 25, 1835August 11, 1919) was a Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist. Carnegie led the expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century and became one of the richest Americans i ...
: "A man who dies rich, dies shamed." Burchill's second son, Jack Landesman, died by suicide in late June 2015, aged 29. In an article for ''
The Sunday Times Magazine ''The Sunday Times Magazine'' is a magazine included with ''The Sunday Times''. In 1962 it became the first colour supplement to be published as a supplement to a UK newspaper, and its arrival "broke the mould of weekend newspaper publishing". ...
'', she wrote of his inability over many years to experience pleasure and the serious mental health issues from which he suffered.


Bibliography

* ''The Boy Looked at Johnny'', co-written with Tony Parsons, 1978 * ''Love It or Shove It'', 1985 * ''Girls on Film'', 1986 * ''Damaged Gods: Cults and Heroes Reappraised'', 1987 * ''
Ambition Ambition, Ambitions or Ambitious may refer to: Music * ''Ambitions'' (One Ok Rock album), 2017 * ''Ambition'' (Tommy Shaw album), 2014 * ''Ambition'' (Wale album), 2011, or the title song * "Ambition", a song by Band-Maid from the 2021 album ...
'', 1989 * ''Sex and Sensibility'', 1992 * ''No Exit'', 1993 * ''Married Alive'', 1998 * ''I Knew I Was Right'', 1998, an autobiography * ''Diana'', 1999 * ''The Guardian Columns 1998–2000'', 2000 * ''On Beckham'', 2002 * '' Sugar Rush'', 2004 (adapted for television in 2005) * ''Sweet'', 2007 * ''Made in Brighton'', 2007, co-written with her husband Daniel Raven * ''Not in My Name: A compendium of modern hypocrisy'', 2008, co-written with Chas Newkey-Burden * ''Unchosen: The Memoirs of a Philo-Semite'', 2014 * ''Welcome To The Woke Trials: How #Identity Killed Progressive Politics'', 2021


References


External links


''Guardian'' and ''Observer'' columns by Julie Burchill


{{DEFAULTSORT:Burchill, Julie 1959 births 20th-century English women writers 21st-century English women writers Bisexual women Bisexual writers British republicans Converts to Christianity Daily Mail journalists English columnists English feminists English social commentators English women novelists English LGBT novelists Living people NME writers People from Brighton and Hove Journalists from Bristol The Guardian journalists The Sunday Times people The Times people British women columnists