Shocking photos of former advertising executive and art dealer Charles Saatchi with his hands around his celebrity cook wife’s neck have been published all over the world in recent days. In countries where Nigella Lawson is less well-known such as the US, websites like The Daily Beast had to explain who she was alongside the what and why of the photos.
The advances in digital photographic technology are a voyeurs delight. A second-by-second account of the apparent attack in crystal clear detail could be published as quickly as funds could be transferred. According to the many reports accompanying the pictures, onlookers reported that Lawson was visibly upset and shaken. She certainly looked terrified in the photos. So did anyone attempt to assist her in this moment of need?
There is no evidence to suggest that anyone did more than look on with horror at the situation unfolding before their eyes. Perhaps the fact that in the UK where the incident took place Nigella Lawson is an A-list celebrity, a household name adored by many, the sight of her being reduced to a driveling mess by her husband of 10 years shocked those seated near her in the restaurant into a state of immobility. Or perhaps people were simply trying to mind their own business.
It’s difficult to know how you would behave in this situation until you’ve experienced it. I was walking through a crowded shopping centre a few years ago when I spotted a young man punching his girlfriend. Unlike the Nigella Lawson incident that her husband is now attempting to explain away as a “playful tiff”, there was no doubting the actions of the young man at the mall. All around them people walked past, seemingly oblivious to what was clearly unfolding in front of them. One man swerved to avoid a swinging arm.
Without considering consequences I yelled out to the aggressor: “what the hell do you think you’re doing to her?” He stopped hitting the woman, looked at me threateningly and surveyed the scene around him. I am convinced that if the centre wasn’t crowded he would have come after me. Instead he ran off, leaving the young woman sobbing and bleeding. At that point, other people rushed in to help her. A woman offered to take her to the hospital. I didn’t need to get more involved than that.
Could someone not have shouted out to Charles Saatchi? The photographic evidence shows that he put one hand on her neck and then both. It doesn’t look as though it was a split-second incident. The photos also show that Lawson was clearly in tears. If the photographer could capture all of that through the camera lens then surely those seated at the next table would have seen and heard it all too.
What would you have done as a witness to that incident?