‘I interviewed Keir Starmer – give me an grownup star over the PM any day’
Keir Starmer is not the most personable bloke, and that was evident when the Daily Star’s Adam Cailler once interviewed him, but skip forward a few years and there are far more interesting people to chat to
Starmer is not the most interesting bloke(Image: Getty Images)
There’s a bit of an unwritten rule in journalism, where the journalist is never the story – so allow me to indulge myself for a minute with an unexpected story of friendship from an unlikely place.
A few months ago, I had the pleasure of interviewing former Babestation model and adult star Teagan Barnes. As with most people in that line of work, I found her interesting and engaging, and a far more compelling interviewee than the usual array of politicians and celebrities I’ve had the pleasure (or displeasure) of interviewing over the years . . . including Keir Starmer.
I interviewed the PM just after he became leader of the Labour Party, during his outreach tour of Jewish media (what a bizarre time to be working in that sphere . . . ), and it very quickly became apparent that no question would be answered properly and even my attempt at normal conversion such as “how are you?” went down like a lead balloon. The man clearly has no idea how to hold an actual converstion that hasn’t been written down on a script for him.
But skip forward seven-or-so years, and enter Teagan Barnes. Teagan, although her story is not a unique one in the adult world, surprised me with one aspect. She did not get into it for fame and fortune, she does it for the same reason most of us do what we do – to put food on the table for our family.
We’re roughly the same age (around 36ish), and come from humble family backgrounds, and we both love our jobs, but again, do it for humble reasons.
And while original plan for this piece was supposed to be a straight up interview, I wanted to share something that has happened since Teagan and I first chatted and it’s something that hasn’t really happened to me in this line of work before.
We have, in a very 2020s way, become friends (albeit virtually). We chat about life, relationships, politics, music, and more. She has a young family, as do I, and we both work to support them in the best way we can.
There’s a misconception with adult starts that they’re either attention seekers or have not a lot going up upstairs. If life at the Daily Star has taught me anything, it’s that this is extremely untrue.
Yes, granted, there are those who are very much of the “clout chaser” mentality (Bonnie Blue . . . ), but from incredible business women to just genuinely good people, adult stars are often not what you’d expect.
But Teagan is something else entirely – she’s just a normal person trying to get through her day like the rest of us, and has an outlook on life that most of us could do well to learn from.
Humility in life is a rare gift, and she has that. In the six weeks we’ve become friends, it’s clear to me that she deserves a level of respect that adult stars are rarely afforded just because of their line of work (you know, getting paid to do something most of us do for free in our normal lives).
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, it’s time the general public started to grow up and stop being prudes towards the adult industry and those within it.
A job is a job, and in today’s world, having a job – no matter what it is – and loving it is something worthy of respect . . .
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