Stanley Johnson
(Picture: Rex)There are many things which journalists can consider an honour – such as winning a Pulitzer or interviewing a high-profile individual.
Yet for Christopher Hope, The Telegraph’s chief political correspondent, his latest “honour” came in the form of letting Stanley Johnson that he was to be a grandfather once more – because his son Boris apparently hadn’t told him yet.
“I had the honour of telling Stanley Johnson he was to be a grandfather again – he had been watching a film in the cinema with his phone off.
“He told me: ‘It is wonderful news. It is very good to have this extremely uplifting news from an impeccable source – the Telegraph,” he wrote on Twitter.
The comment comes after it was revealed on Saturday that the prime minister and his wife Carrie are expecting their second child together, after Ms Johnson experienced a miscarriage at the start of the year.
“I feel incredibly blessed to be pregnant again but I’ve also felt like a bag of nerves,” she said in a post on Instagram.
The baby will be the pair’s second child after the birth of Wilfred Lawrie Nicholas Johnson in April last year.
However, the way in which Stanley Johnson was informed of the news has since been described as “weird” and “embarrassing” by users online:
One of the moat disturbing and embarassing tweets I have possibly ever seen.
— RicardoAV (@RichieLionel81) August 1, 2021
This is the most tragic thing I have ever read, so well done on that, I guess
— Hector Chicken (@Hector_Chicken) August 1, 2021
This is really weird on so many levels. https://t.co/I9zuSBHcCC
— Chris Bryant (@RhonddaBryant) August 1, 2021
Nope, not weird at all…. https://t.co/3eKTpr6N7H
— Paula Sherriff 🌈💙 (@paulasherriff) August 1, 2021
This tweet is much funnier if you imagine Christopher creeping in to a darkened cinema to interrupt the film and let Stanley know. https://t.co/BlLOgRMsFL
— dan barker (@danbarker) August 1, 2021
Not weird. https://t.co/zw9O7vBkPq
— Michael Dugher (@MichaelDugher) July 31, 2021
I’m sorry but what? How is this in any way anything to do with what I trained to do as a journalist?
— Jennifer Williams (@JenWilliamsMEN) July 31, 2021
That made me laugh out loud.#cringe
— TheBossRoss 🇪🇺 🧶 🐐 ❄ 📷 (@BettinaSRoss1) August 1, 2021
This tweet illustrates why British journalism is broken pic.twitter.com/63VruhWMGJ
— 𝕋𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕓𝕝𝕠𝕜𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕖 (@Yeah_ThatBloke) July 31, 2021
Even my cringe is cringing at you.
— Josh Scully (@JoshAlexCairo) July 31, 2021
There were people with their own take on the format:
I had the honour today of telling Anna Kempner I'd eaten all the eggs again - she had been out working and was looking forward to an egg.
— Sooz Kempner (@SoozUK) July 31, 2021
She told me: "It is shit news. It is very bad to have this extremely crap news from a POS daughter - @SoozUK." https://t.co/fKAbZcmejj
I had the honour today of telling my cat he was adopted. He'd been having a shit in next door's garden and not checking his email.
— Kev of Mancunia #wokeasF #bi #transally (He/Him) (@KevinYa13099403) July 31, 2021
He told me " That explains why I have better dress sense than you and a tail" https://t.co/3yZG2iFLcB
I had the honour of telling a cat it had to have flea treatment today - it had been sitting on a chair and looking at nothing in particular.
— Tim Worthington (@outonbluesix) July 31, 2021
It told me: "It is STUPID news - just like Daily Telegraph". https://t.co/GfR2BwAH17
Others remarked on the “very odd” fact that Mr Johnson had to learn about the news through the press rather than, you know, his own family:
My immediate response to this tweet was what a strange family this must be who release such personal news to the press before first telling close family. Surely most people do what my husband and I did with such happy news - tell our parents.
— Ceri Cunningham (@CeriAnne65) July 31, 2021
This accidentally reveals something very odd about the Johnson clan. Who lets a newspaper tell their father about their impending child instead of doing it themselves
— Matt Severn (@Matt_Severn) July 31, 2021
What sort of weird family tell the media before they tell their parents?! Oddballs. https://t.co/yvvXHTjOFF
— David Baines #StHelensTogether (@davidebaines) August 1, 2021
Why wasn’t he informed by his own son? Posh people are really f*cking weird. https://t.co/zPsKHsqOm6
— Linda Marric (@Linda_Marric) August 1, 2021
Then there were those questioning whether Mr Johnson is really the type of person to turn his phone off in the cinema:
On top of everything else weird about this tweet, I refuse to believe that Stanley Johnson turns his phone off in the cinema. He's in the middle of the row, constantly checking the cricket score. https://t.co/iZ1qeaJYZZ
— Alan Hazlie (@alanhazlie) August 1, 2021
There’s no way a Johnson turns their phone off in the cinema.
— Nick O'Donnell (@gnickodonnell) August 1, 2021
Meanwhile, we’re left wondering what film he was watching in the cinema. Stan probably loves The Forever Purge.
