Former FIA President Max Mosley has given a fascinating interview to the Financial Times, in which he discusses his battle with the media, his campaign for tougher privacy laws, and the interest in S&M that got him into the public spotlight in the first place.
Mosley’s lawyers have recently been at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg on his behalf.
“The average media person is so horrified at the thought of any kind of regulation, that they cease to think rationally about it,” Mosley told writer Lucy Kellaway. “When the tabloids get a story that’s absolutely outrageous, a total violation of someone’s privacy, they keep it completely secret, and then publish it knowing that once it’s out, the victim won’t sue.
“Destroying people’s lives for the sake of selling a few newspapers is utterly, completely wrong. I always thought someone ought to stop it. And then suddenly I found myself in the situation where this story had been written about me, I was about to retire, I’ve got the resources, and I’ve the time. If anyone’s going to do it, it should be me.”
Mosley indicated his frustration at now being known for the News of the World affair.
“What they’ve done is so total and awful. You see, I was born into this rather strange family and then at a certain point you get away from that.
“I started working away in motor racing and you gradually build yourself a sort of aura. The work I did on road safety made me think I’ve done something quite good in my life. I’ve got all sorts of awards from governments in different countries and then, suddenly, something like this comes up – which is just something you happened to do – and it becomes the defining element of your image.”
Regarding the exposure of people in the public eye, Mosley said: “If someone is a role model and they’re doing something they shouldn’t do, the last thing you want to do is expose that. You have to ask, does what this person say achieve the objective of persuading people to behave better? Whether he’s actually doing it or not is beside the point as long as it doesn’t come out.
“In the end people are hypocritical. What’s so wrong with hypocrisy?”
Mosley also made some interesting comments about his parents, who were jailed during WW2 as Nazi sympathizers.
“I remember when I was with my nanny in the country, every now and then we’d go and visit these two people in this strange building. It all felt completely normal. I can remember the inside of Holloway jail. There was an open space with asphalt and a few little plants. Then when my parents came out, I only saw them maybe once a day. My father was always very nice to me.”
The interview goes on to discuss the drug related death of Mosley’s son, and his own interest in S&M, revealing that it began at age three or four.
If you want to read more check out the ‘life and arts section’ at http://www.ft.com
Adam Cooper F1 
A fascinating aspect of Max’s case at the time was that he was being humiliated by the News of the World, yet was giving exclusive interviews to The Times, both of which are owned by a certain Australian media mogul.
Channel 4 are currently repeating their drama series “Mosley”.
The certain media mogul has even managed to turn the wall st journal into more tabloid than news… amazing.
” Mosley said: “If someone is a role model and they’re doing something they shouldn’t do, the last thing you want to do is expose that. You have to ask, does what this person say achieve the objective of persuading people to behave better? Whether he’s actually doing it or not is beside the point as long as it doesn’t come out.”
I wonder how that’d go over with kids molested by clergy. Or, a woman raped by a celebutard with a cause.
Max just needs to go away…
this is the most disgusting subhuman on the planet.
This guy is just scum, and should be ignored.
The way he ran that kangaroo court over the McLaren spying scandal just sickens me, especially when one compares it to the Toyota and Renault episodes as well.
The core of the Mosley case is that his private bedroom activities have been exposed and published in public, which should never have happened. Everyone has a right to privacy, including well known people with a more eccentric sexual preference. You cannot fault Mosley on this.
You might not like BDSM or what have you, but Mosley never seeked to expose this side of him and he certainly isn’t enforcing it on you.
You might not like his views as an FIA president, but that is beside the point.
I think calling him “the most disgusting subhuman” is way out of line.
Adam, please stop publishing anything about Mosley, all you do is pander to his desire to be noticed. He is nothing to F1 now.
@ jim: nailed it. Further, if you’re a role model (and care about that), then one should act accordingly.
“Max Mosley believes he has lost his reputation through the intrusion of a scandal-mongering press”. Wrong. Mosley lost his reputation by involving himself in a scandal. Don’t shoot the messenger.
If Max is upset that he’ll always be known for this, then he should’ve thought of that before putting himself in that position (pun intended). Did the media go too far? Perhaps. Could they have done so without Max behaving badly? No.
If one has to hide something, they by definition you know it’s not 100% right (otherwise, you wouldn’t feel the need to hide it). Regardless of whether or not it violates any laws. That’s just common sense.
Hubris must be blinding if he cannot see any of the above. What’s wrong with hypocrisy? Easy: it makes you a hypocrite.
Thank you for the safety advancements. Now, goodbye.