Is Max Gogarty the New Kellie Pickler?

Well, there may not be a video going around for this one, but a major travel blogging scandal is generating plenty of attention. The chronology, so far as I can tell, goes like this:

 

1) 19-year-old Max Gogarty writes the introductory post on his new blog over at The Guardian, which will chronicle his gap year adventures.

2) Readers respond with (occasionally hilarious) vitriol, which only increases when someone makes a connection between Max and sometime Guardian freelancer Paul Gogarty—his father.

3) The Guardian closes the comments section on the post, and Max’s blogging gig is cancelled.

4) Bloggers everywhere feast on the kid’s remains.

As when Kellie Pickler and Miss Teen South Carolina got ripped to digital shreds, I am torn between pity (especially, in this case, for a young aspiring writer) and snickering. After all, Max’s blog contained gems like this: “I’m not entirely sure what appeals to me about travelling. Maybe the lack of work or study? The mayhem? The imagined company of beautiful girls… I’ll do my best to tell of the debauched beach parties, the dodgy days with ‘washing machine’ tummy, the messy late-night stumblings into bars and, of course, all that bullshit about finding myself.”

Still, less-than-scintillating gap year clichés are no excuse to traumatize the guy for life, are they?

The fallout so far includes the creation of two Facebook groups and Wikipedia being forced to lock down the editing function on the entry for nepotism. BuzzFeed has a list of its best five related links, and Digital Lifestyles has a collection of its favorite hate-filled comments. Finally, Caroline Davies of The Observer has a story focusing on the impact of all the publicity for Max and his family.

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