The #MeToo protest movement, which encouraged women to post details of sexual harassment and assault online, went viral round the world.

They became known as the Silence Breakers, because they supposedly shattered the wall of secrecy surrounding the behaviour of powerful predatory men.

Now Time has awarded these Silence Breakers its Person of the Year award. The magazine said the women’s ‘collective anger has spurred immediate and shocking results: nearly every day, CEOs have been fired, moguls toppled, icons disgraced’.

Time has given a collective award before. In 2014, the Person of the Year went to the Ebola medics who risked their lives to save thousands of people infected with the virus in West Africa.

Taylor Swift is one of the brave ‘heroines’ gracing Time’s cover. A man grabbed her bottom, she says. That’s hardly comparable with the allegations of assault and rape made against Harvey Weinstein, is it?

In 2003, it was The American Soldier for sacrifices in Iraq and Afghanistan, where the U.S. lost 6,831 troops and a million were wounded.

So the magazine has a fine tradition of honouring the brave. But I can’t help wondering if its 2017 award has more to do with headline-grabbing opportunism than courage.

I have the greatest admiration for those who dare to speak out about genuine sexual abuse and assault.

But allegations of sexual abuse should end up in courts of law where attackers can be put on trial, not in the court of social media where spiteful and baseless claims can ruin an innocent man’s life.

So the magazine has a fine tradition of honouring the brave. But I can’t help wondering if its 2017 award has more to do with headline-grabbing opportunism than courage

And isn’t there a danger that #MeToo has encouraged such a scramble to be part of the club that the real victims of sexual assault get forgotten?

AMBER'S EX IS A POTTY CHOICE, JK The achingly politically correct J.K. Rowling has cast Johnny Depp as Grindelwald again in the Fantastic Beasts sequel, part of her Harry Potter franchise. Even though Depp’s ex-wife Amber Heard, pictured, claimed he had attacked her, the billionaire author says she’s done what she thinks is ‘right’. Anyone who remembers the pictures of Heard’s bruised face or the leaked video of the actor smashing up his kitchen in a rage at his wife will find it hard to agree. Even Harry Potter’s magic wand can’t make a wife-beater look good. Advertisement

Taylor Swift is one of the brave ‘heroines’ gracing Time’s cover. A man grabbed her bottom, she says. That’s hardly comparable with the allegations of assault and rape made against Harvey Weinstein, is it?

The hysteria started by #MeToo is encouraging women to think they have been victims of abuse — even if they never thought so before.

This week, Oscar-winner Natalie Portman said she had reconsidered her initial reaction to the Weinstein scandal. At first, she felt lucky not to have been one of the abused. But then she realised she had ‘100 stories’ of sexual harassment to tell.

One was when a Hollywood producer offered her a lift on his private jet. She was the only passenger and one bed was made up on the plane. ‘Nothing happened. He took No for an answer. I was not assaulted,’ she says. Surely that should have been that — end of story.

But then, as Time magazine has realised, the #MeToo bandwagon offers wonderful publicity. And, coincidentally, Natalie Portman has a new movie coming out.

’ Might not be the menopause, Ruth, just too many Chinese takeaways with chubby hubby Eamonn Holmes.

Glamorous Ruth Langsford blames the menopause for the loss of her size-12 figure: ‘I’ve got no waist any more!’ Might not be the menopause, love, just too many Chinese takeaways with chubby hubby Eamonn Holmes.

The British Dietetic Association has researched celebrity fad diets — including the so-called Alkaline Diet, where you avoid ‘acidic’ foods such as meat, poultry, fish, dairy, eggs and grains — only to conclude they do not work. They could have saved time and just told us that Fergie, the Duchess of Pork, swears by the Alkaline Diet. I rest my case.

WESTMINSTER WARS... He preaches austerity to us, while spending a fortune. A business class return to Brussels on BA costs only £700, Mr Hammond The Chancellor has been told by the Ministry of Defence to cough up for the VIP trips he’s taken on RAF jets on more than 20 official trips to Manchester, Brussels and Frankfurt. Some of these journeys cost £20,000. He preaches austerity to us, while spending a fortune. A business class return to Brussels on BA costs only £700, Mr Hammond. The first question Stanley Johnson asked when he was booted out of the I’m A Celebrity Jungle was: ‘Is Boris still Foreign Secretary?’ Blimey! I know Boris is an unguided missile, but Stanley’s only been away for two weeks. During the PM’s row with DUP leader Arlene Foster over the Northern Ireland border, a political friend’s mum called her and said: ‘There’s nothing to worry about, dear, they’ve got that nice Arlene Phillips handling it. She was ever so good on Strictly.’ Advertisement

The severance payment to Christina Slade by Bath Spa University is thought to be the highest made to any UK vice-chancellor

The £808,000 record golden goodbye to the vice chancellor of Bath Spa University has rightly been met with outrage, not least among debt- laden students.

The university said the cash paid to Christina Slade — which could fund around 30 degree courses — represented ‘value for money’.

Bath Spa University is rated 90th in the UK and has only 7,630 students, compared to 23,195 at Oxford and 19,660 at Cambridge.

No reason is given for her departure.

But Professor Slade’s got form in spending money.

As professor of media theory at the University of Utrecht in the Netherlands, she led a €1.25 million (£1.1 million), seven-nation EU-funded project entitled ‘Media and Citizenship: Transnational television cultures reshaping political identities in the EU.’ Ye gods . . . where do they get these people?

Coventry's real lesson

When Coventry was named the new city of culture, thrilled supporters said they wanted to ‘celebrate youth and diversity’. How tedious.

Coventry has a fine history dating back to 700AD. Throughout the Middle Ages it was one of the mostimportant cities in England.

During the Blitz, it survived being carpet-bombed, and the ruins of its cathedral — with a new one built within them — became a symbol of resistance and rebirth.

But then, the ‘yoof’ of today think the Blitz is what happens after your fifth pint of Stella, and the Middle Ages is when you reach 50.

HATTIE'S WORDS CARRIED WEIGHT No-nonsense Hattie Jacques was vast as matron in the Carry On films — but she whipped patients into shape in no time One in four nurses is now obese, prompting speculation that no patient would take seriously any weight-loss advice from them. Rubbish. It’s not how fat they are but how fierce. No-nonsense Hattie Jacques was vast as matron in the Carry On films — but she whipped patients into shape in no time. Advertisement

Princess Michael of Kent was accosted by Roma beggars.

Her husband gave one woman a tenner, and the rest immediately demanded similar largesse.

When one of my many local Roma beggars held out his hand the other day and pleaded with me: ‘Homeless, hungry, please . . .’. I went into the shop and bought him two sandwiches.

He looked at me disdainfully, shouted something foreign I suspect wasn’t very nice — and fed them to his dog.

What kept you, Melanie?

If India is so precious to you, Melanie, why did it take you 47 years to visit?

Thanks to Meghan Mania, having parents of different races has become very fashionable.

Even Melanie Sykes told Hello! she is also ‘very proud to be mixed race’, while speaking of her ‘precious’ journey back to her mother’s home in India.

‘It felt natural to be there,’ she said. ‘It might be that thing of being among your own.’ Even the normally saccharine and docile Hello! magazine asked the obvious question.

If India is so precious to you, Melanie, why did it take you 47 years to visit?

The ubiquitous Kim Kardashian’s people claim her new perfume Crystal Gardenia has been banned in Australia because of its high alcohol content, amid fears people might start drinking it. Crikey! No Aussie bloke would be seen dead knocking back a girlie perfume.

You're out of step, Alex

Alex was already a West End star before the show began. Which means her journey’s about as exciting as a ride round the M25 — on cruise control

Strictly star Alexandra Burke denies reports she had a meltdown after viewers gave her the thumbs-down, placing her in the dance-off for the second week running despite an almost perfect score from the judges.

But it’s obvious why fans have deserted her.

Strictly is supposed to be about strivers — celebrities who hadn’t danced before. We join them on what they like to call their reality-TV show ‘journey’, along with all the dramas and setbacks as they struggle to learn their moves.

Alex was already a West End star before the show began. Which means her journey’s about as exciting as a ride round the M25 — on cruise control.