Movies of War

1 of 3 2 of 3 Get the best of Vancouver in your inbox, every Tuesday and Thursday. Sign up for our free newsletter.Where do we start? Perhaps last week, when members of the media were emailed by councillor Rebecca Bligh’s team, informing them that Bligh, along with fellow non-ABC councillors Pete Fry, Lucy Maloney, and Sean Orr would be meeting with the press about “a serious issue that has come to light.”That issue turned out to be allegations from ABC councillor Lenny Zhou—in Mandarin in a video posted on Chinese social media platform WeChat—that non-ABC councillors had taken and distributed drugs. After that, Zhou apologized through a statement given to media (though not on his personal social media platforms and not in person). Mayor Ken Sim applauded Zhou for apologizing. Maybe that would have been it. But, of course, it wasn’t. It turns out that Zhou was essentially repeating a claim that the mayor had made to Chinese media in English, using Zhou as his interpreter. But the mayor’s comments went further, explicitly accusing councillor Orr of distributing illegal drugs on Christmas Day. Once this was uncovered, Sim was approached by media outside an event and repeated the same line numerous times, saying he “apologized to councillor Orr for my comments”. This week, Sim’s office emailed media, informing them about a press conference that would take place two and a half hours after the email went out at City Hall. At the press conference, Sim stated that a photo he was shown formed the basis of the allegations he made against Orr. Later, his office added that a “member of the public” showed him that photo. Sim did not provide the photo or say anything else about it. Crucially, the email stated, "Following remarks, Mayor Sim will be available for questions from media in attendance.”That was true. He answered three questions. Kinda. Video of Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim holds news conference regarding comments about Coun. Sean Orr The assembled press, who made time out of their busy schedules (hey, I didn’t attend the press conference as we were finishing up our print issue, so I’m not even personally upset, just on behalf of my colleagues) to attend the conference, were told to gather in a queue. And then Sim left after five minutes. Orr took the stage after Sim—he didn’t know that a presser was planned—and stayed until he answered all questions. He did not accept Sim’s apology. Video of Coun. Sean Orr responds to Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim’s apology over controversial comments OK, now that we’re all caught up, let’s assess the fallout to see who won and lost in the debacle that was Sim’s false allegation and its aftermath.Keep in mind that, one, no one really “wins” when disinformation like this is spread, and two, parts of this are meant to be funny; if you can’t laugh at this, you have to cry. And that’s kinda sad. Loser: Ken SimAn obvious start here. We don’t want to go deeper into the summary we’ve just laid out, and there are so many things wrong with what Sim did that we could do a ranking all on its own of those things.If we take Sim at his word, he seems… not smart? Like at all? He saw a photo of Sean Orr distributing drugs at Christmas (was he wearing a Santa hat?) and then just… said that to Chinese media without verifying it at all? This is a man currently suing someone else for defamation (we’ll get there). It makes zero sense. All of it is horrible. Not providing the photo to media or giving more detail about it is flat out wrong. Repeating it without any actual proof is bizarre. It would make so much more sense if he just made it up and hoped it wouldn’t come back to haunt him since it was said to Chinese media. But there’s an underrated part of this we’re stuck on. In his actual press conference to media, Sim said, “People make mistakes. Leaders make mistakes. That’s a fact of life… However, it's how you deal with mistakes after you make them. And I’m here today to own up to that mistake I made.” That was part of the answer to the third and last question about the controversy that Sim took. It’s almost comical that he literally got down off the podium seconds after giving that answer, leaving scores of reporters sitting in line. He did not, in fact, own up to anything. At another press conference, this one on Wednesday, Sim was asked more about the situation and again kept repeating the party line about apologizing. The public deserves so much more. Winner: Sean OrrIf you’re just judging based on the press conferences that happened one after another, Orr looked great compared to Sim, as he answered all the press questions thoughtfully and with grace. Sure, the pressure isn’t on him, but still, the contrast was obvious. And Orr has also gotten a fair amount of attention through this, most of it (though not all) supportive. It has served to amplify his presence and put him centre stage. Plus, it’s something he will be able to hammer home all throughout the election campaign as he attempts to “Evict Ken Sim”. Loser: Also Sean OrrThere have also been horrible fake images spread on social media about Orr for some time, and they’ve amplified with this. Some of Orr’s more controversial tweets about safe supply and his personal drug use have popped up with more regularity too.In the end, the damage to Orr’s reputation from this allegation will be hard to measure, but it could very well be far-reaching. Winner: The word “apologized”What a star turn for the word itself, which has been uttered by Sim countless times in the aftermath of the incident, including more than 20 times during his first dust-up with reporters. Loser: Actually apologizingAs Orr himself noted, Sim’s apology didn’t do many of the things that apologies are actually supposed to do. Loser: Lenny ZhouWhen asked at the Wednesday press conference if Sim was the source of Zhou’s original comments and his reflections, Zhou didn’t answer directly. Then he basically said that this isn’t really an issue. OK. Good luck with that. And yes, we feel like calling Zhou “essentially Ken Sim in a different body” was apt; thank you for asking. Loser: Other ABC councillors Councillors Lisa Dominato, Sarah Kirby-Yung, Mike Klassen, Peter Mieszner, and Brian Montague haven’t said anything publicly about the issue. At the Wednesday press conference on Granville Street, Dominato and Montague didn’t attend. It’s possible that Dominato didn’t do so because she doesn’t agree with Sim’s stance on the matter. We have no inside info about that. And it’s possible that Montague didn’t attend because he doesn’t live in Vancouver and seems to barely care about it. No inside info there either. The others were content to stand shoulder to shoulder with Sim at the conference, though they seemed to stay silent about any actual opinions they have. If they are capable of having opinions that Sim himself doesn’t hold, there’s little to no evidence of that thus far. Winner: Kareem AllamWell, when you’re being sued by someone for defamation, it probably doesn’t hurt your case when that same person outright accuses someone on video of something that they have no proof of and that is later proven wrong. Allam is Sim’s former chief of staff, whom Sim filed a lawsuit against last year over alleged defamatory comments that claimed Sim had been pulled over by police for driving under the influence and used his position to cover it up.Allam is currently running for mayor against Sim with the Vancouver Liberals. We weren’t at Liberal Party HQ when this story broke, but we can imagine the smile that crept across Allam’s face. Winner: Other mayoral candidatesFormer Sim ally Bligh is also running for mayor, as are councillor Pete Fry and OneCity candidate William Azaroff. All have denounced the way Sim has handled the issue. Winner: Other Canadian mayorsThis is now the lowest of the low in terms of standards to hit when “facing” the media. Apparently you can give the same answer over and over to media, like you’re Marshawn Lynch. Other Canadian mayors really don’t have much to worry about in terms of comparisons at this point. Now would be the right time to release some really unpopular policy, Olivia Chow. Loser: The Chinese communityThey were lied to, no matter how you slice it. And, if we’re being cynical, it seems like Sim preyed on some beliefs of that community and its objection to drug use. After all, at the time he made the allegations, the mayor was talking about why he was down in the polls. Seriously. Loser: Ken Sim’s PR teamIf you’re Sim’s chief of staff, Trevor Ford, and Sim loses the coming October election (signs are pointing to this outcome at the moment), isn’t every single job interview you walk into going to start with “Did you tell Ken Sim to say he ‘apologized to councillor Orr’ again and again to reporters?” And then, the follow-up: “Did you think it was a good look that he answered only three questions at a press conference he invited media to?”Winner: Elias Pettersson and Filip HronekTwo of the main leaders of the currently rudderless Vancouver Canucks can rest easy right now. While both Pettersson and Hronek clearly don’t like talking to reporters and can’t ever seem to hide that, they are officially off the hook as public figures in Vancouver. They’ve never had an interview nearly as cringe or as avoidant as what Sim provided. And they aren’t being paid by the public. Join the discussion Facebook comments not loading? 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