Photo: Instagram / Rod Stewart
There is no underestimating the power of public shaming, especially when you have a platform as huge as Sir Rod Stewart has. It took him almost five months to get a positive result, but the side road outside the singer’s mansion is finally getting fixed.
In March this year, the 77-year-old singer ditched the comfort of his mansion in Harlow, Essex, put on a hi-vis vest and, in a light drizzle, went out with a team of volunteers to fill potholes. He also posted about it on his social media, but not to brag. Instead, he wanted to raise the alarm on the issue, saying that he’d recently seen an ambulance with a burst tire on that same road, and that the council refused to do anything about it, “while millions and millions of pounds have been spent on the M11.”
You can see the original videos in the Instagram embed below. Stewart admits that the road also connects to his mansion, which means he can’t drive his Ferrari because he’d damage it in those craters, but stresses that the problem is much bigger than that. A couple of days later, as the post went viral, a spokesperson for Essex Highways said that private individuals shouldn’t just take matters in their own hands with road repairs, or risk being liable for future accidents.
Despite the scolding, Stewart’s unexpected approach has paid off. Better said, the fact that he went public with it and that it went viral paid off: the Essex County Council will be fixing the potholes soon, an insider reveals for the British tabloid The Sun.
“It seems his publicity has finally shamed the council into fixing the road,” the source explains. “Sir Rod is going to be absolutely chuffed. Good for him.”
There can be no mistaking that shaming authorities into action was the end-goal for Stewart all along, or else he’d never have posted the footage. But from what he says in the video, specifically the part about how “no one’s bothering to fix” the road even though it’s been a problem for more than a year, it does seem like he was left with no other choice and that all other recourse had failed.
You can see the original videos in the Instagram embed below. Stewart admits that the road also connects to his mansion, which means he can’t drive his Ferrari because he’d damage it in those craters, but stresses that the problem is much bigger than that. A couple of days later, as the post went viral, a spokesperson for Essex Highways said that private individuals shouldn’t just take matters in their own hands with road repairs, or risk being liable for future accidents.
Despite the scolding, Stewart’s unexpected approach has paid off. Better said, the fact that he went public with it and that it went viral paid off: the Essex County Council will be fixing the potholes soon, an insider reveals for the British tabloid The Sun.
“It seems his publicity has finally shamed the council into fixing the road,” the source explains. “Sir Rod is going to be absolutely chuffed. Good for him.”
There can be no mistaking that shaming authorities into action was the end-goal for Stewart all along, or else he’d never have posted the footage. But from what he says in the video, specifically the part about how “no one’s bothering to fix” the road even though it’s been a problem for more than a year, it does seem like he was left with no other choice and that all other recourse had failed.
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