R336 *SIGH* Hi newbie! Unfortunately I think every assumption you made was flawed.

First let me state unequivocally and for the record, I fucking ADORED Ben back then. Fucking loved him. He made me damned happy. I lurked here for years but never posted anything till January. That's when Montanagate broke, and that's when my very confused brain began changing its opinion. Those are facts and provide context for the following.

Yes he asked the doctor for his expertise, which was wise. But as I clearly said, he didn't "commiserate" in any way. He made it seem like it was only the doctor who had had Covid. And Ben has become infamous for his lies of omission recently. No of course he's not obligated to admit, but think of how much more effective it would have been for *Ben's* *fans* if he did say he had it too. And stressed that you don't want it, he knew from personal experience. He could shared his symptoms with the expert and asked him to explain further what happens. Whatever he wanted to make the danger even more real for *his* *fans*. Fewer degrees of separation and all. That in no way makes it all about him, it makes it more inescapably real for his fans. He could have done so much more with that live but, again *IF* this rumor is true, he chose to hide and simply check a box instead.

And wasn't that live in April (if memory serves)? That was *just* after lockdown. If he caught it earlier it would have been *literally* at the beginning of it! Who the hell would have faulted *ANYONE* for catching this before it was widely understood what was going on?!? I promise you, I wouldn't have done so. I would have been scared to death for him and, if we knew about long Covid back then, would have hoped and "prayed" that he wouldn't have suffered it. Because like I said, I *adored* him back then.

As I said, my opinion of him fell after Montanagate broke, and then it fucking CRATERED after he, instead of acknowledging/explaining what happened, he futilely desperately tried to cover it up. Just think, if he had only behaved like an adult, and even explained after the fact that he'd already had it and so thought himself safe and that was the reason he did it. He believed he wasn't putting people at risk. I promise you, I would have given him the benefit of the doubt. My opinion of him would have rebounded, and I likely would have gone back to just lurking here. Cause I wanted to believe So. Fucking. Badly. that he had just made an innocent mistake. But he never even tried to make me feel that way. Instead he doubled down in a fit of arrogance.

BTW, what's the suspected timeline for this? Cause that first maskless pap walk was the beginning of April. Before or after he might have had it.

Basically, you're entirely wrong in your assumptions about the "haters" here. We likely never would have turned to hating him if he had just explained at some point that he'd had it and believed himself to be immune. The past TEN fucking threads likely would have been entirely avoided. Again, *IF* this rumor is true.

And by the by, your subsequent "defensive behavior" after a couple replies really calls into question your motives for bringing this to us now in my eyes personally. I don't speak for anyone else of course.