Dr. Matt Taylor: Comet Mission Scientist Launches Controversy With His Shirt
Dr. Matt Taylor, one of the British scientists involved with the historic mission that landed a man-made craft on a comet, was criticized this week for a shirt he was seen wearing during televised coverage of the event. The clothing in question was a bowling shirt that depicted scantily clad women, some of them brandishing guns and others in bondage dress, according to the Independent.
As previously reported by the Inquisitr, the Rosetta mission to Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko — often referred to simply as 67P — made history last Wednesday when it landed the first spacecraft on a comet. There was great elation among the European Space Agency (ESA) for the achievement, but many viewers were less-than-thrilled with Taylor’s choice of shirt.
Many outraged objectors expressed their displeasure on social media.
“Someone thought this was appropriate dress for a press conference? And then we talk about why women leave tech,” posted one woman.
There was enough of a firestorm of outrage that during a press conference on Friday, Taylor made a public statement about the shirt, during which he broke out in tears.
“The shirt I wore this week — I made a big mistake and I offended many people. And I’m very sorry about this.”
According to Reason.com, the creator of the shirt, a woman named Elly Prizeman, said the following about Matt Taylor and the now-infamous garment.
Dr. Matt Taylor is an amazing, kind, loving and sensitive person…I never expected him to wear my gift to him for such a big event and was surprised and deeply moved that he did…I appreciate that everyone is entitled to their opinion and having worked with people and events for a long time I have certainly learnt that you are never going to please everyone…”
Meanwhile, the initial enthusiasm over the comet landing has been muted by the fact that the probe that reached 67P’s surface has run out of battery power. This is due to the fact that it landed in a location where sunlight is blocked, depriving the lander of the light it needs to charge up.
ESA scientists such as Dr. Matt Taylor are no doubt hoping for the chance that 67P’s journey around the sun will bring Philae’s solar panels back into the light.
What do you think of the controversy surrounding Dr. Matt Taylor’s shirt? Do you think he deserved to be criticized for wearing it?
[Images via Quora]
