Original URL: https://www.theregister.com/2009/11/16/andrew_du_jour/

Reg hack beats 'Belle de Jour' sex rap

Orlowski free of blogging stigma

By Christopher Williams

Posted in Bootnotes, 16th November 2009 14:45 GMT

A Reg hack breathed a huge sigh of relief this weekend, as the self-unmasking of Belle de Jour finally refuted allegations by newspapers that he was a blogger.

In 2004 The Independent repeated claims in the Evening Standard diary that following his career as an expensive prostitute, Andrew Orlowski had abandoned his morals to write the Diary of a London Call Girl blog.

"Mr Orlowski has a record of cultured sex writing on the internet," wrote Jonathan Brown, confidently putting our man in the frame.

"Yesterday, however, he was not taking any calls," Brown added, sounding a note of suspicion.

As a result, El Reg's US bureau was staked out by paparazzi.

Orlowski took to these pages to deny the allegations, saying "to be accused of being a whore is one thing, but to be accused of being a weblogger is actionable".

But the stigma of suspected blogging followed Orlowski until yesterday, when Dr Brooke Magnanti, a Bristol research scientist, outed herself in The Sunday Times.

Today our man, who is rarely mistaken for Billie Piper, declined to comment from his North London brothel. ®