Hugh's refreshing approach to unplanned fatherhood

WHEN actor Hugh Grant announced he was "delighted" to be a father for the first time at 51, after Chinese actress Tinglan Hong gave birth to a daughter following their "fleeting relationship", bouquets and brickbats followed.
 
Congratulations
First of all, congratulations, says Andrew Billen in The Times. British males fall into two categories. Those who begin siring children while still in their hoodies and those, like Hugh Grant, "who believe a gentleman should take their time".
 
Grant's delight at becoming a father for the first time at 51 is a refreshing change to the way in which celebrity men often handle "surprise" births, says Hugo Schwyzer in The Guardian. Of course "wealthy and powerful men have been having one-night stands that lead to babies for aeons", but you have to admire the way Grant does things.
 
He had no obligation to express delight and pleasure at the arrival of this little girl, says Schwyzer. "That he chose to do so doesn't just say something about him, it says something about rapidly changing attitudes towards fatherhood in our society."
 
Shame on Hugh
Well, for those of us who have been following "the tawdry inexorable decline" of the actor, the revelation that he has become a father after a "fleeting affair" comes as no surprise, says Amanda Platell in The Daily Mail. His insensitive description of his relationship with the mother is utterly distasteful "even by the sleazy standards of this oleaginous womanising lounge-lizard".  
 
He has no shame about accidentally fathering a child during an apparently "loveless, insignificant liaison", adds Platell. The way his daughter came into the world is almost symbolic of the careless way he treats women. And despite becoming a father, he shows no sign of giving up "his sad and empty life of uncompromising self-adoration".

No wonder men can't stand him
Hark the predictable howls of outrage, says Tim Lott in The Independent. "The blogosphere positively seethes" with people accusing Hugh of feckless behaviour. He has stayed happily single his entire life, avoided responsibility, gotten a woman pregnant, ended the relationship and didn't even bother to attend the birth. "Is there no end to this man's gall?"
 
But perhaps there is "a scintilla of envy" in this stance, says Lott. He has sex with a gorgeous woman, gets to enjoy the fatherhood without being tied to a relationship and by all accounts is still good friends with the mother. "Men can't stand him because they're envious. Women can't stand him because he's got away with it." Personally, "I think he is an example to us all".
 
A symbol of hope?
As the world's population reaches 7 billion, Hugh and Tinglong's baby also brings together all the elements of a brighter future, says Allison Pearson in The Telegraph. Youth coupled with age (Hugh is 51, the mother 19 years his junior), and East conjoined with West. "Could there be a more fitting symbol of global harmony. Should the UN be told?" ·