Miscellaneous Celebrity News

[MiaT2]

Well, I don't think it helps to be made an object of ridicule across multiple countries.

[Rattus]

Fine and dandy to blame the media, but the media wouldn't be selling if the people weren't buying. Once everyone stops paying attention to what the various celebrities are up to, and stops buying the prurient rags that dispense all the news that's not fit to print, then the media will have to reconsider their modus operandi. Let the actors act, the royals rule, and the reality participants "perform" whatever it is they're performing, and then let them go back to their lives free of constant peeping tommery and censure.

[Miss Scarlet]

Ridiculous. No doubt, people will blame the deejays for her suicide, but the only person to blame is HER. Sounds like she was probably ill-equipped to handle a lot of things....definitely her job, and who knows what else.

There are repercussions for our actions. Pranksters just don't seem to think of this. Public humiliation or someone getting seriously hurt are two of those repercussions that happen all too often. Lives can be changed just from an insensitive joke.

She was obviously feeling the world wide repercussions of her actions. But nomatter now huge they were. In time all things pass. A few years, at most, and this would have been nothing more than a dumb action of her past. Unfortunately she didn't wait for this to happen. Now her family & friends have to suffer for her actions for the rest of their lives.

She made not 1, but 2 stupid decisions, not thinking of others.
I feel sorry for her family & the pain they are going through now. Let's hope they are stronger than her & make it through this. They've done nothing wrong, but yet are paying her price.

[Fanny Mare]

There are repercussions for our actions. Pranksters just don't seem to think of this. Public humiliation or someone getting seriously hurt are two of those repercussions that happen all too often. Lives can be changed just from an insensitive joke.

I agree.I think the only time a prank is acceptable is if you know your victim so well, you know they will laugh. I think that Mel Greig and Michael Christian are a couple of immature asses. How terribly sad for a person to feel such shame over the behaviour of these two...SMH

[Florimel]

Agreed, Fanny Mare. Pranks among friends who enjoy are okay with me and not my business. In any other case, I don't find them amusing, or entertaining. I didn't like Ashton Kutscher's tv show, nor did I like Alan Funt's show 50 years earlier. I find them to be cruel and unkind.

[ness]

Big difference, in my opinion. In the example you cited with regard to your cousin, there are arguably a few crimes involved. Assault and battery are the first two that come to mind, depending on the circumstances and if there is contact. Also, not sure if every state has them, but here in MI, we have hate crime legislation. I think in CA too, since I remember something about this on TMZ recently. Crimes against homeless or others who are different can be pushed into the hate crime category, depending on the underlying intent.

In Kate's situation, yes, it was in horribly poor taste. But was it a crime? I don't know about the laws in England. Over here, I'm not sure what it would be - unless you want to try and get into negligent or intentional infliction of emotional distress - which are hard to prove. These DJs will continue to do this as long as people listen to them and support them. The nurse, whole other story. I don't even know what they said to her to get her to put the call through - but as mentioned earlier, I think "official" people would have a code word or other ways to protect from this sort of thing. So my gut tells me she didn't follow procedures and that is probably why there were ramifications for her (like losing her job). Does it make it any less of a tragedy? Absolutely not. But is it the DJs fault that she killed herself? No.

Thanks, KatesMom!

I always learn so much from your posting and insights!

Except for the observation that I'd call the police before (or after) I'd probably go looking for my cousin's tormentors (in my scenario; and yes, stupid, I'll admit), frankly, specific crimes that would've possibly been committed against her --- and what might actually be actionable, later on --- never crossed my mind, and I learned a lot from your response.

Where Kate's case and my "What if?" scenario dovetailed (in my view, at least) centered on just the idea of people that were doing nothing but what they happened to be doing at a given time (my cousin), or were SUPPOSED to be doing at a given time (the switchboard operator, the nurse), and bothering no one else. Then, along come idiots (the street thugs, the DJs) who think that it's amusing to make a person/serious situation the center of an infantile "joke" or "prank". Never giving a thought or a tinker's damn that perhaps someone or some persons might possibly suffer long-term or permanent harm as a result of their "joke", or "prank".

Did the DJs play any physical, direct part in this lady's demise? Absolutely not. Was there something going on with her that she allowed this to push her over the edge completely? I'm no psychologist or psychiatrist, but yes, I absolutely believe that. I put the final blame for her death squarely on HER shoulders.

But I am also a believer that --- even if the lady hadn't chosen to take her life --- the DJs in question are at LEAST responsible for setting up a situation wherein something else tragic might possibly have happened. Like Kate losing her baby.

And then, to add insult to injury and KEEP trumpeting what they'd done on Twitter?

Please.

And I agree with you that there are plenty of people out there who find what those idiots did to be amusing and cheered them on. I read a few of those comments, myself, until I just got too disgusted and chose to stop. And I agree with you and shay that there are people out there who HAVE no conscience.

And, yes, I still think the DJs should be made to answer for their actions.

And like FM said, above, it seems they already HAVE:

Jacintha Saldanha death: Australian DJs Mel Greig and Christian Michael taken off air after 'sick prank' | Mail Online.

[captain]

I am still having a hard time with the phone call....in the small town I live in I could not call the hospital and get information on anyone without a password. They will not even tell me if the person is there without it. I do not blame the DJ's for the suicide.

[Critical]

Sorry, but if that nurse was my sister, I sure as hell would be laying some of the blame at the feet of those jackass DJ's. Yes, she chose to take her own life, but it was a result (at least in some part) of their behavior. Things like that don't happen in a bubble and things that you do affect other people. Maybe she was a fragile person and maybe she would have committed suicide eventually anyway, but she was on the edge and THEY pushed her over. I reject the idea that people are allowed to behave however they want in a situation like this, but are not required to take any of the blame when the situation turns tragic. I'm sure the DJ's didn't think anything like this would happen, but the key words there is that they didn't THINK. Just because they didn't intend this result doesn't mean they don't deserve some blame for the outcome.

Someone mentioned uphtread that the media does things like that because "we" want it. I don't know ONE person who would want some radio DJ to prank call the hospital where a public figure was staying. I can't believe those idiots get paid to do stupid crap like that. As if the employees of that hospital don't have more important things to do. Even if you don't have respect for the royal family, have some respect for the employees in that hospital who have better and MUCH more important things to do than deal with prank phone calls from a couple of nitwits with a radio show. I'm sure they're not joking about it on Twitter now. They were just taken off the air indefinitely.

Saying that those DJ's bear no responsibility in her death is like saying that, when a bullied teenager commits suicide after being bullied, the bullies don't deserve any of blame.

I remember when the water toxicity death happened. It was in my city. Those DJ's had people calling in - medical professionals - warning them about how dangerous that contest could be. They ignored the warnings. Yes, that woman chose to drink all that water, but I'm sure she, like many other people, had NO idea how much harm she could be doing to her body. The DJ's - and the radio station - deserved at least some of the blame for her death.

[dagwood]

Here's my question. Do they even know that the reason she killed herself was the prank call? I wonder if it was something else going on in her life.

[bee stung lips]

Saying that those DJ's bear no responsibility in her death is like saying that, when a bullied teenager commits suicide after being bullied, the bullies don't deserve any of blame.

See, I don't think you can compare the two. As silly and stupid as the prank call was, it was nowhere near the same as being kicked, ridiculed, lied about, spat on, and all the other things bullies do to their victims. Bullies target victims directly. They know their target, whereas, I don't think the DJ's called the hospital, hoping to dupe that nurse specifically.

I remember when the water toxicity death happened. It was in my city. Those DJ's had people calling in - medical professionals - warning them about how dangerous that contest could be. They ignored the warnings. Yes, that woman chose to drink all that water, but I'm sure she, like many other people, had NO idea how much harm she could be doing to her body. The DJ's - and the radio station - deserved at least some of the blame for her death.

Assuming the woman heard the doctor's warnings about the danger of consuming that much water, she should have given serious consideration to their words, since they are the experts in that sort of thing. And if she did hear them speak to the serious potential dangers, and still chose to drink that amount of water just the same, ultimately she is the one to blame for what happened to her, as horrible as it was.

The DJ's in the water tragedy, and the DJ's of the prank call were most definitely irresponsible, yes, but i don't think they should be held accountable for either of the deaths in these situations.