I've been resisting writing about this because I don't want to become just another blogger intruding on the private grief of others. But the story doesn't look like it's going away - we're running it in tomorrow's paper - so I can't help myself any longer.
I tend to have a lot of sympathy for celebrities who live their lives through the tabloid press then find it impossible to take a step back when things go wrong. Britney and Amy Winehouse are two obvious examples - if you have an addiction or a disorder that skews your perception of reality, the tabloids should take a responsible step back and give you the space to heal, even if you're courting them and inviting the papparazzi in for tea, because you're not capable of making that decision yourself.
Jade Goody's case is a lot more tragic, in that she has a terminal illness; it's also a lot more blameless, even for those who hate "pointless" celebs, because she hardly brought the cancer on herself did she? I understand completely why she feels the need to keep living her life through the papers - saving money for her boys' future, raising awareness of cervical cancer. For a star whose career was made, and destroyed, by the tabloids, this is one last chance to redeem herself in the eyes of the world. It's extrememly distasteful but death may be the making of her.
But the endless stories and front page photos leave a bad taste in my mouth. For celebrities like Jade and Jordan, running to the papers when anything bad happens is second nature (and putting out your own version of events is an exercise in damage control). It's the papers themselves that should be exercising caution. Let Jade tell her story; print the official photos of her wedding and her deathbed confessions, if she tells you to. But if you don't get the exclusive, if your rival outbids you, don't print intrusive pap shots or doorstep her nearest and dearest. Give her a bit of the privacy that we all deserve in death, tabloid-hungry celebrity or not.
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I agree with the tragedy of this tale (although I probably wouldn't give a toss if she didn't have kids) and I think it puts an interesting new spin on the celebrity/tabloid relationship.
ReplyDeleteI think I quite like the idea that she is using her illness as a way of making money to provide for the kids after her (presumably live on UK Living) untimely demise. The only downside, of course, is that we know a big chunk of the cash is going to Max Clifford.
All we can hope now is that she is enough of a 'disposable celebrity' that her kids will grow up knowing what a devoted parent she was and that she provided for their future prior to her death, but without being constantly reminded that the only reason she was famous in the first place is because she was as thick as two short planks.