Lois & Clark Forums Forums General Discussion Off Topic Poor Jade Goody

Once again I'm reminded of how hard it is to be a well-known and successful woman.

At my school we subscribe to some magazines written in somewhat simplified English, where the students can read about topics that will hopefully interest them. A few years ago, there was an article about young British people who had done well in the Big Brother TV show. The article, which was very short, said something about what had happened to these winners afterwards. All the girls had done badly. If I remember correctly, one of them had had a nervous breakdown (but I'm not sure about that), one had developed an eating disorder (again I'm not sure about that) and one said that if she could live her life again, she would not take part in Big Brother. By contrast, several of the guys had gained and retained a modest popularity, and they were pleased with their lives and themselves.

Ah, but there was one girl whose life had apparently become a success thanks to her appearance in Big Brother. That was Jade Goody. In the magazine there was a picture of her, where she looked something like this:



I immediately liked her looks. I thought she looked a lot more 'natural' and 'normal' than so many other famous women do.

And the magazine said that Jade Goody had become popular enough to launch her own perfume.

Ah, but then about two years ago all hell broke loose. Jade Goody took part in another round of Big Brother, but this time one of the other participants was a female Bollywood star. By now, Jade Goody had become overweight, and she looked rather tired and course. The Bollywood star, however, looked immaculately perfect.



Well, in that Big Brother show, Jade Goody said something about the Bollywood star which was construed as racist. Maybe it was racist, too. Maybe, however, it also had something to do with how people who have grown up poor and without much schooling, like Jade Goody, sometimes resent and look down on rich people. That is because many rich people have always been waited on by others, and they have been able to spend their whole lives grooming themselves until they attained outward perfection.

Anyway, that racist remark of Jade Goody's came closing to causing an international crisis. The prime minister of India demanded that Tony Blair, who was then the prime minister of Great Britain, should issue a formal apology to India for what Jade Goody had said. And Jade Goody herself became Great Britain's most hated and despised woman. Nobody wanted her perfume any more, and stores were ashamed to sell it.

And now, just the other day, Jade Goody's name appeared in Swedish newspapers again. This time she made the news because she is dying of cancer. At twenty-seven. She just married her boyfriend and sold the rights to her wedding for a lot of money. She has two small boys, and when she leaves them motherless, which she may do in a couple of weeks, she will at least be able to give them money.



Poor Jade Goody.

Ann