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

Wow. That is a sad story. I hate to hear about anyone dying of cancer but her being so young and with small children just makes me so much more upset.

I've heard of that show Big Brother but have no idea what it's about. How come all these people are (allegedly) getting screwed up from this show?

Well, they spend I don't know how many weeks in a container where they're constantly (and everywhere) watched by cameras. And you can see everything that some people deem interesting on TV.

Also, they're not allowed to bring books/games/writing utensils/anything to keep themselves occupied, pretty much. The only thing to do for 3 months is talk. About each other.

I HATE "reality" shows. They are so unreal it is pathetic.

I also hate to say this but India needs to get over it. All of Britain is not responsible for what one persons says even if they are on a TV show. They can quit buying her perfume, say bad things about her and her racist comment. To demand that the Prime Minister of the country she lives in made a formal apology is stupid. The rest of the country is not responsible for what she says. If I was British India's demand for an apology would make me mad because they are holding the whole country responsible for what one "allegedly" racist person said. That is UNFAIR.

I think we need to start demanding the right to be rude, instead of the right to not be offended. The world would be a better place if, when someone said something offensive, the other party flipped them the bird and went on with their lives, instead of letting it work them up into hysteria. Sticks & stones vs. words and all that. Heads of state demanding formal apologies is ridiculous.

Mind you, people also have the right to decide to stop buying perfume for any old reason they choose, whether it's logical or reasonable or not. Live by publicity, die by publicity.

It's a real shame, though, that this real person got burned in the process, and I'm very sorry to hear about the cancer and two small boys. Life sucks sometimes.

eta: Ann said, at the beginning of her post: "Once again I'm reminded of how hard it is to be a well-known and successful woman." and I just wanted to say that it might depend a lot on what you're well-known for and successful at...

PJ

Absolutely, Pam. And it also depends on who you are, and how strong you are, and how well you deal with pressure.

But let me give two more examples of famous females who have had a hard time dealing with it:

ABBA: Thank You for the Music

The Swedish group ABBA became world famous, but it was Agneta Fältskog, the blonde singer, who paid the price for it. She was more or less stalked by various crazies who lusted after her, and she ended up becoming a recluse. It was the male composers, Benny Andersson and Björn Ulveaus, who became filthy rich because of ABBA.

I recently found this video from around 1980. The girl in the video is Armi Aavikko, who became Miss Finland in 1977, when she was nineteen. Isn't she pretty? But fame took its toll on her, and she died in 2002, at the age of 44.

Ann

RIP Jade

Read this this morning. Prayers are with her family and friends.
Carol