Jade Goody.
Max Clifford is on our programme tonight, talking about whether some of the coverage of Jade Goody - particularly the footage of her being wheeled into hospital - is appropriate.
Have a listen and feel free to add your comment.
Jump to more content from this blog
About this blog
PM The evening news and current affairs programme presented by Eddie Mair.
iPM The programme that starts with its listeners. Join the discussions online and contribute ideas for a weekly programme presented by Eddie Mair and Jennifer Tracey.
The PM Privacy Commission
Read the final report of the PM Privacy Commission.
- Full Audio and Transcripts
- Hugh Tomlinson QC
- Zac Goldsmith MP
- Max Mosley
- Stephen Abell
- Hugh Grant
- Sir Charles Gray
- Alan Rusbridger
- Helen Wood
- Max Clifford
- Marcus Partington
- John Kampfner
- Christopher Graham
- Louise Mensch
- Andy Trotter
- John Mullin
- Avril Sanders Royle
- Jimmy Wales
Meet the commissioners, view the terms of reference and hear the Commission Chair Sir Michael Lyons explain his approach.
RSS feed
Email us
Our Twitter
Listen to PM
~RS~q~RS~~RS~z~RS~09~RS~)
Comments
Sign in or register to comment.
"Max Clifford is - talking about whether some of the coverage of Jade Goody is appropriate"
Mmmmm tough one. Let me see.......did it put money is Max's slimy pocket ? Yup.
Does Max spouting more slime on a 'news' programme put more money in his pocket ? Yup. I guess that Max will decide that's appropriate then. Sorted.
Just please please please tell me the BBC didn't pay him (with my money) as well ?
Complain about this comment
She's easing the terrible agony using a drug called Fame.
You begrudge her its use, Eddy?
Complain about this comment
SSB 2
I agree.
Would I do the same?
Don't know.
But, I'd hope I'd say I'd "milk the situation" for all its' worth. Especially if I were leaving youngsters behind.
I know little about this Lady. But, she's dying at what..? 27 years?
The very best of luck (not said cynically) to her and, her family!
Complain about this comment
On the programme you said you wanted our thoughts. Please don't - it just perpetuates it all.
Complain about this comment
I never enjoyed anything about Jade Goody. I was always appalled by her. I still am. I dont believe dignity was ever part of her being. I am very sad to see anyone suffer, and I regret her illness.
She is a minor figure. I dont see why so much time is given in the media to her.
It would be better to have a series of proper discussions of cancer on radio and TV, than dwell on her case. We can all choose to pray for her.
Complain about this comment
'....feel free to add your comment....', as long as it isn't negative, that is. Mine on the previous thread were deleted. So much for free speech on the BBC (regardless of the 'get out' clause at the bottom).
Complain about this comment
max clifford seems very ingratianing and happy to give his views on poor jane goody- BUT he ain't doing it for nothing- what's his fee ?
Complain about this comment
This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the House Rules.
D_M 6
"..free speech.."
Are you insane..?!
Complain about this comment
We need to talk more about death and accept that it will come to us all. If Jade wants to die in the public eye, then denying her this in the name of "preserving her dignity" is selfish and cowardly.
We created Jade Goody. We exploited her when is suited us. To abandon her now would be shallow and dishonest.
Complain about this comment
I never had a lot of time for Jade Goody, but I do now. What she is doing is very courageous. She is not just making us aware of the scourge of cervical cancer at a time when the vaccination for girls is a subject of debate. She is also bringing the reality of death to our attention.
Though we can see dozens of violent deaths on our screens every week, our society insulates itself from the actuality of it. For the most part we can behave as if death will not really happen to us and this can adversely affect our priorities in life and our risk-taking behaviour. Palliative care services and those for elderly people are under-funded, even though we are all likely to need them! Believe it or not, thousands die each day in this country, completely out of the public eye!
I am also suffering from incurable cancer, though I probably have longer than Jade. I am 57 and the breast cancer I thought was cured 9 years ago returned last year in my spine. This was diagnosed a few weeks after the death of my 20-year old daughter, from a malignant nerve tumour. Her father died from the same thing 6 years ago.
These things happen to people, but sometimes I feel that this whole area of human experience has to be hushed up and that I am upsetting people disproportionately by speaking about it. As a result of this taboo, it's much easier to get explicit sexual information than about the process and experience of dying. Has death become the new pornography?
Good on you, Jade. Dying is not easy for anyone involved, but we do need to know both that it can involve pain and that things can be done to help, like the operation you are having today.
I expect to see you on the other side, Jade, when I get there.
Complain about this comment
Until we are in this situation I don't think we can really say how we would react, but having lost 2 friends, very young to this terrible disease anything that we can do to encourage check ups and make people think about their health has to be a good thing and if the Jade Goody story is doing so, so much the better
Complain about this comment
Many thanks to the BBC and in particular the PM program for discussing this important topic.
Some others would focus on the world economic crisis, the recession in the UK, or the Middle-East problems. Good for the BBC, giving us our quota of news about Jade. Thank you. More tomorrow ?
Complain about this comment
Glad you used a pretty and happy photo of Jade for this thread.
I gather she is not very bright and I wonder how many money-grabbers are steering her into "making as much money as she can for her children" instead of advising her that perhaps her little boys just need to spend these last few months/weeks with their Mum.
It must be terrible to have your final months under the microscope but surely she has enough money/wherewithal/ability to sneak away from the cameras? Or barricade the street if she wanted to?
It seems that the press are determined to get photos of her in pain/distress despite whether or not she wants it. I feel terribly sorry for her but can't help thinking "Live by the sword, die by the sword".
Complain about this comment
I think a lot of people who have a problem with the so-called reality TV genre are exploiting Jade just as much as her enablers like Max "I didn't do nothing" Clifford.
Holding up what are essentially her last photographs as proof that the so-called reality TV genre has no tact or manners is just as tasteless as taking them and publishing them in the first place.
There would be no controversy for the plebs to buy into, if those who see her exploitation for what it is simply ignored it. We might start by not dedicating so much time to someone's private grief on a supposedly serious news program on radio 4.
Complain about this comment
L_S 14
"I gather she is not very bright and I wonder how many money-grabbers are steering her into "making as much money as she can for her children" instead of advising her that perhaps her little boys just need to spend these last few months/weeks with their Mum."
"...but surely she has enough money/wherewithal/ability to sneak away from the cameras? Or barricade the street if she wanted to?"
L_S. Really? Where, I wonder, do you gather your notions from?
Complain about this comment
I am sorry, and i know I will be put down, for this but whilst i feel acutely sorry for Jade and her family and I actually think that if i was in her shoes I probably would take advantage of the opportunity to be given money for my childrens education.......I am however becoming so angry. I have yet to see any consideration for the other people and families who are suffering in the same way at the moment. There were likely to be children who were visitng their mother or father in the hospice where she was being cared for and are also going to face 'losing' them, but i did not see any appreciation of this or the fact that the press 'invasion' caused by her admission, would impact upon everyone at the hospice. Do not get me wrong, I firmly believe that everyone is entitled and deserves access to high quality hospice care and I know that the hospice will have done everything they could to accomodate her needs and those of the other patients. But there was no acknowledgement of this. Her friends organised a sponsored walk with t-shirts showing her picture, fine i thought, if the money was going to a charity or a fund to help a wide number of people, but no, it was for her children again. How much money do they need? there are so many children and families and services who would so welcome just a tiny slice of the money she is being given. Celebrities such as posh and becks sent her children signed football shirts, its nice i know, but i would have so much more respect for them if they gave a donation to a charity.
Apparently jade has had a marie curie nurse with her constantly since she was discharged from hospital - I regularly have to fight to get 2 nights cover a week for familes who are literally 'on their knees' with coping with a loved one, who is generally bed bound and very ill.
When someone has cancer there is a 'halo' effect, in that no one is supposed to speak or think badly of them, but they are the same person before they were diagnosed - the cancer doesn't change that. Well, i don't like jade - I just find her immature and selfish and this, to me, has just been magnified by the attention she is now recieving from the press and 'celebrities'. What makes me so much more angry however, is the support she is being given, whether that be materially, physically or in terms of health care support, which is far beyond anything that so many people who are dying with cancer of whatever age, and their families are struggling to cope with. Yes, it is awful what is happening to her and her family and to see them all suffering, but to a degree she is still manipulating this in terms of access to the media, her choice i suppose, but what I find most annoying, frustrating and extremely sad, is her lack, or apparent lack, of insight or awareness, into the fact that she is not the only person who has or is suffering...that there are so many people who have urgent needs to improve their quality of life before they die, that are not being met. I am angry that she does not appreciate this. i am angry that this is being perpetuated by the media and by celebrities, when the opportunity exists to support so many people and their families who are suffering in exactly in the same way that jade and her family are. She is not the only person in pain.
Complain about this comment
Before someone fails to understand the point of my first post I should add that I have nothing against Ms Goody's recent actions related to her illness. My objection is to those who make a living out of other people's misery as well as those hypocritical sections of the media which took delight in ridiculing her before her illness and now feign sympathy - all the while selling newspapers.
Complain about this comment
I totally agree with the remarks made in the No. 1 Comment. I certainly feel it is a very sad situation Jade Goody is in and whilst it is important that people should be made aware of the terrible consequences some cancers can cause and how important it is to have the appropriate medical checks (prevention is better than cure) but I do not think it is right to "flaunt" these pictures and even to the extent that Gordon Brown has got involved in commenting. It is almost a farce now and enough is enough.
Complain about this comment
(16) U10780386: I don't read 'Hello' or watch gossipy TV but I understood from all her fame, TV shows, wedding coverage that she was fairly wealthy - is that not the case?
If it were me, I'd gather together whatever last pennies I had to escape the press. Perhaps she doesn't want to?
Enlighten me.
Complain about this comment
L_S 20
"I don't read 'Hello' or watch gossipy TV but I understood from all her fame, TV shows, wedding coverage that she was fairly wealthy - is that not the case?"
Nor do I. Nor, do I presume to know what anyone else should do or, maybe should do.
Complain about this comment
The only time I hear or read about Jade Goody is when she's mentioned on PM.
I've seen photos of her on the cover of a magazine my daughter reads, but choose not to read the articles.
I've never ''approved'' of Max Clifford, but I strongly agreed with what he said on tonight's PM. Jade has made decisions as to how she wants to present herself - I hope she finds a sort of satisfaction in the publicity she's getting.
I don't know what I'd do in Jade's place, as thankfully I have never been in extremis. Each to their own - we do what we feel compelled to do. I wish her peace.
Complain about this comment
Too much of a focus on a nobody.
Will her children remember her last few weeks or months with fondness - or just as an unseemly scramble to make money? Surely the time would have been better spent alone with children and family.
Complain about this comment
(22) Gillianian: agree entirely with your sentiment.
(21) U10780386: I don't think any of my comments are unreasonable. Something tells me you're having a bad day...
Complain about this comment
L_S 24
No
But why are you "picking" on Ms Goody..? See 14
Complain about this comment
rainbowfantasia (17) If I remember correctly, Jade Goody is also giving some of the money to a cancer charity.
Very best wishes to you and yours.
Complain about this comment
Apparently if one lives in the public eye, one also dies in the public eye.
Complain about this comment
Poor poor Jade, I'm not sure why she is doing this, but at least she is giving this horrible disease an 'airing' and people are talking about it. It wasn't so many years ago that nobody talked of Cancer.
My wife is a nurse, and says the quality of care patients get at the end varies so much. I believe we should be doing everything we can to help, and we cant help if we are ignorant of the symptoms, so for this I thank poor, poor Jade.
Complain about this comment
Rainbow@17
I can empathise with your feelings. I can empathise with Jade ___? (don't know her married name).
Nevertheless, a couple of weeks ago when this issue was first tackled on PM, I pointed out that I thought that the mistake here was the normalising of Jade's experience. You point out adiquatly that hers is not a normal experience. Do I really want to see someone publicly dying? Well, perhaps we have to face the reality, but can't help feeling that there seems to be little dignity attached to Jade's outgoing. We are even privy to the horrible side effects of her medication. one of the problematic consequences of this is that one could be forgiven for thinking it is little more than a publicity stunt. (The side effects event over the weekend I mean). I haven't shed any tears as yet for jade or her family. I did cry a little and well up each time I saw the story of baby Cameron and parents. I have no political affiliations but I felt the Cameron's were and are dignified in their loss. I also feel for all the other souls known by those who care about them rather than the tabloid press.
Complain about this comment
After a massive ovarian cancer op I was given at most 3 years to live AND taken to a Hospice for reassurance that I can die with dignity, so I empathise with anybody's personal physical agony. I also have some friends who in the past were news editors and such in the national press and gave me a few pointers.
With this background may I offer for your consideration the thought that when naive people enter into contracts with the media as "personalities" they see all the advantages (money, fame etc) but fondly imagine (and are led to believe) that they will somehow be able to control and manipulate this relationship and even terminate it at will.
That is not true: you belong to them wholesale and they will squeeze you for every last gasp and picture. If you get an exclusive contract with one paper, others will run "knocking copy" or "spoilers", presenting you in a very dark light. Like Joan Collins, who always had a "star" face ready, yet some years ago it was a snap of her putting milk bottles out in hair curlers and her dressing gown, sans any makeup, that was triumphantly paraded in the press...
The late great Princess Diana found it all out too late and to her very great cost and what is it Ms Goody can do financially to "protect herself" now that Diana and her circle could not afford?!
I have no time for "personalities" but I have motherly compassion for the desperate girl who made a Faustian pact and will have no pity shown to her by the pack to the last moment, unless there is an agreed moratorium by the editors of all newspapers, in the name of decency and humanity, on the publication of any more of her photos. Please, leave her to die in peace, if that is indeed her wish.
Complain about this comment
As far as I recall from media coverage of Jade, she started off her original BB appearance being hated - then turned into a comedy figure because of her lack of geographical knowledge.
When she left, she made one big mistake: she hired Max Clifford. Without him, she could have made a few tens of thousands of pounds by selling her story to the tabloids, and might have gone back to being a dental nurse (which I believe was her former occupation).
It was interesting reading on Wikipedia that she had two previous cancer scares, the results of which were apparently negative. The advanced nature of the cancer this time suggests that she's had it a while, which could potentially call into question the results of the previous scans...
But returning to the topic in question, what she really could do with for her last few weeks is for the entire family to taken to a private country retreat - somewhere away from the press gang who are probably currently camped outside the hospice where she's staying - and if she returns home, outside her home - where they'll demand updates from whoever walks out of the front door.
Complain about this comment
So many of you just miss the point.
There is nothing special about Jade, she never said there was. She is just like thousands of other women dying an agonising death. Allow her the dignity of choosing her own way - surely all of us deserve at least that.
I trust she will die in the manner SHE chooses, and may everyone else look outside of their own tiny box.
Complain about this comment
I think the reason lots of people are following this story, is because quite a lot of ordinary folk can identify with her as an ordinary working class person, who speaks before she thinks and hence, we hear her true feelings and know that she is being honest in what she says.
Most Celebrities, and most people say only what they think will be acceptable to the person they are talking to, and often not what they are really thinking.
It is refreshing to see a person so open, and we all feel sad about her situation, we all have a sort of fear of death, and usually it isn't spoken of much, this can only be a good think to make it more acceptable to talk about it, and also help other people in her situation talk also.
As for her contributing to a cancer charity, although she has not financially as far as we are aware, the openess surrounding her illness has done more good be making others aware of the need to seek medical help early on in these cases. This would have cost millions to give the same effect by advertising it, and I am sure it would not have got the press and tv coverage that Jade has in the last few weeks, Well Done Jade, I for one think she should receive some sort of an honour for the good work she has done over the last few weeks, and at least be acknowledged for what she has done before it is too late.
Sue from Grimsby
Complain about this comment
I was very moved by Max Cliffords interview on Radio4. It is true we all deal with cancer differently. My Mum passed away having suffered terribly for 3 years in May 2008. It was a living hell for Dad and myself. She suffered and her pain was not controlled. I don't think anyone has the right to judge Jade until they are in the situation themselves or are close to someone who is. We have the right to choose what we want to do in that situation. I am walking the Race for Life again in June, my 4th year. I hope that one day a cure will be found for all these cancers. Something has to be done.............It's so unfair............
Complain about this comment
At the beginning of the interview Max Clifford said "It is entirely or largely media led, for example you're phoning me I've never phoned anybody."
When asked if she was happy with the coverage he said, "She was very keen for me to let people know about the neighbour."
How was that, by semiphore?
Why at this time is Max unable to say who is looking after her dignity?
Last September details of her medical condition and chances of survival going from 90% to 50% were printed in a paper before she knew herself.*
Not a murmour of complaint from herself, friends or those paid to act on her behalf.
The day doctors diagnosed her illness was terminal, rather than a general statement the story was delayed to become an 'exclusive', was that negotiated at a dying woman's bedside?
How does the notion 'a person has the right to choose how they die' fit in with someone throwing themselves off a bridge or in front of a train.
Should they be allowed to get on with it without any interference from others?
Why is what we are seeing acceptable because someone is dying or it's for the sake of the children?
Have the children been told why or asked if they want their pictures splashed all over the media, or is it that pictures of the children up's the price of fame?
Why the media speak to Max Clifford as if he is a honest broker when talking about his clients is beyond me.
*Sunday Mirror 13/09/2009 "Still under heavy sedation in intensive care - with doctors yet to tell her the latest findings."
Complain about this comment
L_S 24, You always get uppity when someone disagrees with you. Why not just ignore Mr Number, like you do me?
Complain about this comment
(25): U10780386: Not sure how you interpret my comments at 14 as "picking on" Jade:
a) it is generally accepted (even publicly acknowledged by her) that she's not very bright;
b) I'm concerned she isn't being given good advice;
c) in my opinion (and if it were me) I'd want to be left in peace with my immediate family;
d) it must surely be awful to live under a microscope;
e) she probably does have enough money to escape to a retreat (as mittfh also suggests above at 31) - re. comparisons to the Princess of Wales, I think there were times she was able to escape the press and that, had she genuinely wanted to under similar circumstances, a way would have been found;
f) the photographers, knowing their pictures will fetch a high price as they will sell newspapers/magazines, do seem determined to get photos of her in distress;
g) Cossackgirl at 30 seems to share some of my sentiments re. courting the press - it's a dangerous game to play and one few benefit from.
I am sorry if you feel that any of these comments are attacking her in any way, they certainly are not intended to be.
I'm actually very sympathetic towards her plight as I'm sure everyone else is. My mother became ill with cancer when I was eight years old (I came home from school to find her collapsed on the kitchen floor) and died after several radical operations and an agonising three years, my father died a few years later, also from cancer, when I was just 20.
The only good thing about it is that it is highlighting cancer and the need for people to be more wary of warning signs.
(31) mittfh: I heard that Jade didn't like the treatments for her previous cancer "scares" so did not continue with them. I can not remember which programme I heard it on and it has only been mentioned once (to my knowledge). If it is true, it's a salient point.
Complain about this comment
Hi, first time posting. lurked for ages but now feel i can no longer keep quiet. I want to make it clear that i have never met Jade goody nor watched her in any tv shows - for all i know she could be a very sweet and charming personality. However, this obsesion with non-entities has to stop. Jade is not a celebrity and never will be. celebrities, in my opinion, are people to be admired, who through hard work and determination have excelled to the top of their field or won over adversity. its bad enough that an average joe can enjoy celebrity status through no more than luck, its worse that the outpouring of synthetic emotion over their situation has reached near princess Diana levels.
While i feel pity for Jades situation and genuine sadness for her two sons, i cant help but be angered by the media circus that surounds it all. It shows greed and avarice at every turn. this publicity is not interested in raising awareness of the illness that will claim her life, rather adding to her wealth and estate and lining the pockets of those that leach off her.
Thousands of hard working invisible citizens die every year through illnesses and diseases, leaving behind families and loved ones with less wealth and oppurtunities than Jades two sons will have. Those thousands will never recieve recognition or support on the level that she has. It strikes me as selfish that, the already wealthy, miss goody is out for every penny she can get when others will die in poverty. let this money raised go to the charities and organisations that can help eradicate such illnesses and ease the suffering of those for whom a cure will coe too late
Complain about this comment
At 10:33am on 03 Mar 2009, David_McNickle wrote:
"L_S 24, You always get uppity when someone disagrees with you. Why not just ignore Mr Number, like you do me?"
At 4:36pm on 18 Feb 2009, David_McNickle wrote:
"TIH 4, I have been avoiding the blog because of people like you poking their nose into what I say."
Do let us know when you finally make up your mind whether you want to be ignored or not.
Complain about this comment
(36) David! Uppity? Moi?
Complain about this comment
Did I hear the sound of hair being flicked back?
Complain about this comment
10, 11 & 12
I agree.
"Me" @ 3
"Would I do the same?
Don't know.
But, I'd hope I'd say I'd "milk the situation" for all its' worth. Especially if I were leaving youngsters behind."
From what I read and hear, Ms Goody's decisions have been cleverly made on a number of levels. Good luck to her and her family.
Anyone with concerns about the advice Ms Goody's been given might follow-up starting with Max Clifford. I say that because he'll undoubtedly be easy to find. I'm sure he'll forward any comments.
Complain about this comment
Eddie. I am pleased the question is being asked.
Respect. Respectful. The two words have sort of lost their meanings over the years but feel they are relevant in this case.
I sense the need to treat this awful situation with more respect to Ms Goody and family. The coverage is in my view too extensive. I winced when a television newcaster said something like "It is thought Ms Goody argued with a neighbour" over televised footage of what may have been just that.
Dylan Thomas on death anyone?
The media are and always have run this - sorry to use the word - exercise. And should back off a wee bit.
I accept that Ms Goody had the right to do what she is doing but feel the media itself could be - as I said - more respectful.
Complain about this comment
I feel sorry for Jade Goody, but at the same time I worry about the children and wonder what their father thinks about it all
Complain about this comment
what does HTML mean
Complain about this comment
HyperText Markup Language
Complain about this comment
HyperText Markup Language as used on these commentaries...
;-)
ed
Complain about this comment
though I am sorry for Jade Goody I just wonder who will look after the children.
Complain about this comment
though I feel sorry for Jade Goody I wonder what will happen to the children, who will take care of them
Complain about this comment
though I feel sorry for Jade Goody I just wonder who will look after the children
Complain about this comment
Outyonder (11) : Your comment made me cry. I won't presume to offer sympathy but I would, if I were there, offer a sincere and heartfelt hug or three. Life's a slugger*, isn't it?
U...386 (25) : The name of the thread probably answers your question for you.
Horse (39) : Hear, hear.
* Fifi Rhyming Slang ... I trust you can figure it out! ;o)
Complain about this comment
Tuesday's PM Newsletter
Complain about this comment
Thank you to those of you like Outyonder (11) who have shared their personal stories on this thread. It puts everything into perspective and is much more moving than arguing about Jade Goody.
I'll join Fifi to make a group hug, if that's not too trite.
Complain about this comment
I'm with Perky and Fifi - {{{{{{{{hug}}}}}}}}
Peace
ed
(No! not the singing swine)
Complain about this comment
Once the ('gutter'?) press get their teeth into you, there's no escape.
And might one think Max Clifford a little disingenuous, if not, well, hpyocirtcial?
Thanks for the link, Horsey.
And thank you, as Fifi and Perky said, to the people who have put this whole story into perspective.
Complain about this comment
One newspaper is reporting that Ms Goody wants a Princess Di style send off.
Hm.
Complain about this comment
This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the House Rules.
(56): Big Sis - you're not serious?
Without wishing to offend her or anyone else, does the term "delusions of grandeur" cross anyone else's mind?
Complain about this comment
This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the House Rules.
Sorry! That last (59) was destined for yesterday's Glassbox.
;-((
ed
Complain about this comment
L_S 40, Yes, yoi.
TIH 39, Getting uppity and poking noses is two different things. I wish I had that much time on my hands that I could look through old posts to put them here.
Complain about this comment
EI, EI, OH! (57, 59)
Complain about this comment
@56,58: IIRC, she's apparently on high doses of morphine at the moment... 'nuff said.
Complain about this comment
I go to a pub that has a badmaid who looks like Jade Goody. Should I put her in touch with Max Clifford? For a fee, of course.
Complain about this comment
BS 56, What? She wants to die in a car crash?
Complain about this comment
Thankyou so much to all those who sent me big hugs. I need all the hugs I can get!
Bless you all.
Complain about this comment
S'cuse me, I must have a swoosh of mouthwash.
Nasty taste...
Complain about this comment
(11) Outyonder: I've only just seen/registered your post. I'm so terribly sorry. What a brave woman you are. I can't imagine going through what you have.
Far from "upsetting people disproportionately by speaking about it" I think you should be applauded for it.
Thank you and best of luck. x
Complain about this comment
Hear, hear.
Complain about this comment
Is it ok to say "I Don't want to be bombarded with Jade headlines everytime I go to buy a newspaper or purchase a magazine."
Life IS hard. I'm struggling at the moment and it doesn't help to see a sick woman screaming at me wherever I turn.
She has my sympathy. Isn't that enough? I hope her dear sons have been kept away from all the shocking headlines and magazine covers.
Complain about this comment
Lady Sue (58): It was reported in the Telegraph that it had been reported in the Daily Star.
Complain about this comment
(64) David: a "badmaid"...
you wish, Sunshine.
Complain about this comment
OOh, Lady Sue, I think we bumped into each other just now! ;o)
Complain about this comment
(73) Big Sis: possibility!
Rather wondering how reliable something is that was reported first in the Daily Star and followed up in the Telegraph.
Still, I will see your "Hm at 56" and raise you an "Ohhh errr, whatever next?"
Complain about this comment
Lady Sue: I take your point entirely, and my Hm was intended to express this, amongst other feelings.
I'll see you "Ohh err, whatever next?" and raise you a "Where will it end?"
Complain about this comment
If the media spotlight on Jade encourages just one young woman to have regular smears, then this poor womans media circus will have been all worthwhile.
Young girls and celeb followers are not interested in a group of doctors and academics discussing cancer, sadly they relate and follow the people we have made celebrities.
Max Clifford can manage this process probably better than anyone else. Why everyone thinks he should do this for free amazes me. This is after all at Jade's request, respect that and stop hounding the guy.
Complain about this comment
(11) Outyonder
When told of the doom and gloom surrounding my own cancer situation, I wanted only one thing: to be able to die standing (in spirit) and laughing defiance at death. I shall tell you what happened if we meet on the other side. I am helped by this quote from "Ulysses" by Tennyson, sent to me by a friend in Florence upon my diagnosis:
"...that which we are, we are;
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find and not to yield."
Courage.
Complain about this comment
(58) Lady_Sue re "delusions of grandeur".
You may be too young to remember it all live, but we were reminded, in the recent film of those events, that Princess Di's "sendoff" was not initially intended as such and eventuated only after immense pressure of popular grief, seas of flowers etc
I am sure you know that psychologists have been writing PhDs ever since on "transference", the pinning of our own emotions on somebody we have never met or know very little. Lady Di expressed a wish to be the queen of hearts (she actually corrected herself quickly to "I want to be a queen in people's hearts" but the pithier nickname stuck). Ms Goody is hardly that.
The point is that people gave the grief freely and they cannot be manipulated into coming up with that kind of show for Ms Goody, I really hope nobody tries anything along those lines. You are absolutely right to call the very idea "delusions of grandeur". I would like to add that well-loved abridged quotation from Karl Marx: "...all great events and personalities in world history reappear in one fashion or another ...the first time as tragedy, the second as farce."
Does anybody really want an undignified flop to crown an undignified life?
Complain about this comment
(75) Big Sis: you are spot on, as ever.
We all know it will end with this poor young girl's death - whether or not she manages a Princess of Wales-like funeral. It just gets sadder and sadder.
Complain about this comment
L_S 72, Actually she is a badmaid. She hit me when I said she looked like JG.
Complain about this comment
L_S 79, Maybe they can get Elton John to sing....
Complain about this comment
Jade Goody is a tragic figure, who has the chance to make some cash for her children by playing the "fame game" in her dying months.
Does anyone really think she wouldn't rather be left alone? Yes she courts the publicity, but if you had a matter of months to generate enough cash to set yor kids on a better path, you'd do it too.
In general I despise this kind of fake celebrity, but I make an exception in this case.
If her final months of media-frenzied life can raise awareness of cancer and encourage more women to have early tests, then she will have done more good in her sad, foreshortened life than many of her detractors.
Do not knock her now she is down and on the way out.
However I would like to ask the loathsome Mr Clifford how much of his filthy lucre percentage on her earnings he will be donating to cancer charities......
Complain about this comment
Rome Stu,
Seconded. Especially on the matter of Max Cringe.
Peace
ed
Complain about this comment
I've refrained from commenting on Ms Goody before now, as I honestly say that I've never watched/listened to her at all. I hate reality TV, and I don't read gossip mags. If it hadn't been for the race row a couple of years ago, I probably wouldn't even have been able to pick her out of a line-out. Something that keeps getting raised here and elsewhere has got me thinking and digging. A number or people are saying that one reason behind Ms Goody's recent decision to stay in the public eye is to make sure that her children have enough money in the future. Having dug into W*kipedia, I see that the man she's just married isn't their father. Their father is in fact another TV celebrity (I use the word advisedly). I would've thought that their father can earn enough in his position to make sure that the children do not go without. I'm not for one moment implying that he is shirking his responsibilities. From the little research I have done, he appears to be fully involved with his children financially and emotionally. No, my point (even though I make it in a round-about way) is that I feel that Ms Goody is in some fashion addicted to the public eye, so some of the reason behind her daily status reports is the idea to stay in the limelight, and the idea that she is doing this for her children could be just a cover for a desire to stay "famous".
Complain about this comment
DMcN (81): Has Bernie Taupin been given the call yet?
# Goodbye Jade Goody,
# Though I never knew you at all...
(No, I won't write any more lyrics - after all, I'm not getting paid to do so.... <grin>)
Complain about this comment
RomeStu 82
I agree with you about Ms Goody.
Your comments about Mr Clifford are misplaced. I do not know nor, I doubt do you, whether or not he is charging a fee in respect of Ms Goody.
It's widely known that Mr Clifford's wife died a few years ago from cancer, a disease from which Mr Clifford also suffers. Mr Clifford and, I say this from personal knowledge, contributes significantly to medical chartiable work in the UK. Significantly.
Very few people have consistently contributed so much to charitable causes as Mr Clifford.
Perhaps if there were more people like "the loathsome Mr Clifford", this world would be a better place.
Complain about this comment
There are some very ignorant, and vicious people on this blog and it's sad, more than sad, to think some 'human' beings out there think it's OK to kick someone like Jade Goody when she is literally on her death bed.
There's 2 people in this so called celebrity game that play the media better than anyone else. One is Jade and the other is Katie Price (Jordan). Both have the ability to adapt and manipulate the media in a way that works and benefits them and fair play to them both! They both came from nothing and are worth a small fortune. You can argue the point about whether or not they're good role models but they both seem like loving partners and proud Mothers.
Jade is now using that ability to make sure her children are finiancialy stable as well as putting her suffering in front of millions with the intention that at least one person might be saved from experiencing the same!
The girl is 27 for Christs sake, with 2 children and only weeks to live and all some of you ignorant fools can do is talk her down!
I say good luck to you Jade and I just pray that however long you have left with us (and lets hope it's a while yet) is as painless for you and your family as possible. Good luck and stay strong....
Complain about this comment
Qwik23
Go for it!
Good for you! And, for JG...
Complain about this comment
Shame on you lot. Goody has shown courage throughout her ordeal. Remember, she was on a reality show when she found out, and we all found out! She hasn't kept it a secret that she wants to raise tons of money for her boys future. You'd want to, surely? Not only has she done that, she's heightened the awareness of cancer as a main topic which many people treat taboo. If it means we, as Joe Public, watch her every move and discuss her on blogs, then we're supporting her cause, surely?
Now who's thick here, her or you?
Complain about this comment
Qwik23
Well said, no need for any more!
Complain about this comment
I have read through the sites comments and am saddened to the fact that people find it hard to see that a dying mother wants to make sure her children have the best start in life when she will not be around to do so.... why should she give to charity? There are cures for cancer but its too expensive to administer so i feel on some comments that you should be venting your anger in another direction. Cancer research collects millions and millions of pounds and yet you never hear what there findings are etc.... if was a case that Jade was leaving her kids and they would be claiming off the state you'd be moaning that she should have done more...I applaud and support her regarding her actions and i agree that charity should start at home in cirmcumstances like this...I would be amazed if people said they wouldnt do the same in her position. Shes raised awareness so out of this lets hope the powers to be do alot more about it...
Complain about this comment
View these comments in RSS