Wow! This is a milestone post for us as it is our 75th post so far! 100 here we come!
Well, it's one of my favorite post as it is Gossip Friday and I rag on celebrities and their silly lives. Although I think it would be interesting to one day do a Gossip Friday on the people I do know but I cherish my canine life too much so I will stick to people I will probably never meet and cannot sue me for libel.
Our celebrity gossip will stick to one "celebrity" today as this has been an ongoing big story that has been snowballing for some time now and we at the PPP are going to get sucked right in with the rest of them (including the NYT and Times Magazine). Today's post is about Britain's reality star Jade Goody and her reality three ring circus documenting her failing health as she is dying from the final stages of cervical cancer.
In 2002 Jade Goody was picked to participate in the UK's "Big Brother" reality show in which a group of diverse people live together while their lives are filmed and viewed by a television audience. Jade was picked as the token lowlife representing the uneducated, hard drinking, swearing, debt-ridden youth of England. She was of course an immediate hit and a constant source of fodder for the tabloids.
Jade managed to stretch her fifteen minutes of fame by trying to brand herself much the same way Paris Hilton does in the USA. She has branded herself by selling perfume, exercise videos and writing her memoirs while still in her mid-twenties.
However as the media like to build someone up, they also love to tear someone down. In 2007 while participating on the "Celebrity Big Brother" Jade was overheard making a racist remark to an Indian actress who was on the show with her. The backlash was strong and she lost many of the fans that had gathered on her side throughout the years.
As a reality star has to eat and support two young boys, last August Jade participated in Indian's version of "Big Brother" and that is where she learned on camera that she was diagnosed with cervical cancer. She left the show and with more testing she found out the cancer had spread to her liver, groin and bowel. Her prognosis was poor.
Jade who had been used to living her young adult life in the public since her debut in "Big Brother" decided to keep the public aware of every step of her cancer battle. The status of her illness and her life was well documented every week in the tabloids and in another switch of public opinion the public has rallied with her as they read about her cancer treatments of chemotherapy, radiation and witnessed Jade losing her hair.
It was always joked about how reality television won't stop till they film some one's death and that is what it seems to be happening here with Jade Goody's life. It is reminiscence of the Jim Carey movie, "The Truman Show" in which a man unknowingly has his entire life documented for an audience except Jade does know she lives in a fishbowl and the fish is going to die soon as Jade's doctor just told her there is really nothing they can do for her at this point and it is just a matter of time for the young 27 year old.
This weekend Jade will marry her jailbird 21 year old boyfriend Jack Tweed who just was released from prison for assault (however he has a electronic ankle bracelet and a curfew not to be out of his mother's house pass seven). The upcoming ceremony has gathered world wide attention as Harrod's has donated a ten thousand dollar wedding dress, Elton John has volunteered one of his many homes for a honeymoon (which I don't think Jack can go on), the popular girl group "Girls Outloud" has offered to sing at her wedding and "OK" magazine has ponied up one million dollars for the print and television rights to her wedding.
Jade is unapologetic in taking as much as she can at this point as she feels she needs to leave something behind so her kids can be taken care of. Jade told the world, “I’ve lived in front of the cameras. And maybe I’ll die in front of them.”
Here at the PPP we don't judge Jade for her decision to live her life so publicly. She is a mother who is trying to leave her sons with a legacy and her condition has actually helped bring about the problem of cervical cancer screening to the forefront. She is being held responsible for the rise in cervical cancer checkups. It has been called "The Jade Goody Effect".
What is disturbing for the PPP is the UK's (and the world's) appetite for this strange type of voyeurism. Maybe in this bad economy it helps people to know that as bad as their lives can be at this time that there is someone who has it much worse? Especially when it is a celebrity as we tend to think they have better lives than us, better loves, better clothes, better homes, better cars. Jade's story tells us that even though she was a celebrity, death is the common denominator amongst us all. And aren't we all interested in experiences we are definitely going to partake in?
Have a good weekend and chow for now!
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