To think that Susan Boyle should be withdrawn from the BGT final?

[JasperParrot]

She has apparently been taken to a safe house because she cannot cope with the stress.

She has been seen by a psychiatrist.

Now while I admit that I hate all the publicity and the plugging of her to boost her popularity, I think that she is clearly not equipped to be able to deal with this, and it will only get worse.

It is IMO irresponsible to allow her to continue in this competition. Clearly she does not have the mental capasity to cope with all that has been thrown at her, and someone should be taking responsibility and pulling her out of there.

now I am obsessed with the idea of 'vulnerability' and learning difficulties with/without mental health stuff

will I be driven from MN if I start a thread on it?

I don't tend to mind the whole stagemanaged thing with these shows, comes with the territory, but I think they got carried away by the Susan thing before realising how vulnerable she actually was, and now they are probably scrabbling for a respectable exit strategy...

Hiya Shiney...

Feeling, so glad to hear it! was it horribly messy this morning?

feelmuchbrighter yes young children are vulnerable as well. I felt particularly uncomfortable watching the ten year old crying on stage on Sunday night as she was rejected in favour of the dance group.

I think there should be a limit as to what passes for entertainment.

ah hello you

pizza box is still where I left it

Ah, well. not too bad then.

Eek. School pick up....

Poor woman. It's a tricky one as if she's withdrawn, and it's not her decision, then it's saying she's not capable.

Does she not have friends/family?

But if she's this stressed at this stage, it will only get worse.

One of the papers today said she had quit the contest, I think that would be for the best tbh

it's probably just a tasteless publicity stunt, more people will tune in just to see if she falls apart on stage or not

if that's the case it's just not very nice is it

The fact that that little girl had to go so far to get her mum was awful. The little ones should have a parent/relative with them.

anyone else think, in this case, the learning difficulties thing is a bit of a red herring?

psychological support is on offer to everyone who competes, not just Susan Boyle, and the fact that she has chosen to avail herself of it suggests that she's pretty capable of protecting her own interests and wellbeing?

this is interesting

"The harrowing week that Piers was describing hasn't been created by the press. The harrowing week
has been created by the programme."

And if she wins it will only get worse.

Simon Cowell must be bricking it. If she pulls out, the scandal will bury the talent show under all the bleating from the media about exploitation (which they whipped up the public appetite for in the first place)...it's turning into some kind of crappy Ben Elton novel.

I can't see a happy outcome for SuBo whatever happens actually- hopefully she has some inner strength and will come out the other side, having made a few bob to get some better housing and a bit of TLC. It's sad to think of her going back to being a figure of fun amongst the local teenagers winding her up and egging her front door like they used to.

No - I think that the gutter press and those who can't see any good in anyone should be the ones withdrawing from the discussion. She's a great singer and seems like a 'nice' person. So she couldn't possibly be allowed to enjoy her 15 minutes of fame could she ? Oh no - the great British public wouldn't tolerate that. Never mind that she has millions of fans who wish her well - it's the vile headlines about her mental instability that are most popular

It is possible that Susan has a form of autism - Asperger syndrome. Certainly this is suggested in many places on the internet and it matches with some of her characteristics: not aware of fashion or appearance, difficulty with employmentand relationships, an unusual single talent of some sort, extremes of behaviour when put under a lot of stress, unaware of the 'right thing to do' in interviews, catastrophic thinking and panic when something goes wrong, difficulty with education of some kind (though not everyone with Asperger syndrome has all of these things).

She would probably never have been assessed for it by a professional - it's something that's only really been understood properly the last 20 years or so, and only really diagnosed in women in any numbers the last ten years or so.

If so, then yes she would be classified as vulnerable in the same way as a learning disability can mean vulnerability, and I'd be very worried about how she will keep some of the pressure off herself. No doubt the programme leaders already have plenty of experience in this, though.

It is the parents who are responsible for setting their children up for the consequences of appearing in BGT. I don't agree with it, I felt terrible for the poor ten year old who was in tears on national TV, but it was her parents who put her through that.

It is clear that Susan Boyle has had a pretty sad life, she is extremely vulnerable, the brain damage has been reported widely in the media, and is obvious IMO. I feel particularly sorry for her, because it would seem that she has nobody to represent her interests, to protect her or prevent her from being exploited and humiliated.

This current "reality TV" craze exposes much that is unpleasant about our society. IMO.

100% agree sassybeast. Build em up, bring em down. The papers aren't happy just to portray someone purely as having good talent and say 'well done', they have to dig the dirt and raid the closets for skeletons and pick on physical traits. It's a disgrace, poor woman. It is horrible how a talent show turns into slaughter by media. OK, maybe the word slaughter is a bit strong but you know what I mean.

Someone mentioned Paul Potts, think he is on singing live tonight.

I hate all of these "talent" shows. I think they are so exploitative and the way people and situations are obviously manipulated to improve ratings really makes me cringe, especially when there are some obvious learning difficulties or just incredible naivety involved.

Have only ever seen Susan Boyle on the news, if she does have something like Asperger's, I really hope she is protected properly, and her mental wellbeing is not publicly sacrificed purely to generate higher viewing figures.

YANBU I feel sorry for all the other contestants that are clearly wasting there time as it seems fixed that boyle will win don't even think she is that good if she wasn't so strange looking / ugly her voice wouldn't of caused that much of a stir it was more the shock factor!!
FLAWLESS/DIVERSITY TO WIN.....

\Sorry having a bad day and everywhere I look that bloody woman is there on the news all over gmtv even on AIBU eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek loool

Yep yep Mr cowell saw £££££ signs with this woman didn't stop and think how annoying it was for the rest of us loool

I love them both.... great group of guys and fantastic dancers

Is anyone else concerned about her eaction if she loses?