Jade Goody Programme on channel 4

[Witchofzog]

I was never a big fan of hers but this show is making me feel very sad. Jade was in her own way quite vulnerable and naive and she was treated horribly by the press. She did some stupid things on camera including stripping off (though the other contestants made no effort to tell her it wasn't the best idea and that awful Kate whatsherface looked positively gleeful) but I feel for her more now than I did then.

And to think she was so full of life and was taken so young is just heart breaking

[GeriAtric]

shame

[Celaeno]

It’s certainly been a reminder of how disgusting the press was back then in the run up to the hacking scandal and the eventual closure of News of the World. And you have to remember that Jade wanted the publicity. She could have quietly shrunk into the background after the celebrity BB debacle and tried to rebuild her life out of the glare of the spotlight. But she actively sought out publicity and would have been devastated if the press had stopped chasing her.

She undeniably had a dreadful childhood. But she was working as a dental nurse prior to BB so it’s not like she was unemployable and had no life chances. She had already improved her life from where she started. Her downfall was being so hungry for attention by any means and at any price.
To go to the extreme of getting your boys baptised and selling the photos, and then selling photos of yourself on a hospital trolley; it’s so distasteful. Yes it’s horrid to think that the press did that, but they couldn’t have done it if jade hadn’t asked for it and if the public didn’t consume it.

[JoxerGoesToStuttgart]

I’ve just seen an advert on ch4 with some famous people quoting some of the complaints they’ve had (man from holly oaks- complaint about gay kissing scenes, Alex Brooker- complaint about his hands, Rachel Riley- complaint about her outfit) finishing off with Ch4 saying “we welcome complaints”. I instantly wondered if it was their way of fronting out the criticism they’ll receive from last night’s show that quoted the ofcom report on their handling of the racist behaviour during CBB. And also probably some complaints about the 3 parter on Jade.

[Celaeno]

GeriAtric it would be nice to think she made amends for her behaviour. But I suppose the trouble with someone who craves acceptance and publicity is that it’s impossible to know their true motives.

A few posters have said it was to her credit that Jade was in floods of tears and apologising and saying she knew she’d behaved unacceptably, while the other women who’d made racist comments didn’t apologise.

But was it genuine? Who can tell. It may have been. But it may have been tears for herself, that the public had turned on her and she could see her world crumbling in front of her. None of us can know whether she genuinely changed her views, or whether in private she still felt the same things about Shilpa Shetty.

Tbh the only people who came out of the programme with any degree of dignity were Jeff and Shilpa. It was clear that Jeff felt very torn between keeping his sons out of the limelight and going along with the media circus of the photographed baptism. He knew it wasn’t right, to be using an event like that to make money, but he must have felt conflicted when jade was dying and it was her wish to sell the event. And Shilpa remained dignified in the face of horrendous bullying and racism.

[Userzzzzz]

I found last night’s epsisode hard to watch. There was clearly a huge amount of exploitation going on and I think a lot of the media types were deflecting by saying she wanted it especially the camera woman. She was vulnerable because of her background and abuse she suffered as a child. The boys are very lucky that Jeff seems incredibly sensible and has kept them out of the media.

Watching back, the big Brother clips were quite shocking. It felt like a completely different era. I can’t beleive they all thought it was fine to tell her she had cancer on air or that the dr involved allowed it to happen.

[BentBastard]

Its possible the doctor had no idea that they were speaking to her live on air. They may have only been aware of being on the phone to her, it might not have entered their heads that the TV company would do anything as.l crass as air the conversation between a doctor and patient.

[StripeySocks29]

I just watched the last episode and it is heartbreaking how relentless the press were even when she was dying and clearly in pain. The documentary maker trying to justify that it’s what Jade wanted was sickening, especially filming her as she was breaking down in tears unable to speak.

She was just a puppet who was being manoeuvred into photo op after photo op and the public are told it’s so she can leave her children as much money as possible, rubbish - it was so the papers could squeeze as much money out of her ordeal as possible.

Someone should have sat her down and told her that her children would be looked after well by their father, and she didn’t have to put herself through a charade of a wedding or christening. I honestly believe that if she’d had a more stable childhood she wouldn’t have allowed herself to be taken advantage of in the way she was, I hope her mother rots.

[bottleofbeer]

Ffs, they'd have had a team of psychologists plotting how to make CBB explosive. Stick the whole "underbelly" family in with the more acceptable classes, particularly Carole fkn Malone who'd dedicated pages of her column to slag her off. The entire thing was manipulated to bring the girl down when she reacted as predicted.

Now you see Shilpa, they're jealous and don't know how to react to our class of people.

Forget the blatant classism, the fact she was 100% set up for that etc...and focus on the stupid/bordering on racism/but probably just stupid, Ill thought out comments, and bob's yer uncle.

Cracking Telly for channel 4. BB made her, BB chose to break her.

[Celaeno]

No shit Sherlock, of course it was set up to be explosive! That’s obviously going to get the viewers.

Of course C4 wanted things to kick off. But the racism? No, I seriously don’t think they expected or wanted that. Jade and the other two girls needed to totally own that. People from any class or background know that those sorts of comments are fucking disgusting racism - not just ‘ill judged’.

I said upthread, jade did appear to ‘own it’ with her subsequent tears and apology. But who knows what she really believed? Yes jade was manipulated, but she was also using the media as much as they used her. She realised her world - the public profile she craved so desperately- was crumbling. She knew the public had turned against her and those tears could easily have been for herself rather than for fully accepting that she’d been a racist bully.

I agree that the media came out of all this in a very bad light. And of course the death of anyone in their twenties is awful. But let’s not be blinded by that to the fact that jade’s behaviour was bullying and racist.

[bottleofbeer]

And yet when the more middle classes literally refused to wait on them by actually fucking off out of there, that was glossed over. Totally.

That was bullying but because it was more insidious, nobody noticed. Which is why people are explaining "white trash" as being similar to "chav" but few think of the actually horrible connotations that word has. It just 'is' because it's aimed at a section of society that's acceptable to laugh at and sneer at.

[Celaeno]

The people leaving the house wasn’t glossed over- it was filmed.

The ‘white trash’ phrase has been discussed at length on here. It wasn’t used against anyone. It was very clear that it was mouthed (not even spoken) as part of an explanation about unacceptable prejudices and racism.

I honestly cannot believe that anyone in their right mind is an apologist for racism. The three women made vile racist comments. Whatever we think about the tabloids and C4 (and IMO they were appalling) doesn’t change the fact that the women’s behaviour was racist.

[bottleofbeer]

Who is apologizing for it?

[Celaeno]

‘stupid/bordering on racism/but probably just stupid, Ill thought out comments’

No. Racist comments.

[SinisterBumFacedCat]

I think the bullying started of as inverted snobbery and descended quickly into racism. Inverted snobbery is encouraged amongst women because it keeps us in our place.

It’s very sad she lost her life so young and their sons lost their mother. But I don’t really understand the posthumous sainthood given to someone who behaved so badly so publicly.The last few weeks of media circus was as much for her craving publicity as her getting money for her children’s future. And wouldn’t it have been nice if some of that money went to a cancer charity?

[JoxerGoesToStuttgart]

And wouldn’t it have been nice if some of that money went to a cancer charity?

Oh come on! That was her money to do with as she pleased. She was leaving it to her motherless children. Yes of course she could’ve donated some but she didn’t and that’s fine too. (Personally, I think her indirect contribution to cervical cancer prevention was outstanding) the woman was told she had weeks to live, she was heavily medicated, in pain, exhausted, terrified of dying, terrified of leaving her children, trying to organise a wedding, a christening, negotiate media deals and navigate the wall of cameras that surrounded her every move (let’s face it- they’d have been there whether she wanted them or not), she was very likely in panic mode for much of her final weeks and not thinking rationally at all. let’s not start judging her for not donating to charity.

[Celaeno]

I don’t agree that the cameras would have been there for her last days if she didn’t want them. Yes she would have still been papped occasionally but no way would her dying days been filmed like that unless she’d asked them to. And that’s never been in question anyway: it was perfectly clear from the documentary that once she knew she was dying she made a decision to sell the baptism, wedding, and other aspects of her life to secure her sons’ futures financially.
I can’t blame her in a way- who knows how we’d react if we knew we had a few weeks left? The only part that left a bad taste in my mouth was the baptism... partly because that involved her boys, and their dad was so clearly uncomfortable with it. Also it’s purely an act to do with faith and I can’t help questioning someone who chooses to have their children baptised and sells the pictures to the press only when they know they are dying and they want to maximise their earning before they go.
But the wedding - that was something which jack as an adult consented to and imo fair enough if she wanted to make money from it. And the money was hers- no one can berate her for not giving it to charity.

[JoxerGoesToStuttgart]

I strongly suspect that the idea to make as much money as possible for the boys and have a wedding and christening as part of that didn’t originate with Jade.

[Celaeno]

Well, who knows, you have no more idea than i or anyone else.

But clearly she consented because she wanted to get something out of it. That’s a simple fact which she never denied.

[JoxerGoesToStuttgart]

I wasn’t stating it as fact. Just a suspicion I have. It’s a discussion thread.

[HangryPants]

The vicar was a bit of a character.

[Celaeno]

The vicar was a hoot. I wondered at first whether he was thinking WTAF is this all about, but actually I think he was genuinely entering into the spirit of it all.

I felt sorry for the two little boys though... they looked overawed and bewildered - which to be fair they may have done anyway at a big formal occasion, but it did make me wonder about them having cameras on them all the time.

It seems Jeff brazier has done them a real favour by keeping them out of the limelight since then. He came across as quite measured and thoughtful

[orangeblosssom]

I remember her being racist.

[LittleSweet]

At the time I thought she'd been swept along by the other two girls. Also if you are the victim of an abusive childhood it makes your reactions more explosive and over the top. I didn't think she was racist. I thought she was under the influence of two stronger personalities and was very insecure in comparison to Shilpa, who is the opposite person to her. Shilpa had the confidence of education, money, class and beauty. Jade must have felt a sparrow in comparison to her swan.
I thought it was disgusting that Jade got most of the hate, when those other two, who had lead the situation in the first place.

[Honeyroar]

I watched the first episode the other day. I was never a fan of Jade at any point. She was just a fun loving, pretty stupid girl who did so well because she was just pliable for the media. It was quite an uncomfortable programme to watch. The journalists laughing were shocking (although why I’d have thought they’d have grown up and matured I don’t know!). Even the other contestants laughed at her in a kind of car crash, looking down on her way. The phone hacking and the subsequent break up of her relationship was shocking too.

I remember the CBB incident. She bloody was racist and was very much the loud mouth ring leader. Even if she “didn’t realise she was being racist” she knew she was being a nasty bully.

I was very sorry when she died. I’d have sympathy for anyone going through terminal cancer, but I was shocked at the wave of adoration that happened. The media just knew how to play her and run her life. She changed our world in a bad way, showing how stupid makes money and inspired a race to the bottom in reality tv!

[Celaeno]

I’m just shocked that anyone whose seen the BB incident can deny that she was racist. She bloody well was. As were the two other girls with her.

Having a crap childhood and not being clever is no fucking excuse. Lots of people have a shitty upbringing but don’t turn into racist bullies.

I think anyone dying at her age, leaving young children is a tragedy. But please let’s not turn her into some sort of sainted figure. Her behaviour was horrible