There is something about Jade Goody that demands respect. Well, I think so. OK it’s easy to knock her apparent obsession with being in the media eye but give her due respect – it is her job, her income stream and she works hard for it.
Jade Goody is a brand and a lot of people like it. Myself included. Sure, it’s not Chanel. She lacks what posh people would call ‘class’ but she has a sense of style that I admire.
She’s dying though.
And here’s the rub. She will get a mixture of praise and shit from the media over what remains of her life and she will command column miles; never mind inches.
But, if you saw her programme, like I did, on Living TV tonight you will know that she is a public figure worthy of respect.
Do you recall, did you see even, what must be her lowest moment on Big Brother when she was co-erced into stripping off? (I think she was duped in a game of strip poker.)
It was sad, and arrogant of her fellow house mates. But I think she has learned a lot since then and not in a way that loses any of her, still, naive charm.
Jade Goody is a good person. Let’s hope what remains of her life touches some hearts and that she dies with dignity and at peace.
Think Hard 
Thousands of good people die from cancer every single year. Every one of them no doubt worthy of some respect. Why does Goody deserve it more so? She has no discernible talent apart from the ability to promote herself – aided and abetted by publicists and publications solely concerned with maintaining their own profitability/brand status. Unless, of course, you think naked ambition (in her case quite literally) is something to be lauded and celebrated. So let’s be clear. Jade Goody is not a ‘dissertation topic’. She’s not ‘a lesson to be learned’. She’s not a ‘parable for modern times’. She’s not – or at least shouldn’t be – a macabre mortality circus. She’s a woman dying of cancer. And as a human being, I can only echo your final sentiment that she dies with dignity and at peace. Apart from that, I think you’re talking balls.
You didn’t see the programme then?
I don’t think I made a comparitive remark about Jade Goody’s cancer versus anyone else’s. After all my Dad dies of cancer less than two years ago and two of my best friends have had cancer since.
I CERTAINLY did not say she demanded respect more than anyone else. I said she demanded respect and I stand by that. Go watch the programme on Living TV if you think I am talking Balls.
If it wasn’t clear where I was coming from let me clarify now.
I am frankly ambivalent to Jade Goody as a person but I actually like the way she has fought off her many detractors who like to poke fun at her constantly; most overtly in the aforementioned BB incident.
Therefore I hope she dies with dignity.
I’m glad we agree on that.
Anyway, thank you for your fine challenge.
Nice to be told one is talking balls from time to time. Even if (on this occasion) I don’t agree.
Jade isn’t more deserving, she is simply making people more aware of Cervical Cancer. She never thought in making this programme that she was going to die. She is actually being very brave by keeping the cameras going, yes it’s to make money for her children a fact she has never denied. More importantly, she is making women more aware of cervical cancer, one of the biggest killers every year. I know very little about cervical cancer, what the signs are, etc. Apart from a 2 yearly scan that’s it. In response to her programme thousands of woman are now phoning their doctors to be screened, something which Jade Goody has promoted and hopefully she has also increased the number of people who have donated to Cervical Cancer charities.
Jeana
Whether you like Jade or not (personally, me, not so much) you cannot deny she is playing the media game very well in her last months. As mentioned she’s being completely transparent in her motives and if anyone is to be criticised it’s the magazines who are prepared to profit from this woman’s untimely passing. Cancer is a despicable disease, I’ve lost close friends and family to is too many times already, and anything that anyone can do to promote preventative measures should be aplauded… Her case echoes how the McCanns used the media to their own gain when looking for their daughter – why not use the biggest weapon in your arsenal in your darkest hour? I do share everyone’s sentiment in that she is finally given some peace to pass on (with dignity) with her kids by her side.
Yes, good point.
The media are the greatest beneficiaries in this.
And it is a circus of sorts.
It’s interesting that a self professed low intellect woman has (perhaps with Max’s help; OK largely with Max’s help) turned the UK media industry into turmoil. You have to say how well Max Clifford has managed the whole thing too by the way.
I just find it quite an involving and human story.
It is one of the easiest stories in history to deconstruct, negatively. But, you know, sometimes we have to put our professional opinions to one side. On this occasion I am prepared (no compelled) to do so.
I admit that I was one of those people who watched in disbelief the night that Jade entered the Big Brother house back in 2002…back then, I thought she was loud, brash, ignorant and vulgar… but actually, over the last seven years, Jade has demonstrated that she is so much more than the overweight uneducated chav we saw in BB3…she turned herself into a successful business woman (no doubt with sound advice from her management/agent…but she put in the hard work…and gave it her all)…launched a successful perfume…gave birth to two gorgeous boys…had an autobiography and a cookbook published…gave the London Marathon a damn good go…appeared in panto as well as being fully utilised as Jade-the-brand by the tabloid media…and you know what? I began not just to like her but to admire her for her determination and for her ability to take the opportunities that life presented and grab them with both hands to make the most of them…
…and then, along with millions, I was shocked and horrified as her language and behaviour put her at the centre of a ‘racist comments/bullying’ incident during Celebrity Big Brother 2007…but you know what? she came out of the house and apologised immediately (unlike others), faced her issues head on and sought treatment and support…she reached out to Shilpa Shetty…built bridges, showed humility and self-awareness and true strength of character…and, let’s face it, the whole incident made society debate racism and racist language in a way that we never had before…
and then came the shock diagnosis of cervical cancer…and even then, some people in tabloid media land accused her of making it all up for publicity…but, through reporting in the media (and the occasional visit to Living TV), I have watched her battle the disease and been inspired and moved by her determination to get through it for her kids…and then came news that the cancer is terminal…and I am in absolute awe and admiration of her humility, tenacity and grace as she face losing her fight for life…and, should you or I be diagnosed with cancer, we would have the right to continue to do whatever it is we do for a living for as long as we could, earn a living, provide for out kids…why should she be any different?
yes, thousands die of cancer every year…but did we sit an criticise Helen Rawlinson for her continued love affair with the media? Did we offer snide comments about John Diamond documenting his struggle against throat cancer on Radio 4 and in The Times? No…Mark is right…there is an element of snobbery about the chattering classes moral outrage at Jade maximising her income as, at the age of 27, she faces certain death…
back in 2002, where I saw “loud, brash, ignorant and vulgar”, now I think she is gloriously extrovert, strong and honest…. smart in ways that most of us would love to be open, genuine and compassionate…determined, brave and inspiring…and she has achieved more than most people do in a lifetime…because not only did she spark the badly needed national debate on racism, her battle with cancer has meant that many young women have gone for a smear test, something which may save dozens if not hundreds of young lives…
it is such ashame she died at 27 .. she had little children and i just wanted to show i careee xxx ❤