<![CDATA[Should "News" Outlets Leave Britney Alone? - Jezebel Comments]]> <![CDATA[Should "News" Outlets Leave Britney Alone? - Jezebel Comments]]> <![CDATA[Should "News" Outlets Leave Britney Alone?]]> @blondegrlz:
"I would feel very diferently about this whole situation if Britney or her doctor or even her mother were to say "Please, for her health and safety, end the constant news coverage." Maybe someone has decided it's not in her best interest to shut it down..."

I agree with you there. But I think these people aren't even capable of acknowledging the need to "shut it down." Not saying they are blameless by any stretch of the imagination, but the Spears have no idea how to step out of the spotlight. The media circus has been the Spears' bread and butter for nigh on a decade. Wasn't it only a couple months ago that the story of Jamie-Lynn's teenage pregnancy was sold to the highest tabloid bidder? Clearly, the need for money has trumped their family's well-being time and again.


Mego

]]> <![CDATA[Should "News" Outlets Leave Britney Alone?]]> I've long since stopped reading things about Britney Spears. She deserves to be left the hell alone.

katekate is squared

]]> <![CDATA[Should "News" Outlets Leave Britney Alone?]]> Amen. My thoughts were if Britney had no media attention she would hit rock bottom a lot sooner - and get some help. What's the point of living without any attention? It's the only thing keeping her going right now and she mistakes it for her being relevant, cool & important.

And I like how People et al. try to justify it. If all the coverage stopped, do you think there'd be any outcry/outrage? The public barely even grumbled about all their favorite TV shows going off the air.

ChanRasit

]]> <![CDATA[Should "News" Outlets Leave Britney Alone?]]> @dingosmom1: Why must all my childhood dreams be destroyed!? First they turn the Plaza into condos, now this? I give up.

BlondeGrlz

]]> <![CDATA[Should "News" Outlets Leave Britney Alone?]]> @BiscuitDoughJones: Are you kidding? "There is a limit to which you can feel sorry for someone who's creating her own hell" because she "doesn't want help"? Of course she doesn't want help -- she's crazy. If she were capable of realizing how crazy she is, she wouldn't be crazy.

This is why there are laws allowing people to be committed against their will -- because crazy people usually don't want help, and they're incapable of controlling their own actions.

What you are doing is known as "blaming the victim."

Bercovici

]]> <![CDATA[Should "News" Outlets Leave Britney Alone?]]> @BiscuitDoughJones: I don't think your second comment changes me mind about this. Most troubled people remained troubled precisely because they refuse to aknowledge they have a problem. To extend my alcoholic analogy further, imagine you know this girl who everyone knows has a drinking problem but has repeated refused to go to rehab. If you see people at a party who know she has drinking problems repeatedly plying her with drinks so she can humiliate herself, would you just stand back and say "well dumbass asked for it" or feel it's sort of shitty that other people are taking advantage of her? I'm not a fan of Britney at all, and I'm not at all claiming she's an 100% victim, but I just really, really don't see the point of all this coverage of her. I can't relate to people being this entertained by someone who's brought herself so low.

alcibiades

]]> <![CDATA[Should "News" Outlets Leave Britney Alone?]]> I read an article on Romenesko yesterday about a paper in Chico that has gone on a 30-day Britney moratorium, without a single complaint. I applaud the move. The line between tabloid and news is practically nonexistent, starting with CNN's round-the-clock coverage of Anna Nicole and Paris last year. Although it has gone too far, I don't so much object to the tabloids' over-saturation of BS (double meanings there) news. That's what they do and she relishes the attention.

SuzieCreamcheese

]]> <![CDATA[Should "News" Outlets Leave Britney Alone?]]> @CMG: See, I will have to respectfully disagree with that point. Well sorta.

Is it the consumer that drives the magazine or the magazine covering EVERYTHING making the consumer want EVERYTHING about EVERYONE?

It seems tabloids are the dealers and the readers are the users. The more they give the more people want. So much so, we have pictures of people coming out of bathrooms, picking their nose, crotch shots, etc.

I can live 4 more lifetimes without seeing all that. Yet they continue to provide.

Shabba

]]> <![CDATA[Should "News" Outlets Leave Britney Alone?]]> @blondegrlz: I think I heard that Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler's files are too mixed-up to show anybody. Did you hear the Met took out the fountain where the kids got spending money? Tres saddened. :(

Mrs. DeLesseps To You, Dahling

]]> <![CDATA[Should "News" Outlets Leave Britney Alone?]]> I LOVE me so Asra Nomani, though. Woman is brave.

AnnieGetYourFun

]]> <![CDATA[Should "News" Outlets Leave Britney Alone?]]> What's the difference between the tabs relentless coverage of Britney and the "responsible news organizations" and op-eds that cover the coverage of Britney? Hmmm, not much.

Bug a Martini

]]> <![CDATA[Should "News" Outlets Leave Britney Alone?]]> @Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler: But who should have her best interests in mind? If Britney is not well enough to make her own decisions, and her "friends" are just money-hungry vultures, and her own parents are too busy dealing with the other family crisis to devote their full attention to Britney, what hope is there? I would think her doctors, whoever hired them, would be ethically obligated to make the best choices for her mental condition. Maybe tearing her out of the crazy world she created would only make things worse.

p.s. Can I see your secret files?

BlondeGrlz

]]> <![CDATA[Should "News" Outlets Leave Britney Alone?]]> If she stayed home, or stayed in rehab, or stayed in the hospital she would have no trouble avoiding the paps. She needs to stop parading her erratic behavior in front of them, tipping them off, dating them, inviting them into her house, asking them to drive her car, etc. Celebs who want to stay under the radar can manage it reasonably well.

PhillyLass

]]> <![CDATA[Should "News" Outlets Leave Britney Alone?]]> So. Fucking. Boring.

buggeroff

]]> <![CDATA[Should "News" Outlets Leave Britney Alone?]]> this again? i swear we just had this debate last month. and probably the month before.

wittyremarks

]]> <![CDATA[Should "News" Outlets Leave Britney Alone?]]> @LoveNoelG: Now see, I saw this article as justification for just that offense: "You want it bitches, here 'tis."

sybann

]]> <![CDATA[Should "News" Outlets Leave Britney Alone?]]> @NefariousNewt: so agree with you. Im tired of hearing all of these "doctors" diagnose her from what theyve heard in the media. it's sickening.. no responsible Psychiatrist would do that.

there is no good media outlet left in this country and its really killing me... its all full of "journalists" that are pretty to look at and give us ridiculous stories and sensationalism.

what ever happened to the news????? ugh. tired. sooo tired of it.

jenalicious

]]> <![CDATA[Should "News" Outlets Leave Britney Alone?]]> @blondegrlz: You honestly think Britney's managers/ family/ clingers-on have her best interests in mind?

The girl is ill. It's not like she can snap out of it at any second and reason with the paparazzi that it's best to leave her alone. People who are mentally ill tend not to make the best decisions -- or are too paralyzed to decide at all.

@BiscuitDoughJones: You've never known an adult who needed help and wouldn't ask for it? Money isn't the issue here; she can't exactly buy true friends.

This hits too close to home, I guess. But y'all are hella callous today! What gives?

(end bleeding-heart-Britney spiel)

sventurata

]]> <![CDATA[Should "News" Outlets Leave Britney Alone?]]> What are these "responsible" news organizations of which she speaks of? Last I checked, the news media only gives people entertainment, not news. It is all "panem et circenses".

GTCosita

]]> <![CDATA[Should "News" Outlets Leave Britney Alone?]]> @blondegrlz: The problem is that we don't have enough information. We only know what we hear in the popular media, and the real story is hidden (mercifully). Frankly, I don't think society should be playing psychotherapist, but when someone is so obviously in pain like this, I think we have to examine our role in it.

NefariousNewt

]]> <![CDATA[Should "News" Outlets Leave Britney Alone?]]> @NefariousNewt: I don't think Britney has asked to be left alone. We're just making an assumption that it might be best for her if we did, but I would feel very diferently about this whole situation if Britney or her doctor or even her mother were to say "Please, for her health and safety, end the constant news coverage." Maybe someone has decided it's not in her best interest to shut it down.

BlondeGrlz

]]> <![CDATA[Should "News" Outlets Leave Britney Alone?]]> @Bercovici: I am bipolar and my family doesn't understand it so I'm always crazy, on drugs, drunk, or the scum of the earth whenever I have any sort of episode. I am so thankful the public doesn't get to join in their judgement of me. I never before payed any attention to Britney Spears but now I see that in so many ways we are alike and my heart hurts so badly for her.

marypoppinpills

]]> <![CDATA[Should "News" Outlets Leave Britney Alone?]]> @alcibiades:@Bercovici: Please refer to my second comment, BiscuitDoughJones. If she wanted help, she could and would get it. I refuse to think she's 100% victim here. Oh, and comparing an adult woman to a 3-year-old? Enable much? She's an adult. A sick adult, but an adult who can easily afford ALL the help she needs. Until her family locks her up & throws away the key for a few years, I'm not about to throw a pity-party for her.

BiscuitDoughJones

]]> <![CDATA[Should "News" Outlets Leave Britney Alone?]]> Yeah, if you want her to DIE, leave her alone. Flashbulbs are as mother's milk to these people. They should be using Brit for research purposes because I am convinced that "camerawhore" is a mental valid disorder.

I know a paralyzed woman that agreed to be poster child for a Senator opposed to embryonic stem cell research. This woman is opposed to no research but she's addicted to attention. After she gave the speech they handed her, she was all "Wait, I take it back." There wasn't much coverage in retraction though, so she gave it up.

Camerawhores suck.

Mrs. DeLesseps To You, Dahling

]]> <![CDATA[Should "News" Outlets Leave Britney Alone?]]> @Trashtastic: This is exactly what I was talking about yesterday. The media got her hooked on the attention by putting her on a pedestal and now that they know she can't function without them, they start tearing her down.

marypoppinpills

]]> <![CDATA[Should "News" Outlets Leave Britney Alone?]]> @BiscuitDoughJones: I'm guessing you don't know anyone with serious mental illness. Her "antics" aren't "fair game" because they're not her antics -- it's the disease talking. With somebody as sick as that, there's nobody home. Would it be "fair game" to cover the ravings of a person with advanced Alzheimer's, or the bad behavior of a three-year-old?

Bercovici

]]> <![CDATA[Should "News" Outlets Leave Britney Alone?]]> They don't leave anyone ELSE alone. Why should we expect them to show any trace of humanity towards Britney?

katastic

]]> <![CDATA[Should "News" Outlets Leave Britney Alone?]]> @BAngieB: I know, right? They planted that story about her calling them so that they could be absolved of the guilt for what they do, and it's kind of depressing how many otherwise smart people fell for it.

lisas

]]> <![CDATA[Should "News" Outlets Leave Britney Alone?]]> @BiscuitDoughJones: I know a lot of people are justifying the continuation of the media circus around her using your argument, that she's literally asking for it. But I have to disagree that just because she's begging for attention, it's appropriate to continue lavishing it on her. She obviously has some issues going on that are fueled by the constant frenzy around her. Saying it's okay for the paparazzi to continue swarming her the way they do is like saying it's okay to buy a confirmed alcoholic a truckload of booze because they are begging for it.

alcibiades

]]> <![CDATA[Should "News" Outlets Leave Britney Alone?]]> @BabyKelly: You may be right, but since the paps stake out her house 24/7, she doesn't have to call them.

BAngieB

]]> <![CDATA[Should "News" Outlets Leave Britney Alone?]]> @BiscuitDoughJones: Exactly. You can't leave someone alone when they're constantly throwing themselves back into your life.

shiningstar

]]> <![CDATA[Should "News" Outlets Leave Britney Alone?]]> @BeAgrestic: I suspect she's so tuned into the paparazzi and the attention she gets that if they all suddenly dried up, she would certainly become desperate. She needs the publicity now -- it has become a drug to her.

NefariousNewt

]]> <![CDATA[Should "News" Outlets Leave Britney Alone?]]> Britney does not want to be left alone. She loves the attention. I read on Jezebel that she calls up the paparatzi when she leaves er house. She may get really sick if they all go away!

BondGirl

]]> <![CDATA[Should "News" Outlets Leave Britney Alone?]]> Unrelated, but Britney's hair looks pretty in that picture. It's what I want my hair to look like. Guess I should shave it off and buy a wig, then?

not.a.clever.name

]]> <![CDATA[Should "News" Outlets Leave Britney Alone?]]> @blondegrlz: I'm with you sister. I tried not to click on the link, but I wanted to chat with ya'll and BDJ. Loves!

Trashtastic

]]> <![CDATA[Should "News" Outlets Leave Britney Alone?]]> @BAngieB: For real. If we can't stop the media coverage, can we at least ban her, Paris, etc. from buying new pets to torture?

DorothyZbornak

]]> <![CDATA[Should "News" Outlets Leave Britney Alone?]]> @BiscuitDoughJones: That is my problem with this whole fracas! Why isn't she in treatment?!! I think Jamie and Lynn might believe that THEY can fix her.

BeAgrestic

]]> <![CDATA[Should "News" Outlets Leave Britney Alone?]]> Yes, simply because she became boring. Crazy is only entertaining for a little while. Then it seems contrived.

gabelle

]]> <![CDATA[Should "News" Outlets Leave Britney Alone?]]> @CMG: Yep. Remember when the AP had their Paris Hilton ban? How long did that last? A week?

@myrtlebeachbum: Ain't that the truth. But then, I wonder if people could pull themselves away from stupid shit like Britney news to actually care about some of the important, unreported stories.

DorothyZbornak

]]> <![CDATA[Should "News" Outlets Leave Britney Alone?]]> The day after the last "Briney: Her Mental Illness" cover on People (which included long-lens pics inside the ambulance), I received my renewal notice, and for the first time in 10 years didn't renew. I watched an interview with an L.A. police captain who talked about having to drag and beat photogs off the ambulance the second time Brit was taken to the hospital. I am just disgusted with the whole mess.
[Shit, am I going to have to go out there...she got ANOTHER puppy? Where's London? Gah.]
@BiscuitDoughJones: I disagree, because I don't think a well person would court them the way she does.



BAngieB

]]> <![CDATA[Should "News" Outlets Leave Britney Alone?]]> @MakeMeSmile: I wonder that, too. I think she might be suffering from Norma Desmond syndrome.

theladyvanishes

]]> <![CDATA[Should "News" Outlets Leave Britney Alone?]]> The tabs and People will keep covering it as long as people will buy it, and I don't think they should stop. It's what they do. I also don't think people should buy it and I don't (although I do consume it here, which I should stop doing because it doesn't actually matter).

"Real" news orgs like the WSJ and CNN will continue to cover her as long as it sells paper/gets web hits/whatever, but I don't think they should. Isn't there something more newsworthy? Something relevant? Did Thomas Jefferson fight for a free press so I could get my Britney fix?

not.a.clever.name

]]> <![CDATA[Should "News" Outlets Leave Britney Alone?]]> Don't talk about it then Bercovici!?

rantersparadise

]]> <![CDATA[Should "News" Outlets Leave Britney Alone?]]> @MakeMeSmile: I don't know, but it's pretty obvious she doesn't want help. If Brit or her family REALLY wanted help for her, they could get it. Easily. And not in LA were the dogs can track her. There is a limit to which you can feel sorry for someone who's creating her own hell.

BiscuitDoughJones

]]> <![CDATA[Should "News" Outlets Leave Britney Alone?]]> @NefariousNewt: Exactly. At what point does her current reality stop being entertaining to people?

I'm game for a media blackout simply because I'm tired of hearing about her and think all the attention is actually making her sicker. I do wonder what she would do if the paps weren't following her around. Maybe a high speed car chase, a la OJ?

BeAgrestic

]]> <![CDATA[Should "News" Outlets Leave Britney Alone?]]> Leave her be.

"I think the story she's going through is something we can cover responsibly, at least at this stage, without knowingly and unquestionably contributing to her mental illness." - come off it.

mepo

]]> <![CDATA[Should "News" Outlets Leave Britney Alone?]]> I think she can be 'covered' responsibly, without adding to or fueling any of her particular issues. However, does this woman suggest there is a banner announcement when someone is diagnosed with a mental health disorder? Sorry but I don't want anyone knowing what is wrong with me, and to get all queer about it, isn't that against HIPAA anyway? The only person who can diagnose her is her physician (or whatever doctor) so anything we say is pure speculation. I'd prefer we left her alone because there is nothing newsworthy or interesting about her I need to hear/read.

stacyinbean

]]> <![CDATA[Should "News" Outlets Leave Britney Alone?]]> There is no such thing as "responsible journalism" anymore when it comes to celebrities. Do they really think they are not part of the problem here?

PICKLES

]]> <![CDATA[Should "News" Outlets Leave Britney Alone?]]> Huh. I can think of tons of shit the media doesn't cover. Unfortch Britney ain't one of those things.

myrtlebeachbum

]]> <![CDATA[Should "News" Outlets Leave Britney Alone?]]> @BiscuitDoughJones: & that, my friend, is the mitigating circumstance that Ms. Nomani (and others who advocate for leaving her alone) is failing to acknowledge.

BTW: I miss that heart-accented BDJ icon!

langtry

]]> <![CDATA[Should "News" Outlets Leave Britney Alone?]]> @BiscuitDoughJones: Agreed.

But then again, feeding into her illness (Media/Paps, I'm looking at YOU) is like paying two homeless guys to beat the crap out of each other. Just 'cause they're there and willing to participate, doesn't mean you should find entertainment in it and it doesn't make it right, yo.

Trashtastic

]]> <![CDATA[Should "News" Outlets Leave Britney Alone?]]> I love celebrity gossip. I read the websites, buy the magazines, watch the channels, etc.

I am officially tired of Britney Spears' antics, and I skip any media coverage. I'm sure I am not the only person who feels this way.

BlondeGrlz

]]> <![CDATA[Should "News" Outlets Leave Britney Alone?]]> It's a tricky one. There's a way things are done in our celeb-obsessed culture: if you're sick/going to rehab etc, your people put out a press statement announcing it - and from then on, there's a line that is identifiable, and should not be crossed. The problem with Britney, and with Amy to some degree, is that it's just gone on and on and on, without any confirmation of anything, so it's easy for us to assume - rightly or wrongly - that maybe they just want attention.

heykoukla

]]> <![CDATA[Should "News" Outlets Leave Britney Alone?]]> i can think of a million things more newsworthy than what britney buys at the kwik-e-mart or if lindsay's boobies are real. but those million things do not sell $4.95/issue tabloids.

titania1285

]]> <![CDATA[Should "News" Outlets Leave Britney Alone?]]> Agreed. But can we also add that I am sick and tired of seeing and hearing about her as supporting evidence for a cessation? Granted, she was never interesting enough to warrant the kind of coverage she received in the first place.

langtry

]]> <![CDATA[Should "News" Outlets Leave Britney Alone?]]> @BiscuitDoughJones: Yeah. They have a sick twisted symbiotic relationship going on, for sure. I wonder what would happen if she seriously told em to bugger off? I doubt they'd listen. Then it could get scary, even more so than now. I'm guessing they feel entitled to her now. Ick.

lalaland13

]]> <![CDATA[Should "News" Outlets Leave Britney Alone?]]> @BiscuitDoughJones: The problem is, how much of her reaching out to the paps is part of her disorder? Are they merely fueling her mental fire?

MakeMeSmile

]]> <![CDATA[Should "News" Outlets Leave Britney Alone?]]> I dunno. It's pretty well agreed that a lot of her really bizarre behavior is for the press, yes? (driving around to nowhere, just so the paps will follow her). altho I agree she's obviously unwell and it's really not fair or kind to exploit it... what would she do if the spotlight was turned off? part of me thinks she'd get MORE bizarre...

bitchyolympian

]]> <![CDATA[Should "News" Outlets Leave Britney Alone?]]> This is another two minds thing. One part of me says that given the rough treatment mental disorders get in society, this constant attention to Britney is just fanning the flames. The other part of me thinks that people should be made aware of these issues, and that they have to be treated seriously.

Mind you, the circus that has become Britney makes it hard to treat the actual issue of her mental disorder(s) seriously.

NefariousNewt

]]> <![CDATA[Should "News" Outlets Leave Britney Alone?]]> I would really, really love it if that would happen.

It's about as likely as Jezebel not running papparazzi shots of children, I'm afraid.

LoveNoelG

]]> <![CDATA[Should "News" Outlets Leave Britney Alone?]]> They (yes, the ubiquitous they) will never lay off while there are still people out there gagging for information about the latest celeb scandal. Blame the consumer for creating the demand.

CMG

]]> <![CDATA[Should "News" Outlets Leave Britney Alone?]]> Not so much newsworthy in my opinion. I feel bad for Brit Brit sometimes, but mainly I just wish the media would stop covering her because I'm sick of it.

ZippyTortoise

]]> <![CDATA[Should "News" Outlets Leave Britney Alone?]]> The media should leave Britney alone only when Britney starts leaving the media alone. Mental illness or no, her paparazzi-informing antics are fair game.

BiscuitDoughJones

]]> <![CDATA[Should "News" Outlets Leave Britney Alone?]]> Short answer: yes.

theladyvanishes

]]>