NPR: Heath Ledger Tape: Tabloid News Does the Right Thing

Heath Ledger Tape: Tabloid News Does the Right Thing

The late Heath Ledger attends the New York premiere of I'm Not There in November. Ledger died Jan. 22.

Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images

An e-mail got whipped around Hollywood on Wednesday alerting anyone with a public voice to denounce some sleaziness that was about to be perpetrated here in Hollywood.

Sleaziness in Hollywood? Next thing you know, somebody's going to start playing some dirty tricks in politics.

Yeah, but this time it was some genuine old-school, Hollywood Confidential-style muck. The kind that makes long-lens shots of celebrities making out while on vacation or Internet-posted camera-phone video of passed-out pop star #14 seem positively genteel. Long-running infotainment show Entertainment Tonight and her tawdry little sister, The Insider, had reportedly bought and paid for some video that shows the late actor Heath Ledger at a party. There appear to be drugs present. In the video, Ledger talks about previous drug use, but apparently is not seen ingesting any drugs.

Doesn't matter. While we do not yet know what caused Ledger's death, the inference is clear: young star dies under mysterious circumstances, go to the videotape of drugs. Guilt by association.

This, while Ledger's family is still in mourning.

This on the heels of Fox News' John Gibson's insensitive and homophobic remarks regarding Ledger's passing.

Despite the fact that I've had a decent career in Hollywood, there aren't a lot of things I think Hollywood gets right. Here's one: People who know and care about Heath Ledger made it real clear to the two programs -- enough. Enough with salaciousness and scandal passed off as news. Enough with bashing a guy just after his passing. Enough with making bank off of public tragedy.

Enough.

I'm happy to say that ET and The Insider got the message and did the right thing. They are declining to show the video.

Ledger's passing is a tragedy and a loss, as is the passing of anyone young and talented. More so when an attempt is made to turn that loss into ratings points and grist for the public's insatiable desire for sensationalism.

Those who started the campaign to kill the video should be commended for — at least this once — keeping the scandal vultures at bay.

2:12 PM ET | 01-31-2008 | permalink

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That very word-- ENOUGH-- is what I have been repeating about coverage of the death of Heath Ledger. Enough. And I know a little something about this. I am a journalist and my husband died six months ago just a few blocks from Ledger's apartment and some of the similarities are eerie. As you might imagine, Ledger's death has had a profound effect on me. Screaming headlines of blame, judgement, tawdry video. Enough. This was a person's LIFE. The tabloid approach does nothing to help people understand the complicated layers of addiction, the enormous impact on families and, the helplessness felt by everyone. My husband's death became fodder for some tabloids and some clueless bloggers. It seemed as though there was no regard for the pain we were all suffering or thought of how those callous stories might inflict even more. ENOUGH. We love people for their tremendous gifts as well as their flaws. We do. Let us heal from these enormously painful times without a sick, curious callousness. These are people's LIVES. Instead, let us figure out how-- with these incredible vehicles of communication at our disposal-- to help people understand the layers, the loss and what we can do to bring the problem out of the shadow of shame and, therefore, out of the clutches of those who exploit it. These are people's lives. My husband was extraordinary and-- as a friend put it so eloquently-- loved in a different way than the rest of us. And my guess is Heath Ledger's family and partner, Michelle, and daughter, Matilda, could rattle off thousands of wondrous things, big and small, he did and gave. These are people's lives.

Sent by Dawn Fratangelo | 3:49 PM ET | 02-01-2008

It's about time someone stood up and said that we, the public, don't really care about this stuff. We don't want to see celebreties doing this stuff, or half the stuff the media thinks we want to see. I'm really glad someone stood up on this story though. Heath Ledger was an amazing actor. That's all I need to know. I don't care what went on in his private life, it's none of my business.

Sent by Stephanie | 8:31 AM ET | 02-02-2008

Hey Dawn, are these peoples' LIVES?
_______________

The difference between you and me is, I guess, that MY husband's death wasn't preventable. That preventability aspect makes your (separated) husband's death more newsworthy.

Mine was a famous artist who died a year ago this month. Because it was considered natural causes, it didn't create a stir.

Suicide is newsworthy, like it or not.

Sent by Art Widow | 1:47 PM ET | 02-09-2008

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