fee
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Post by fee on Sept 28, 2004 6:46:00 GMT -5
Have you ever laughed so much?
It's just too easy to say so much for seeing his babies run...
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Post by Puss In Boots on Sept 28, 2004 7:45:57 GMT -5
Call me mean! But is it just a big publicity stunt aimed at getting them back in to the headlines. Both of them are complete media junkies. I can honestly see loads and loads of headlines following them over the next couple of months with it ending in reconcilliation just in time for the release of Brian's album which most of the songs are penned about the love of his wonderful wife and family.
Brian has also just been on the ITV news he was there visiting a sick child/fan and to be honest he didn't seem in the least upset about what is supposedly going on in his private life.
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Post by Electrobix on Sept 28, 2004 7:47:54 GMT -5
If it's not a publicity stunt, then poor Brian and poor Kerry. I guess they won't be inviting the family round to drink some English tea afterall.
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Post by toby3000 on Sept 28, 2004 9:00:20 GMT -5
I thought his album was already out...this week in fact! It dies seem most odd, and he hasn't cancelled any of his publicity events, which is what they normally do in such circumstances.....but they both total media whores, which is why I object to his crappy song so much!
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Post by Puss In Boots on Sept 28, 2004 9:33:19 GMT -5
I thought his album was already out...this week in fact! It dies seem most odd, and he hasn't cancelled any of his publicity events, which is what they normally do in such circumstances.....but they both total media whores, which is why I object to his crappy song so much! His album isn't out untill November along with the second single. |
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Post by Tim on Sept 28, 2004 9:40:00 GMT -5
Have you ever laughed so much? Why would you laugh at someone's marriage being over? There's a difference between a woman making a career in TV or a man publicising his record and making up a story that their marriage is over. Reality check - no one makes up stories like that about their own marriage. Doesn't matter what you think of how they make a living - they're still human beings. This is a really sad story, especially for Kerry who has had a tough time in her life as it is. You people, sometimes . . . |
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fee
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Post by fee on Sept 28, 2004 9:57:19 GMT -5
I think it's fair enough to laugh when the man has just made a big deal of quitting a hugely successful band to spend more time with his family and then rather than doing so, launches a solo career with a single that bangs on about spending more time with his family.
If it's not a publicity stunt it's a delicious irony = funny
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Post by Tim on Sept 28, 2004 10:12:33 GMT -5
Yeah, it is fucking hilarious that two children have to grow up in a broken family. My sides are splitting at the thought of all the tears two adults will have shed over the end of their relationship.
Oh the delicious irony that a marraige failed when the two people involved rather hoped it wouldn't.
Grow up. I think there's a tendency on Pojustice, and the internet in general, to get caught up in a world the tabloids want you to believe exists. And to treat 'stars' as if they are somehow denied any right to compassion or consideration. I have no interest in McFadden. And it may well be that he contributed to the end of the relationship - there's always a reason in a break up. Someone has usually fucked up in someway - doesn't matter how. It may well be that his publicists (note - not him) seek to exploit the story in the hope of selling more records (cause that's their job). But the end of a loving relationship is, in my experience, one of the most upsetting and terrible thing that can happen to you in life. What kind of sick fuck do you have to be to gloat about someone else's pain?
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todd
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Post by todd on Sept 28, 2004 10:36:27 GMT -5
what makes this interesting for most people i guess is the fact that briyan and kerry have made a lot of money whoring happy family snaps to magazines like ok, briyan used his family as the reason for leaving westlife, and even his first solo single yaps on about "family".
they are happy to use a certain image to keep themselves in the public eye, gloating about their happiness whether it is reality or not. and now the reality is out and we are supposed to take our cue from kerry's next "my heartbreak" 5-page spread in OK and feel sorry about the whole situation.
apprently this has all happened because of briyan's "incident" at his stag night. another glimpse into the reality of "briyan mcfadden" that he and his record company didn't want out because it didn't sit too well with westlife's public image.
so it's this whole image/reality duplicity that surrounds "celeb" couples like kerry and briyan that
is just asking for people to delight in any trouble that comes their way.
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Post by Tim on Sept 28, 2004 10:48:21 GMT -5
See I even get sick at the apparent belief that if you sell your wedding photos to a magazine then you somehow deserve to have a failed marriage. How does that work? This is how the situation usually arises:
You decide you're going to get married. You are aware that due to your celebrity the paparazzi scum are going to be killing each other to get a photo and that's likely to ruin the day for you and your guests. So you need security. Massive security. Only that's gonna cost too and just because you're a celeb doesn't mean you want to spend that kind of money or have the headache of trying to arrange it.
But hang on, here's a magazine who's promising to sort the security and give you money on top just for the exclusive right to take the photos. So you think "Well, we were gonna need to employ a photographer anyway - and this way we get someone really experienced at capturing weddings. And our fans would probably really like to see the photos - and you know, it'd be kind of nice in our old age when we're not famous anymore to look back and think that our wedding was front page news for a week."
Now I wouldn't do it. But I can't see that it's an horrific crime that someone does. I've been to a wedding that was a Hello cover story and it was great for all us guests to be able to buy that as a souvenir of our friend's special day. When you're inside the bubble it's not necessarily possible to see how it looks from the outside.
Of course the problem comes when you give anything to the media is that you have to keep giving. Always hoping that if you give them one more photo of your baby or one more interview about the marriage that they'll stop sleeping in your hedge. They never do, of course, but it must be very hard to know what to do in such a situation.
If someone is a media 'whore' as you call it then that's just their chosen profession. No worse than being a banker or an insurance salesman or a journalist. Doesn't mean I can take delight at their personal tragedy or pain anymore than I would the man/woman in the street. Cause when they stop working that's all they are.
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Post by Electrobix on Sept 28, 2004 11:41:06 GMT -5
I don't see anything wrong in celebrities selling their wedding photos to OK! or Hello!.
You get no Catherine Zeta-Jones-style situations - where someone takes photos without your permission and sells them - and you make a lot of money from it.
I see any reason why it is wrong. The only downside, as Tim pointed out, is that you're kinda selling your soul to the devil for it. You get a lot of money, security and it boosts your profile but at the same time you can't then turn round to the media and say 'leave me alone now please' as you owe them something, in a way.
And it doesn't mean that the celebrity couple in question deserve to have their marriage wrecked either. They're doing what you or I would do - getting shedloads of money for simply getting married. The only difference is, they have the power to command high sums for it and we don't.
The only reason why people get some perverse kick out of seeing high-profile marriages failing is because it's nice to see that these famous people don't have it all. They are human just like us and can be incredibly unhappy sometimes. In fact, despite their wealth and adoration, they're usually more depressed than the average person.
The cynic in me suspects that there's more to Kerry and Brian's split than meets the eye. But if it is true - and it probably is - it's not funny. It's ironic in a way, but it should not be celebrated. It's sad when any relationship ends, especially when it's in the public eye and especially when you have people making a big joke about it. It will be horrible for Molly and Lilly Sue to grow up with divorced parents and have to read about people taking pleasure from the very public break up of their family.
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Jen
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Post by Jen on Sept 28, 2004 13:48:27 GMT -5
Brian has also just been on the ITV news he was there visiting a sick child/fan and to be honest he didn't seem in the least upset about what is supposedly going on in his private life. Why does this mean its a publicity stunt? Surely he should be praised for being proffesional and compassionate towards this sick child in a time of his own personal crisis, rather than it being looked on as suspicious? |
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Post by Puss In Boots on Sept 28, 2004 17:46:00 GMT -5
Why does this mean its a publicity stunt? Surely he should be praised for being proffesional and compassionate towards this sick child in a time of his own personal crisis, rather than it being looked on as suspicious? He could have still visited the sick child in private , With his marrige breaking up at the weekend it seems a little callus to be on the ITV news smiling and telling people that he is being TV Brian today and not family man Brian. It just screamed of promotion, not compassion for a sick kid. |
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Post by Tim on Sept 28, 2004 18:24:12 GMT -5
And how many people do you know who just quit their jobs when their marraige hits the skids?
None of you have any idea what he's going through. Usually the only thing one can do in such a situation is to carry on with whatever was in your diary. If nothing had changed you wouldn't remark on this. The hospital is usually the place that asks for TV publicity for such events because they need the exposure in order to attract charity donations. Have you ever bought a record cause the singer went to a hospital? No, and I think Bryan's publicists probably know that. It's part of his job for frigs sake, and whatever you think about that morally, it's all he has right now.
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Post by miumiu on Sept 29, 2004 3:28:48 GMT -5
Why does it matter so much to us? It should bear absolutely no relation how we feel about them, because we're not buying their records or watching them on tv because of their marriage. And plus, we don't know them, it has nothing to do with us which makes the arguements about whether or not they're manipulating this irrelevant.
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Post by glenmoranjie on Sept 29, 2004 4:20:02 GMT -5
Anyone who saw them on "The Keith Barrett" show will have wondered how long this relationship had to go.
It is a shame about their children, but perhaps the parents should have thought about the longevity of their relationship before conceiving.
PS - hate Brian's song. Perhaps he will rewrite it to reflect the changes in his life.
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Post by todd on Sept 29, 2004 4:48:47 GMT -5
tim, your one man stand for bryian and kerry is admirable, but i find your arguments quite rose-tinted.
i didn't say if you sell your wedding photos to OK then you deserve a failed marriage. B&K haven't appeared just once in that magazine to give their fans a look into their happy lives, they have appeared many times since then to promote themselves and their perfect marriage. i find it rediculous to think they were thinking "gee, it will be really nice to have that old copy of OK around in 50 years time to see our wedding photos in it". isn't that what a photo album is for? lets not kid ourselves, celebs sell their weddings to OK for the money - nothing more. you're right this is not a crime, but don't spin some shite about how they have no choice in the matter. why not just release an official photo to the press?
i don't think B&K agonise over what to do in the situation of having photographers wanting pics of them. i don't for a second believe they are caught up in this horrible machine of c-list celebrity and paparazzi over which they have no control. they actively court that kind of attention! and as such you must accept that people take an interest in your bad times as well as your good.
there are certain celebs in this world who do not court this kind of attention (jude law/kate winslet etc) and those who do (posh/zeta jones/b&K) and the reason there is a backlash against people like that is we are sick of celebs "big upping" themselves by trying to create a certain aura around themselves. a lot of the public is not that naive anymore, particularly as you note yourself people on internet sites (like this one).
you don't know B&K, and we don't know them. we only see them through the media, and occasionally we get to see things about them that aren't controlled by their PR machine. the best example of this is briyan getting a **** *** from a ******** at his stag party. he tried to buy her off. so forgive me if i don't spare a thought for "the tears he will shed" over the end of his marriage if he is the kind of person that would do that right before his wedding.
i actually do feel sorry for kerry, because as you said she has had a rough life and she is actually quite likeable and down to earth. but briyan grates on my nerves and as such i reserve the right to frown upon the smug git.
he is not the person he tries to portray - he admits this about his time in westlife in real to me, and his solo "career" is just as cynically calculated. "boybanders have gelled up hair - lets grow your hair and push it down! boybanders are cleanshaven - lets grow you a manky beard! boybanders wear clean-cut clothes - lets put you in a grungy cardy! boybanders have dance routines - lets put you in front of a band!
so, anything that wipes the smile of briyan is OK! by me.
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Post by Tim on Sept 29, 2004 4:51:02 GMT -5
perhaps the parents should have thought about the longevity of their relationship before conceiving. They're not fucking psychic! "Darling, perhaps we should abort this baby since I imagine our relationship is unlikely to last." |
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Post by Tim on Sept 29, 2004 5:12:20 GMT -5
tim, your one man stand for bryian and kerry is admirable, but i find your arguments quite rose-tinted. No, what I'm doing is giving another angle on the situation. I'm not spinning any "shite" as you delightfully put it. I didn't say there was no choice in the matter but that it's a vicious circle of give one thing to the press and they want more. And it's very difficult to see that when you're inside the bubble and you need the press, to a certain extent, in order to promote your work. Someone else on this thread understood perfectly what I meant, describing it as selling your soul to the devil. It's a mistake - but one that it's actually very difficult not to make when you're in that line of work. Having worked closely on both sides of the machine for some years I could never blame anyone for getting caught up in the tabloid game. Though it's regrettable when they do as you can never win. I didn't really think this was a point that needed making. My point is that we shouldn't fall into the trap of despising people merely for seeking publicity. It's the job they have chosen to do - just as any of us have chosen to do our own jobs. The media has got everyone addicted to fame and inevitably people hate their addictions. I'm merely suggesting that since we know this, we should rise above it and treat people with a level of common decency. Just because you disagree with the way someone lives their life doesn't, in my view, give us a right to gloat at their misery. I think that says more about us and the state of society than it does about those who try to earn their money in showbiz. Actually I did used to know one of them. Sorry. Who made you moral judge of the world? Was your dad always faithful to your mum? Will you never make a mistake? What happened was a pretty awful and dumb thing to let happen. But let he who is without blame etc . . . No one's asking you to cry. I'm just suggesting that it's bizarre and shameful to gloat at another human being's mistakes and use the excuse that they appear in the papers a lot (or that they appear "smug") as a reason. That makes no sense to me. It's what the tabloids want us to think because jealousy, hatred, and bad news sells more papers. I want no part of that and can't understand intelligent pop fans falling for it. |
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Post by todd on Sept 29, 2004 6:03:44 GMT -5
well as you delightfully call the rest of us "sick fucks" for putting forward an angle on the situation different to yours, i will further my argument.
i also have a lot of experience of dealing with celebrities and their exposure to the media, and i agree with you in that celebs can never win once they get involved in selling their souls. but where we differ is that i do not believe that it is a route that is "difficult" not to go down. every celeb plays the media game differently, and B&K have consciously gone down a route - probably the one frought with the most danger as when things go wrong (or even if they don't go wrong) there is an inevitable backlash. especially when people, like B&K, are perceived as being "professional celebs".
in my opinion, the public's "addiction to fame" is a little more "knowing" these days. sure heat magazine is a celeb rag, but it doesn't pander to fawning over celebs like OK. the same can be said for popjustice compared to something like smash hits. the kind of "addiction to fame" that i think you refer to is exactly what K&B possess themselves.
well, "used" to know someone amounts to not much. but that is probably why you have a more sympathetic view of the situation. the vast majority of us however, do not know them (or did not "used" to know one of them), what we know of them is through the media, which is their bread and butter.
i think that is the role you are trying to take - calling us all "sick fucks" for having a different take on this than you. most people posting on this topic i think are a lot less passionate about this subject than you appear to be.
actually yes. sorry.
don't try and defend the indefensible. doing what he supposedly did is not a simple "mistake". please, even kerry supposedly doesn't believe that so why should you be so naive about it?
no one is perfect, but very few people would do that. that is the truely "shamefull" act, not posting an opinion on a message board. in any case, the only reason it is worth mentioning is because it totally goes against everything he supposedly stands for.
and i am not thinking all this because a tabloid wants me to. the same as i don't buy into the "we're so in love" by K&B spread in OK. i - and others posting on this subject - might put things in a crude way, but i firmly believe we are a little more savvy than you give us credit for.
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Post by Tim on Sept 29, 2004 6:35:32 GMT -5
well as you delightfully call the rest of us "sick fucks" Where did I say that? [edit]Ha, oh yeah just found it! hey, i didn't call you a sick fuck, just asked how sick you'd have to be to gloat over that. Fair enough question, I though.[/edit] And what? So you disagree about it being a hard route to avoid, fair enough. But what else is all this about? My entire point was that it didn't matter what B&K did, or anyone else in the spotlight - didn't make it right to gloat at human suffering. I'm not sure why going over and over what you think they did wrong in the media changes that. Again, and what? You seem to have replied just to have a go at me rather than make any new point. So? You don't know that, none of us do - that was my point. We know about his indiscretions - so does that give us a right to judge. I don't think so. Where did I do that? In the bit where I called it an awful thing to do? Please try to stop accusing me of things I haven't said. I'm not naive. What is it if it isn't a mistake? Is it something he's glad he did? No. Is it somethign he regrets? Yes. It was a mistake. Doesn't excuse it. And I didn't excuse it. but we all fuck up in life. that was his, I hope you never do anything as bad - but even that doesn't give you the right to judge. Nothing does. I never suggested you weren't savvy (why do you insist on accusing me of saying things I haven't said?) In fact it was the opposite - that I expected people here, who knew how the game worked, to be above this kind of gossipy, sniping at another human being's bad situation. And despite your lengthy posts you still haven't explained to me why it's acceptable or necessary to laugh at someone else's misery - which was the only point I was ever trying to make! |
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Post by todd on Sept 29, 2004 6:43:20 GMT -5
err...
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Post by Tim on Sept 29, 2004 7:00:24 GMT -5
err . . . way ahead of you (well, by a minute anyway). See my edited post. But you're not off the hook on the others!
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todd
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Post by todd on Sept 29, 2004 7:07:15 GMT -5
my whole point is that they (and many others) have CHOSEN to live their lives in the public eye. and as the public we all have every right to have an opinion on them - whether that is a righteous "they are human just like you and me!" line or it is a more contemptuous view - we are entitled to have it.
Whether you think it is acceptable or not, campaigning some kind of moral high ground doesn't fit with the irreverance that popjustice is based on.
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Post by Tim on Sept 29, 2004 7:23:33 GMT -5
People always tend to play the 'entitled to my opinion' card when they can't win an argument on message boards. Hmm . . .
I see what you're saying, though - eventually. I just think there's a difference between irreverance and malice. I think there's a tendency here and elsewhere to forget that these people are humans who may possibly read this and be hurt by what's said. It's easy to show compassion to those we like, easy to love our friends and family. How much harder (and therefore more worthwhile) to show the same kind of consideration to those we dislike or those we think have set themselves up for the fall. Yes I am on a moral crusade, perhaps. It really upsets me that we've become a society that thinks that because someone is in the public eye that's the same as having a sign on their back that says 'kick me when I'm down'. If we're 'better' than them then let's show it by behaving that way. Cruelty is not a characteristic I think should be celebrated - is that so wrong?
It's probably unwise to tell a moderator they don't fit with Popjustice. I decide what does and doesn't fit - and who! *joke*
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todd
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Post by todd on Sept 29, 2004 7:45:20 GMT -5
i don't think anyone can really win an argument on a message board (especially with a moderator! *joke*), i have just realised that we could go back and forth about this all day.
besides the fact i've spent all morning here and haven't done any work yet today, i have somehow ended up fighting a cause that was started by someone else. i wouldn't personally start a thread saying "have you ever laughed so much" about a marriage ending, but i also wouldn't reply by chastising that posters opinion.
i still have deep issues with briyan mcfadden, but i will be more compassionate to kerry from now on. promise. *hug*
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fee
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Post by fee on Sept 29, 2004 7:55:15 GMT -5
err... I started this thread with the (apparently mistaken) notion that the board was about pop music.
I don't imagine anyone is actually laughing at the marriage breakup. It was the fact that events have proved that "Real To Me" was clearly bullshit that I thought was funny.
I promise to spell things out more clearly in future.
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Post by gabbygoo on Sept 29, 2004 17:00:22 GMT -5
If my husband had written the words
'had visitors round for tea. stuck my fingers up in the air and watched football on the tv'
I would have kicked him out for sure but then he didn't write the words Guy Chambers did
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miumiu
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Post by miumiu on Sept 30, 2004 3:28:48 GMT -5
Celebrities always go on about how difficult it is to have relationships in the public eye, and we all know how the British media are. But plenty of people have proved that you can actually do it, if you get on with your life i.e. Louise and Jamie Redknapp. People who court the press for every single shopping trip or bang on about their relationships can not then turn around and say how much the press ruins their relationship. It doesn't have to be an issue if you choose not to make it one.
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Post by Devil In Your Car on Sept 30, 2004 5:41:57 GMT -5
Why hasn't anyone mentioned the "pussies the size of your head" incident? That would have been the pop quote of the year if it hadn't, in retrospect, taken on an air of ironic pathos. (sob).
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