[Red Moon]

Despite the drama and tragedy, Goody isn't the real story

Jade Goody first appeared on our TV screens in 2002 as a big-hearted and wonderfully endearing Big Brother contestant and became a household name within weeks. Famed for not mincing her words, Goody and her idiotic statements would keep viewers in stitches for months after she was voted out of the Big Brother house. When Goody made what turned out to be the worst career move of her life by agreeing to participate in 2007's Celebrity Big Brother, her bullying of Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty caused her to become a national hate figure. Was her behaviour appalling, shocking, degrading and unforgiveable? Yes. Did anybody believe Goody was truly malicious? No. It is for this reason that I cannot comprehend why Goody's battle with cervical cancer was only taken seriously when, on 4 February 2009, it was revealed that the cancer had spread to her liver, bowel and groin and that doctors were acting simply to prolong Goody's life. Unsurprisingly, this turnaround in public opinion coincided spectacularly with the change in the media's attitude. Suddenly Goody was a victim, as though she hadn't been before, and we were only too ready to be manipulated by the press once again.

It is incredible how we, the British public, have become so fickle that we would criticise a 27 year old woman facing cancer because she wanted to be famous. Of course, Z-listers such as Goody and the likes of Tara Palmer-Tomkinson or Kerry Katona stooping to ridiculous levels for a front page splash is irritating. But public perception of celebrities based solely on the angle tabloid newspapers take is even more ridiculous.

So ask yourselves, did you dislike Goody the minute she walked into the Big Brother house? She was loud, brash and very hard on the ears - of course we all hated her immediately. But then Goody's background was splashed across the headlines - her father, a drug addict, had served time in prison and died of an overdose at the age of 42. Her mother, a one-armed lesbian was also an addict who Goody had had to take care of despite being a young child at the time. All of a sudden, the tabloids were no longer printing unflattering photos of "The Pig's" unmade face squinting at the camera first thing in the morning, and we were no longer throwing old slippers at the TV screen each time she appeared. Overnight, Jade became a hero - and boy, did she revel in it.

When Goody returned to our screens in 2007 on Celebrity Big Brother, I thought all of my Christmases had come at once. However, it soon became apparent that our beloved Jade would not be faced with the same reception on leaving the house as she had enjoyed five years earlier. Instead, Goody and fellow contestants Jo O'Meara and Danielle Lloyd were shunned by the nation after they ganged up on Shilpa Shetty by making racist comments. Like a flash, Goody was banished to the "isn't she ridiculous" corner, normally reserved for the Rebecca Loos of the celebrity world.

When Jade Goody was diagnosed with cervical cancer, gossip magazines and tabloid newspapers pounced on her once more. Goody cried her way through interviews and press conferences, all the time being accused of "playing on it for the fame" - because the papers said so. Once it was discovered that the cancer was terminal did the tabloids decide they would make more money by suddenly playing the sympathy card? They certainly did and oh, how we all rallied! The real story here is not Jade Goody, it is the 'roller-coaster', 'anything for a headline', 'don't let the truth spoil a good story', 'the Press Complaints Commission can't get us for that', irresponsible press. Perhaps we get the press we deserve?

Source: Wales Online