Zany, bonkers, weird, outrageous, wacky, troubled
Yesterday I wrote about how the Sun had handled the case of X-Factor contestant Shirlena and mental health issues by calling her 'zany', and wondered if it was a step up from BONKERS BRUNO LOCKED UP - which I think it was, on reflection.
Today comes the news that Shirlena has been dumped out of the competition - and the Sun can't hide its triumph:
The single mum was dropped after The Sun revealed she hid her mental illness from the ITV1 show's producers.
Medics warned she was at risk after a bizarre performance of the Duffy song Mercy on Saturday night's first show stunned viewers.
As I said at the time, it's not clear whether these 'medics' are 'medics' at all, if they're acting on real inside knowledge or whether it's just a guess.
Psychiatrists say Shirlena has problems which may affect her ability to care for daughter Mariah, three.
They feared her condition may worsen if propelled to fame.
After her weird wailing on Saturday, Simon said: "She was different and I really liked her for it."
But The Sun can reveal her next performance, at the show's Boot Camp stage, was even MOREoutrageous.
Dressed in a leopard print bra and hot pants, she writhed and shrieked to Lady GaGa's Bad Romance in front of Simon, Nicole Scherzinger and Louis Walsh.
Her wacky performance, seen by The Sun, was recorded in July.
Who knows what's going on, who decided what, or what happened? It's packaged as the caring X-Factor team looking after someone 'troubled' (who also happens to be OUTRAGEOUS and WACKY and WEIRD), coincidentally after a week in which they faced a barrage of criticism over autotuning singers. I'm not saying the two things are connected, but it was nice of Simon Cowell to take time out from his busy schedule to come across as being all caring and considerate to the Sun. And Sun readers are as sympathetic as you might expect, calling Shirlena 'crackers', a 'drag lookalike with a trout face', and 'Looney Tunes' in the comments boxes. Well done to them for that.
The official X-Factor website doesn't shed any more light on the matter, saying that 'Shirlena's GP' and 'the X-Factor's own medical experts' (whoever they are) have decided she can't carry on in the competition and she was informed 'in the presence of a psychologist'. Which is all very well, I suppose. But it's not at the moment of being told that these people might need support; the effects of all this sudden fame - as well as appearing on the front page of a national newspaper and having something you may have wanted to keep personal and private made public to friends and strangers alike - might take a lot longer.
All any of the rest of us can do, I suppose, is wish this one person well, and all of the other contestants on their manufactured 'journeys' from the auditions, to boot camp, and maybe to a moneyspinning tour or record deal, then all the way back to obscurity. And maybe stop giving an audience to this manipulative garbage.
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Hello. I'm a Bristol-based writer and soon-to-be-redundant journalist. You can read more about me and the Enemies site here, or follow me on Twitter. Email me if you like - antonvowl at live dot co dot uk
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August 25th, 2010 - 12:35
Firstly, the GMC should be disciplining whoever told The Sun this – that is, if it really was a “medic” with knowledge of Shirlena’s medical history. There are certain standards medical people are expected to adhere to, including not discussing their patient’s medical history with tabloids.
Secondly, The Scum appears to be really proud of this piece of “investigative journalism”, especially that the person concerned has now been dropped from the X Factor. Yes, you should be really proud of stigmatising mental health problems, and of pillorying a woman you think may have such problems, and of plastering her all over the front of your paper alongside your usual sensitive wording…er, not.
This is below standard even for the gutter press. Sewer press may be a more appropriate term for The Scum.