Sad

I have to admit, apart from really liking him in Blackrock and Two Hands, and feeling pride that an Australian was doing so well across the pond, I didn't pay much attention to Heath Ledger until that explosive moment in Monster's Ball. That's one of the few times I've ever really been shocked in a movie, and Heath's portrayal of his character's pain just made me ache.

This morning, a new ache. I'm sad that we've lost a talented storyteller far too early. I'm so sad that a little girl has lost her father, and parents have lost a beloved son. And I'm angry that, an hour after his body was found, The Telegraph (UK) is saying he died of a drug overdose. Where's the proof? Where's the toxicology report? Oh, that's right~the autopsy hasn't even been performed.

More importantly, where's the respect? I'm not saying we have to play pretty~even though I doubt he was an addict. I'm saying, what the fuck is going on? Hey, I love me some celebrity in the morning and my one true love, Elvis, was one of the biggest junkies known to man (come on, he was~as a lifetime friend of his said, "He knew what he was doing, he just fucking loved the drugs") but this is getting way beyond "entertainment." Part of me is just as interested in Britney as anyone else, but I don't click through on the links, I certainly don't go to TMZ. What~seriously, WHAT~can be entertaining about a young mother with mental illness being chased around Los Angeles? And will she be turned into another Princess Diana if she goes over the brink?

I've been watching Celebrity Rehab, which makes me sound like a big ol' hypocrite~and who knows, maybe I am. I tuned in because I really like Dr. Drew Pinsky's straight talk (and, yes, I've had something of a crush on the good doc for about 10 years now). And I'm glad I tuned in, because it certainly opened my eyes. I had no idea how difficult true rehab is. How hard is must be to confront your ugliest demons, while at the same time fighting with the physical consequences of withdrawal. Because as successful as these people may appear in the eyes of others, they all have pain in their past. Hey, most of us do; it's just that most of us aren't held up as icons then dragged down by sycophants, enablers and the press. Most of us aren't offered free booze and drugs by someone who then turns around and takes our photo or calls the "media."

I think it takes a very strong, stable person to resist the unreasonable pressures of fame, to put up with their garbage being trawled through, with people thinking it's okay to photograph them in their homes. God knows, it's not something I'd like to encounter. I rather think I'd be like Prince Philip, aiming his car at the press or flipping them off. So while I enjoy a lot of their work and admire a lot of their talent and, yes, lust after a few of them, not to mention their handbags, I don't envy celebrities. I do wish them luck.

And I wish Heath peace. 

Comments

[JChevais]

Golly. I had no idea.

That is so sad. And he was so young.

[Barbara]

Broke. My. Heart.

[Teena]

Still can't believe it.

Wonder how long before the medication manufacturer will "buy/pay" someone to say, "It wasn't the sleeping pills ...", even though that same drug has been causing sane people to do outrageous things this past year, scary things ...

The shock I'm feeling is because he's so young, so much ahead of him, so much potential, so much life to be lived ... and then ... gone.

Heath, I miss you honey.

xoxox

http://A-Night-in-Paris.com

[Moe]

It's been a day and I still can't believe it. I've been a fan of Heath's for a very long time, almost as long as I've been married. It breaks my heart. It really bothered me that the media kept playing up the pills... and probable suicide. He could have been taking pills for anything. As for suicide, I don't buy it, at all. I hate that I have to say goodbye to someone else so young. I hate it.