Joe.My.God. LGBT News
Jade Goody, a former contestant on UK reality show Big Brother, is terminally ill with cervical cancer and is taking bids for the rights to televise her death. Her story has become daily tabloid fodder.
Goody told the News of the World: “”I’ve lived in front of the cameras. And maybe I’ll die in front of them. And I know some people don’t like what I’m doing but at this point I really don’t care what other people think. Now, it’s about what I want.” The 27-year-old, who became famous after her appearance on the 2002 series of Channel 4’s Big Brother, has said she intends to raise as much money as possible for the future of her two young sons. She is due to marry partner Jack and is expected to sell the media rights to the wedding – as well as the christening of her two sons – to raise money. “When I first knew I had cancer I worked out a strategy,” she said. “I thought if I earn enough money while I’m sick there will be enough for them to go to private school until they are 18.
The number of British women undergoing pap smears since Goody revealed her illness has reportedly gone up 20%. However many are deriding her plans to televise her death as a sensationalistic cheapening of cancer. In a gay twist on the controversy, Joe Hill, the owner of gay hookup site Fitlads.com has posted a rant against Goody on YouTube, leading many customers of the site to denounce him. Audio NSFW.
RELATED: A similar controversy arose in the UK late last year when British television aired a program showing a terminally ill man committing suicide with medication.