Anderson Cooper is taking a stand, and says he will not cover Heath Ledger’s death because of all the speculation going on. He wrote in a blog on CNN,
“For the last two nights we have reported on actor Heath Ledger. His shocking death is clearly a story a lot of people are interested in, but tonight we will not be reporting more on it. The truth is there is not really anything new to report.
The full results of the various tests done on Mr. Ledger will not be ready for perhaps a few weeks and there is very little new information. I have no doubt other networks will spend a lot of time tonight discussing his death and the various rumors about what might have caused it, but I am not a fan of speculation, so unless there is something really new to discuss we probably won’t be covering it anymore anytime soon.”
And in other news, I never thought I’d say this, but Star Jones made me cry. She wrote a great article for the Huffington post on Heath’s death and I actually agree with everything she has to say,
“This man has a two-year-old daughter. His family is going through the worst time in their lives. Their hearts are broken, they’re numb, they can’t understand what’s going on right now. Michelle Williams is trying to figure out how to explain to their little girl that she will never see her daddy again. It’s heartbreaking, tragic, and it’s being used to fuel our never ceasing desire to eavesdrop on the lives of others.
Please let them grieve in privacy and dignity for a few days at least for goodness sake. As far as I’m aware, Heath Ledger never did anything but conduct himself in the most respectful and charismatic way. He gave us exactly what we asked of him — good entertainment and our $12 worth when we sat our butts in the seats of a movie theater. He made his living in the entertainment business, but he purposely chose not to make his life that way. He was by all accounts a normal guy in every way, a regular dad who was often photographed walking down the streets of Manhattan or Brooklyn with his daugther, Matilda.
The scene outside his apartment on the night Ledger died made me sick to my stomach. People gawking and waiting around for a body bag to be removed….Someone who was loved is in that bag… and trust me it takes more than a minute to get used to that.
Might I suggest that we in the media, instead of reporting on the dead based on gossip, rumor, innuendo and anonymous sources, choose to honor this man’s memory based on his talent and the good taste we all should be exercising. My heart goes out to the family of Heath Ledger.”
I am so hoping that more media outlets follow suit. This just doesn’t need to turn into an Anna Nicole Smith spectacle. When someone dies, the family has a RIGHT to grieve in peace. We don’t need another media circus.