Ugly' woman sues TV show in death of sister

[WhiteTara]

Now here is a sad story. This is the results of the need to be beautiful in our shallow society.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20050920/en_nm/leisure_extrememakeover_dc;_ylt=Ak43hcS5muk44C1n.0Y0U_jAGL8C;_ylu=X3oDMTA4dDg2MG9mBHNlYwMxNjk3
snip

Deleese Williams of Conroe, Texas, claims she came to Los Angeles to be a contestant on the show after undergoing a series of medical exams to determine if her crooked teeth and droopy eyes could be fixed and her small breasts enhanced, according the suit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court.

The suit starts with the blunt description: "Deleese Williams is considered ugly" and says one doctor promised her "a Hollywood smile like
Cindy Crawford."

snip
The suit claims the "Extreme Makeover" crew manipulated Williams' sister, Kellie, into making cruel statements about Williams' looks.

The night before Williams was to begin her makeover, the show's producers told her it would take too long for work on her jaw to heal. They canceled her appearance and sent Williams home where Kellie, distraught over what she had said about her sister, eventually killed herself, according to the suit.

not much more
:cry:

[The_Casual_Observer]

1. The world of the "reality" entertainment is perverse and cruel

by it's very nature. It's a modern day Roman circus.

[Kingshakabobo]

13. Nice description; Roman circus. Hit's the nail right on the head. n/t

[rocktivity]

20. DING DING DING! In_cog_ni_to, you're our grand prize winner!

"The world of the "reality" entertainment is perverse and cruel by its very nature...
That's exactly why I haven't been near ANY kind of reality television since that time on MTV when a girl thought she was getting molested. What I see in the commericals is bad enough. And does American Idol honestly expect me to believe that those contestants DON'T KNOW they can't sing???

:headbang:
rocknation

[Skittles]

37. reality TV is extremely disgusting

how people find it entertaining watching people degrade themselves for money just boggles my mind

[pitohui]

2. sounds like it's the result of greed if you ask me

her bipolar sister kills herself, as bipolar ppl do a nontrivial percentage of the time

& this woman is going to cash in off a teevee show

oh pul-lease

this lady ain't just ugly on the outside, it goes all the way to the bone

[mcscajun]

4. What's Ugly is Reality TV in general...

...and shows like this, in particular, that persuaded people to make disparaging remarks on camera about family and friends.

Nothing in the article about the sister's "bi-polar" disorder; what's your source?

[pitohui]

10. the link in the dupe thread is my source

it is no secret the suicide sister was bipolar

mods, can we combine these threads, i think the other was in the lounge, which is prob where this whole discussion belongs anyway

[pitohui]

12. ok here comes some linkage

here's the article telling abt the bipolar sister & all that:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,11069-1788480,00.html

this is i think will take you to the dupe thread until such time as they are combined:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=105x4033386

[Dervill Crow]

5. To paraphrase Kermit: It ain't easy being ugly.

"Normal" people have no idea what it's like.

[WhiteTara]

26. that was really cold.

Do you know her? THose were pretty sweeping judgements about the women involved. :shrug:

[Piperay]

35. I agree

more to than reality TV and this is a shakedown for money.

[Dervill Crow]

3. That IS sad. It's even sadder reading the discussion on Yahoo.

I wonder if the people who write those posts are as creepy in their real lives as they are on that discussion board.
:scared:

edited for stupid grammar.

[melody]

8. they're trolls

They are an effete little group who pat themselves on the back for being cruel "dadaist" web trolls. Ignore them totally - it's all these deserve.

As for this story, some producers should be fired, but they'll probably just get a goddamned raise.

[rocktivity]

6. It was crappy of the TV show to change their minds at the last minute

for such a specious reason. A "series" of medical exams was done, but no one was able to figure out how long the healing would take? That's where her lawsuit is--her sister should have grown up and taken responsbility for her "cruel remarks."

:headbang:
rocknation

[pitohui]

14. you can't force a surgeon to do cosmetic surgery

teevee or no teevee

breaking & reconstructing the jaw for cosmetic reasons can and has been done but if there are doubts abt her ability or speed of healing, she is not a good candidate & the surgeon is not gonna operate just because the patient had a dream of being on teevee

this lawsuit is sheer greed on the hoof & makes ppl w. real issues look bad

you can't sue a doctor & certainly not a teevee show for NOT doing cosmetic surgery, that is bogus

i was once turned down for cosmetic surgery i wanted, yes, i cried, but get real, it is not the end of the world

most human beings are perfectly hideous & somehow they go on & make it thru the day & enjoy life just fine

[rocktivity]

23. It wasn't a medical decision, it was a show-biz one.

The producers didn't change their minds because the doctors did. They changed their minds because she wouldn't heal in time to make for good television. If they'd come to that conclusion BEFORE telling her to show up the next day to begin treatment, they'd have a leg to stand on.

:headbang:
rocknation

[petronius]

24. It doesn't sound like it was a medical decision

more of a show scheduling issue, where the healing wouldn't be done before the planned filming date.

I tend to doubt that there is much basis for the suit since the sister participated voluntarily (although IANAL). I would imagine that the network had some boiler plate legal agreement allowing it cancel the surgery for any reason. Unless there was some evidence that the network knew it was behaving recklessly with the sister, or that it exploited her illness, or lied to her about the confidentiality of her remarks, then I'd guess this will go nowhere.

Still, this show (and the similar Swan) are the dregs of TV and I'd be happy to see them off the air...

[WhiteTara]

40. bipolarism is a disease

and doesn't have to do with growing up, as you put it. I think that the family should sue. It is not the money (although I hope they get plenty and the woman gets her surgery and that it is successful). After reading the other thread, I am feeling even more anguish for this family and I hope the settlement is SO BIG that it ends the genre immediately.

[neuvocat]

7. There's something really wrong with that show.

This is the second major lawsuit that has come out because of its involvement in people's lives. You really have to wonder.

[lukasahero]

11. There's something really wrong with a society that allows a show like this

to succeed.

[etherealtruth]

21. delete

was almost identical to an others post

[smirkymonkey]

30. Thank you!

That is the real issue here. They would create such programs if there wasn't such a sick demand for them.

I have never seen a reality show and I am pretty sure I never will.

[Missy Vixen]

31. The programs succeed because some women will

do anything to be considered "beautiful" in our society. Ugly (or fat,) women are considered invisible, not acceptable as a partner, etcetera.

>They would create such programs if there wasn't such a sick demand for them.<

How sick is it that women are willing to submit to surgeries with above-average risks to be "beautiful"?

Julie

[smirkymonkey]

33. I agree that there are women who would do anything to be beautiful,

but why not just do it in private? Most do. Why a show? The show is a hitbecause of our culture's insatiable demand to live vicariously through others and our need to feel superior by watching others being humiliated repeatedly.

[lukasahero]

39. "our need to feel superior by watching others being humiliated"

Absolutely spot on.

[Piperay]

36. I like Reality TV but

I do not like Extreme Makeover, all the women come out looking like cookie-cutter Barbies with big boobs and big smiling teeth. :puke:

[daleo]

9. The more technology advances, the more primitive its aims become

Television has more dreck on it now than it ever did, just because technology has increased the number of channels available. The medium seems to feed off of emotionally shallow garbage now, especially late night cable. Most infomercials try to part you from your money by attacking your self esteem, whether it be about looks, money, sex, or whatever. TV commercials always did that for 30 second intervals, but now there are whole channels devoted to it.

[FreedomAngel82]

15. Oh gosh

:cry: How horrible. It's so disgusting! One reason why I don't like pop-culture. *sigh*

[gpandas]

18. pop-culture is an oxymoron n/t

[Misunderestimator]

16. Oh man... I was so NOT ready for that last bit. She killed herself?

Damn.

[baby_mouse]

17. Diagnosis: Clinically Ugly

How could this have happened? What sort of medical practitioner allows this sort of abuse of their patients?

[pitohui]

22. how is it abuse of the patient?

if i go to a cosmetic surgeon, it is because i'm already aware i have a cosmetic issue

it is not some hot news flash

my crazy bipolar suicidal sister didn't have to tell me

i went to the cosmetic surgeon because i knew i had a prob & i hoped to get surgery

in this lady's case, she hoped to get surgery as part of a teevee program & save on the not inconsiderable cost of the multiple procedures required

fair enough

however, even if you have money in hand & can pay, no surgeon is obligated to operate on you if the surgeon decides you could have a bad outcome for psychological or physical reasons

i have been turned down for cosmetic surgery

it is not abuse or grounds for lawsuit

it is just sad

life is unfair

hardly extreme makeover's fault -- and they sure as heck aren't responsible for the psycho sister!

[baby_mouse]

25. Hm. Okay, you've convinced me.

I buy your version.

[mcscajun]

27. Yet it wasn't a medical decision, it was a production decision.

The night before her first surgery in Los Angeles, a show official came to her hotel and, according to the lawsuit, said, "You will not be getting an extreme makeover after all."

Williams was told it would take too much time to fix her malformed jaw.

"Too much time" is a television reason, not a medical one.

This is just another case in a growing chain of horrible outcomes that should give people, especially those in television, pause.

"Reality" television panders to the basest of human instincts, exploits the vulnerable, and encourages cruel, judgmental behaviors that have no place as entertainment. It's base, cheap, and throughly despicable.

[lukasahero]

28. "the psycho sister"?

Is that how we're referring to those with mental illness these days?

[expatriate]

32. The poster you're addressing isn't exactly a little ray of

sunshine, is he/she? Tries to be the Devil's Advocate all the time and is overwhelmingly negative. Borders on abusive, but just not enough to really alert. Uses charming terms like "psycho sister" to describe people with mental illness. Is very convinced that he/she has been given a terrible rough shake by society, but has no patience with others who have also had a hard time.

Tedious. Very, very tedious.

[lukasahero]

38. Yeah, I've noticed.

Thanks for reaffirming my sanity.

[cosmik debris]

19. I'm sympathetic, but where is the legal basis?

If a person kills themselves because they feel bad, can you apply financial accountability to everybody who made them feel bad? I don't understand.

[gollygee]

29. I agree

I am sorry that she felt so sad, but how can you know it was due to the show and not something internal? Or something unrelated? And is there a legal responsibility to not hurt people's feelings?

[Piperay]

34. Sad but

there has got to be more to it than that, the woman must have had long standing issues long before her suicide and that have nothing to do with the TV show.

[crispini]

41. Article with pic at Houston Chronicle

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/metropolitan/3360849

She's not really a bad-looking person -- but I can see why she might be sensitive about her looks.

I think the way the producers of the TV show behaved was reprehensible and I think that this suit is very well founded.

The lawsuit alleges that producers asked McGee and other family members questions about Williams' looks, encouraging emotional responses through "subtle and undisclosed manipulation, subterfuge and emotional abuse."

"Through all this my friends and family, who have never said anything before, have said things that made me realize that, 'Yes, I was right and everyone did think I looked like a freak,' " Williams says in the suit.

(snip)

Back at home, the lawsuit said, life wasn't the same for Williams, who had heard "horrific, hurtful statements from virtually every member of her family" during taping.

Her relationship with her sister was especially strained.

"When she came back without the makeover, Kellie did not forgive herself," said Casie Gotro, Williams' attorney "Deleese tried to tell her, 'It's OK, I forgive you.' But Kellie would not let Deleese forgive her, and she could not forgive herself."

It sounds to me like the TV people encouraged the bipolar sister to abuse her sister and then she could not live with it when the surgery fell through.