***Update July 2018 – bottom
911 calls should not be released to the public. Even if this involves a death. The public does not need to know. That is for law enforcement, and family. I think it is a gross invasion of privacy (say it like the Brits… its more fun. Pri-va-see… accent on first syllable). Not to mention a violation of their HIPPA rights.
It’s going to get someone killed, if it hasn’t already. I am thinking of people in the public eye. Let’s say they are having an overdose. Let’s say an assistant has to call 911. It happens… a lot. The assistant knows that call will be released. So, maybe they are going to say ‘she collapsed, I think it is exhaustion’ as you look at the starlet with a needle in her arm. Well, the response to that call will be wildly different than ‘possible overdose’. I say exhaustion because that is a BIG hit with the celebs. All the time stars suffer from ‘exhaustion’. Remember Martin Lawrence running around naked in traffic? They called that exhaustion.
Luckily, and amusingly, Martin Lawrence addressed this himself. Years later, he was doing a stand up special and mused “I was a high as fuck. That’s what it was.” Don’t worry, Martin… we knew.
What happened to him, though, isn’t our business. Of course, I too am curious and as amused as anyone. What happened to him, even though it was public, is between him and his family and some doctors and (very) likely the police.
In closing, this is going to get someone killed. When that inevitably happens, they will change the laws. Until then, I told you so.
Pt two
why do we get to find out how someone died? Again, I am thinking of celebs. When one dies, everything is released to the public. When Tom Petty died, I knew exactly what it was. EXACTLY. Here is what I wrote to a friend. The day he died, I wrote this to a friend. Here, I am giving you everything (ironically, as I write about privacy).
From: Kevin of Parker <iamcorrect@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, Oct 3, 2017 at 8:28 PM
Subject: mark my wordsthey will run a tox screen on Tom Petty. Heroin/ or a heroin analog/ will come back in his blood.
sadly, I am an expert in this stuff.
First off, that is my real name and email address. I don’t even put my last name on my email, and neither should you. Everyting indented is verbatim what I sent. The story didn’t come out for a about 6 months… but I was correct. Here is the proof, in case you missed the recent headline. To show you exactly how much I know about the human condition of rock stars and how they die… I wrote this half an hour later.
From: Kevin of Parker <iamcorrect@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, Oct 3, 2017 at 9:01 PM
Subject: Re: mark my wordsIn fact, here is exactly how it will go… exactly as it has gone too many times
Just got home from a brutal tour. Tired, in pain, and needing to shake the road and rest for a bit. Was a heroin addict, but is mostly clean now. He figured if he just took a little bit… just enough to ‘take the edge off’, he would be fine. Have a good rest and a 12 hour sleep and get back to real life tomorrow.
Happened to Jimi Hendrix, Bradley Nowell (sublime), Dave Brockie (from Gwar), and Janis Joplin.
“just enough to take the edge off”. I wouldn’t be surprised if those were the last words he said to his wife.
Why do I tell you that? Well… I guess just to brag about my sad gift. Also, though, it helps make a point. Had he lived, we wouldn’t have known about it. HIPPA and his rights to privacy dictate that this was between him and doctor. Since he died, though, its public. It shouldn’t be. Mind your own business!
Pt three
jesus, man… call the police FIRST
if I go down, please call the police. Not TMZ, not a radio station, and definitely not Mary Kate Olson. When Kurt Cobain was found dead, the first call was to the radio station. Yeah, the guy who found him called the radio station and chatted with them for a bit. As a result, his own family heard about it from the radio… not from someone who is trained to have these discussions.
When the maid found Heath Ledger unconscious, she called Mary Kate Olson (or… maybe the other one. What’s the difference?) like 9 times. When she finally reached Mary Kate, she asked what should she do? Mary Kate, to her serious credit, said ‘call an ambulance, NOW!’ At least with Cobain, it was clear he was dead. Maybe that 3 minutes wasted calling Mary Kate could have saved dude’s life. Maybe she was afraid to call knowing it was likely an OD.
When any other celeb dies… the first call goes to TMZ. What is wrong with people? I don’t even much care if you call TMZ… but call them SECOND.
Btw, has anyone else noticed that TMZ is probably the most reliable news source out there? Seriously. When I hear a celeb died, I don’t go to CNN (like I would have 5 or more years ago)… I go to TMZ. They will have all the scoop. Again, I don’t think it is right that they broadcast this sensitive info… but they are just doing their job. Until laws are in place to protect privacy. Not that anyone would call TMZ about me, but I think you get my point.
*** update July 2018 -Someone is going to die because of this!!!
they released the 911 call for Demi Lovato’s apparent heroin overdose. Why do we need that? how is this ANYONE’s business? Here is exactly someone is going to get killed because of this practice. Celebs are going to overdose, and they will be instructed to never tell the truth to 911. They don’t want their story all over TMZ. An assistant (who is usually who finds and calls these celebs in) will be wisely hesitant to tell the operator what happened. As a result, the medics can’t be as effective as they need to be.
More specifically, Lovata’s assistant DID say it was a heroin overdose, which is great. She was immediately treated with Narcan. It is a very specific drug that only treats opiate overdoses. Now, though, Demi will always be famous for the OD. Just like the other Demi.
Next time, the celeb assistant will just say ‘I don’t know’, or ‘exhaustion’… to protect their boss. BUT… exhaustion won’t get treated with Narcan, so that celeb will die. This is all 100% tied to the fact that 911 calls are made public.
I am Correct 