The British media have been responsible for many deaths of celebrities. Most of these deaths have been women, who they seem to treat much more harshly than their male counterparts. Never have the media been made accountable for these deaths or any of their other practices.

The only case where they were held responsible was that of Milly Dowler. Famous for hacking into the mobile phones of the famous, the News of the World started hacking into the voicemail of the missing teenager. Unfortunately, their actions caused both the police and the parents to believe Milly was still alive when a serial killer, Levi Bellfield, had murdered her. The fallout from this incident caused the News of the World to shut down and many editors to be held responsible, none more so than Piers Morgan.

Many cases highlight the disgusting behaviour of the media, none more so than these three women who tragically lost their live’s after being relentlessly pursued by them.

Princess Diana

Princess Diana was at The Ritz in Paris; she wanted to leave and go and stay at her boyfriend Dodi Fayed’s flat. However, the paparazzi were relentless in pursuing her, having parked outside the front of the hotel. So princess Diana devised a clever plan, she would have decoy vehicles at the hotel’s front whilst she left from the back. However, as she left, the paparazzi monitoring the back alerted those at the front, and a pursuit began.

This media pursuit caused the car to enter the Pont de Alma tunnel at a dangerous speed, Henri Paul, the driver, lost control. He swerved from the left and collided head-on with a pillar that supported the roof. Diana, having been cut from the car, died in hospital shortly afterwards.

The media had always pursued Diana. I remember the iconic picture of her at a theme park with her sons. So many people commented what a lovely photo it was; I remember feeling sad that they could not even have a family day out without the hoards pursuing them.  True, in this case, the car driver was found to be above the legal limit to drive, but would he have crashed had he not been trying to flee from a pursuing pack of paparazzi. Of course, no one will ever know; it is, however, clear that the media played a role in making Diana’s life a living hell, even if they didn’t kill her.

Caroline Flack

If you live in the United Kingdom, you can not help but have seen the reports of Caroline Flack taking her own life. For those that don’t know, Caroline Flack was a British television presenter. She was accused of common assault on her boyfriend.

In December, police were called to her home; she was discovered intoxicated, fighting with her boyfriend. It was clear that they had both been violent to each other. It was also clear that Caroline was unstable and in the middle of a mental health break. She was found to have inflicted several wounds to herself. She was in such a worrying state that she could not be interviewed immediately. She needed medical treatment for her injuries.

When the alcohol had worn off, her boyfriend demanded all charges be dropped. However, the crown prosecution service had other ideas. They pursued a conviction and stated that they were to show camera footage from the arresting officer. Footage Flack knew would be viewed and shared by the media; it was one thing she could not cope with.  Sadly Caroline took her own life before the trial came to court after a barrage of abuse from the British media and social media trolls. This case highlighted the media’s treatment of women and showed a clear gender divide between how the press treated similar cases.

In March 2018, another ITV presenter found himself in legal trouble, Ant McPartlin. He was arrested for drink driving after causing a three-vehicle pile-up in South London. Luckily no one was hurt; however, the result could have been much worse. One of the passengers in the car was a three-year-old girl, who was taken to hospital to be checked over.

He was charged and received a record fine and a twenty-month ban. Many people predicted that this could be the end of his presenting career. He is one half of a famous presenting duo, Ant and Dec, for those who don’t know.

The executives he worked for knew he had drinking and mental health problems. Their reaction was to give him time to seek the help he needed. One of his shows was cancelled, the rest was covered by other celebrities temporarily. His partner Declan Donnelly hosted the hugely popular Britains Got Talent on his own. The lovely Holly Willoughby stood beside him to host. I’m a Celebrity.

Eighteen months later, McPartlin recovered. He was handed back his place, presenting all the shows. ITV supported him completely.

It was a different story for Flack, even though she had never been convicted, but she was a woman. As soon as the story hit about the incident, ITV effectively sacked her. She was a hugely popular presenter of Love Island.

She wasn’t offered any support from them. Instead, she was cast out. Although they have since said they were talking to her about coming back publicly, they sacked her. They never said she was taking a break to get the help she needed and would be back. Never did they offer the support and compassion they showed McPartlin.

They both had mental health issues, potential both also had drinking problems, yet they were both treated differently by media executives.

Caroline Flack was innocent. As our criminal justice system states, you are innocent until proven guilty. So in the eye of the law, Caroline Flack was guilty of no crime when ITV sacked her. In contrast, Ant McParlin was charged and pleaded guilty to the charge of drink driving still though he was fully supported.

The media and media executives pushed a woman with mental health problems to the point that she could no longer take it; she took her own life.

Amy Winehouse

Amy Winehouse was one of the most talented singers to date, winning many awards, including Grammys. Her mixture of soulful lyrics and strong messages made her a household name overnight. It was, however, not for her extreme talent that the media pursued her; it was for her private life. A personal life that was filled with failing, destructive relationships and addiction.

The singer was found dead on 23rd July 2011 in her flat in Camden. When paramedics attended her, she was fully clothed with a laptop and empty bottle of vodka beside her. The autopsy report concluded that she died from alcohol poisoning after binge drinking after a prolonged period of abstinence.

Although not deliberately responsible, the media’s prolonged reporting of her failing personal life contributed to her depression. First, the press followed her wherever she went, from appearances on the red carpet to mundane trips to McDonald’s. Then, when she started to struggle with addiction, the media was there to make her a glowing example of a ‘broken youth,’ going as far as sharing pictures of her with cocaine residue on her nose.  When the drugs started to affect her performances, the media reported that she didn’t know the words and couldn’t sing a note. Although she gave the best performances, these stories were hidden amongst drug and alcohol binges. The media once again did not care about a young woman’s mental health problems; instead, they exploited her addictions to sell a few more copies.

All three of these women were endlessly pursued and hunted by the media. None of them was awarded the privacy to deal with their mental health issues, ultimately one died at their hands, and two took their own lives, not being able to deal with the abuse anymore.

They also have something else in common; all three were labelled superstars and unique icons after their death.

The media spent many weeks reporting the tragic mourning of Princess Diana and rerunning all those fantastic pictures they had of her. Caroline Flack was labelled a fun-loving girl tragically bullied to death by trolls on social media; the irony never occurred to them. In a massive turnaround by the British press, Amy Winehouse was labelled an icon of her time, a true musical genius with outstanding talents.

Isn’t it a tragedy that the media did not support these females more when they were alive? Maybe they could have saved at least one of them from a tragic early death.