Pop Quiz, PopWatchers: If you were a crisis management publicist, would you rather take on a new client who:
A. Utters bigoted slurs.
B. Is accused of vehicular manslaughter.
C. Has an inability to keep on his or her pants.
Well, if you were looking for the easiest case to make go away, the answer would seem to be B. In today’s Hollywood, car accidents — even those that result in others’ deaths — don’t seem to negatively impact the offenders. (Gawker has compiled a list of the most notorious — we’re looking at you, Rebecca Gayheart and Matthew Broderick — here.) The latest celeb to enter the club is singer/actress Brandy, who has reportedly admitted to causing a multi-vehicle accident on Dec. 30 that has resulted in the death of one driver. Brandy herself was uninjured, but if she’s found to be "the party most at fault" for the accident, a misdemeanor for vehicular manslaughter (but no jail time) may be in her future. So the former Moesha star’s fans needn’t worry too much about her future prospects. She could even still become First Lady of the United States.
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is it me or is this whole article very tacky? worried about brandy’s career? wow, i’m disappointed.
Although this is a tragedy, it seems like Brandy did not act like a spoiled star, she takes full responsability for her actions, and was not drunk or under the influence.
Mistakes happen in life and while driving…..it is refreshing to hear of a star in trouble who does not try to hide it or blame someone or something else.
I hope Brandy finds strength in what must be a very trying time for her right now.
The thing that really bothers me about the Gawker list is how no one seems to appreciate the idea of forgiving someone who is responsible for an accident. Were all these “celebrity”-related incidents related to drug or alcohol abuse, or an intent to kill people? We all make bad decisions, often while driving. I would hope people would let me move on if I was responsible for something like these people have experienced. I pray the best for Brandy and the other people involved and affected by this crash.
Running people over due to reckless driving is standard operating proceedure for most starlets. Shannon Doherty and countless other famous hotties have either run over or been runover in clearly “at fault” traffic accidents, many of them involved injury to a few dozen people…
This article is in poor taste. Celebrities are people who make mistakes just like the rest of us. If they really didn’t mean to cause any harm, they should be forgiven. They’re the ones who have to live with what they did for the rest of their lives. One of my friends was driving a car that wrecked and caused the death of another one of my friends. Do I blame her? Of course not, because it was an accident. She feels terrible enough about it as it is, she doesn’t need other people blaming her too…that would just make it worse.
I thought the jab at Laura Bush was INCREDIBLY unneeded and mean spirited. Very poor taste, EW, very poor taste.
I don’t think that the journalists have all the facts yet. Was Brandy under the influence? Was something wrong with her car? Problem with the breaks? I am sure that she is in a terrible state right now and the media should just let the poor girl get back on her feet.
I agree that the tone of this article (or blog or whatever) is in bad taste. I mean, can we really compare one tragic accident to another? It’s not like we’re talking about Jack Nicholson bashing someone’s car with a golf club and getting off. I would have like to have seen this treated topic with a little more delicacy and respect.
topic treated
I agree, this post seems to be in poor taste. Regardless of whether it was an accident or not, a person died, and to focus solely on how that affects a celebrity’s career is inappropriate. That does not imply that people who are at fault in these accidents don’t deserve forgiveness or sympathy as well, but the victims shouldn’t be glossed over as just another part of the story.
Hey Michelle Kung, do you think the family of the young lady who died would enjoy reading your blog about whether Brandy’s career will survive? This is easily the most tasteless thing I have ever read on EW. It was an accident. I think any rational person can understand that. But to do this sort of sad, speculating about someone’s career in light of someone losing their life, is shallow and unnecessary. I hate the media these days. You really should be ashamed of yourself, but sadly, something tells me you aren’t.
So the point of this is that a famous singer, actor, or sports star is allowed to kill you.
C’mon people, wake up. The point of this blog is to highlight the fact that most people care more about sensationalized tabloid affairs (Britney’s crotch, Mel Gibson’s slurs, etc.) than they do about a celebrity who is directly related to someone’s death. The world seems to collectively shrug their shoulders about the latter, instead turning their attention back to their muffins and gossip pages.
Wait didn’t Brandy hit someone from behind which caused a chain reaction, which pushed a car in front of another on-coming car; isn’t that a real accident.
This is a tuffie because if the lady in front didn’t get pushed into the on-coming car, this accident wouldn’t have been reported.
But I understand Michelle’s point; if it were me instead of Brandy, I’m sure I would be sitting in jail instead of my teacher chair while my 2nd graders are at recess.
EXACTLY Casey…that’s what I got out of this blog. Every blogger on Earth (and on popwatch) had something to post about Mel Gibson after his rant (which granted COULD’VE ended in tragedy, but didn’t). Most of the focus in that instance was on his hateful words rather than the fact that he was driving drunk at high speeds. I just doubt that every blogger on the planet is going to weigh in on this Brandy story, or that EW will give her a cover asking if the public will forgive her, or whether her career will survive, or if Diane Sawyer’s gonna want to sit down for a chat…and she (to some degree), like those other famous people before her CAUSED THE DEATH OF ANOTHER PERSON.
I’m not a fan of the president or his family. I’m definitely not a fan of Bush politics, but even I have to admit that the line about the first lady was an unnecessary cheap shot.
“Keep it clean and stay on the subject” are the rules here Ms. Kung. You should abide by them as well.
I think the Brandy story would warrant more attention if she’d intentionally killed someone. In a case like this, why would we want the media to be so insensitive as to drag the victim and others hurt by what happened into the spotlight?
I don’t think that the writer is really worried about Brandy’s career. It seems to me more like a cynical jab at our lack of priorities when it comes to these stories.
I don’t know what happened with Brandy but I’m not ready to “forgive” her just yet. Maybe it was just an accident (Although the one thing my driver’s ed teacher pounded into my head is that there’s no such thing as an accident when driving.), but until the investigation is completed we won’t know. I don’t know about the other cases but I do seem to recall that Matthew Broderick was driving drunk.
This story hit all the news sites & gossip blogs yesterday. Its a truly sad story, especially for someone such as I, who was involved in a horrible car accident as a child & because of it, to this day, never got my driver’s license or learned how to drive. I feel for Brandy, as I would for anyone involved in this kinda debacle, celebrity or not. I doubt she’ll be driving herself many places for quite some time.
My only question is why this story took so long to break, if it happened a month ago, & why is it relevant now when the woman died the following day also a month ago? I mean, yes, I understand why people would wanna talk about it, but I feel all the coverage this story has recieved paints Brandy as this martyr, hoping that by exposing said guilt, she’ll come off in a better light in the public’s eyes. I got nothing against Brandy but the focus of this story should be in sync with the prayers for the deceased woman’s family. Brandy’s career will perservere, but a life is gone.
Very disappointed EW. Try showing some class and respect. Celebrities who have passed on are given much respect when they pass, all you had to do was not write about this issue so early. For shame.
I don’t know, I’m not offended. I feel like the article is commenting with bitter sarcasm that vehicular manslaughter doesn’t seem to stay in the public mind for long. Kung isn’t disrespecting the family of the deceased. She doesnt actually care what happens to Brandy’s career. Its just bitter sarcasm as far as I’m concerned. The point is well taken on my end.
Phil put it so nicely, and I am sorry for your past accident. These type of incidents can stay with one for years. As far as Brandy’s accident, from what I have read, she failed to slow down. This certainly sounds reckless to me. I am not one of her fans, and even if I were, I still feel a slap on the wrist is just too easy.
You know, I’m not sure I believe she was driving “reckless”. If you rear-end someone it’s always labled “failure to slow down to avoid an collision”. I got the same ticket a few years ago when someone in front of me was stopped and I couldn’t see their tail lights and I rear ended them. So I’m not 100% sure she’s at fault. It is terrible that this occured…one of my very dear friends lost a child in an auto accident and my heart goes out to the family of the person that died, but I think that the media is jumping the gun because Brandy is a celebrity. Let’s find out what really happended first.
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