Susan Boyle Suffers 'Emotional Breakdown', Rushed to Hospital

[malaise]

http://broadwayworld.com/article/Susan_Boyle_Suffers_Emotional_Breakdown_Rushed_to_Hospital_20090531
<snip>
The UK Daily Mail is reporting that Britain's Got Talent second place finisher Susan Boyle was admitted to London's Priory clinic last night suffering with exhaustion.

Police were summoned to her hotel, reports the Sun, and the singer was assessed under the Mental Health Act after she had an 'emotional breakdown' following her shock defeat in the show's final.

But, despite her distress at missing out to dance troupe Diversity, coming second was the best thing that could have happened to her, judge Piers Morgan has declared. Morgan said a victory would have 'just carried on the mayhem' for the unworldly Scottish spinster.
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I knew the pressure would get to this fragile lady.

[MajorChode]

1. I didn't know anyone actually suffered from exhaustion

I thought that was just a convenient excuse for when a celebrity took too many drugs.

[Mike 03]

4. With all due respect, I do believe exhaustion is real. NT

[waiting for hope]

10. Ask any parent with small children and

a full time job - exhaustion is not only real, but to some it's a way of life.

[Mike 03]

18. Thank you for the feedback. It helps.

TY

[enlightenment]

26. I don't disagree, but 'exhaustion' is also a euphemism

for being totally and completely plowed (drunk) in the UK.

I don't think it is, in her case - but it is another way the term is used. 'Tired and emotional' is another way of saying someone was drunk out of their mind and behaving badly.

[Captain Hilts]

6. No. Think about how carbonated performers - show biz, politics, athletics are.

There's a reason they collapse of exhaustion - they're the only ones crazy enough to drive themselves that hard.

[Pacifist Patriot]

36. It can be used as a euphemism, but it is all too real.

Anyone can push their mind and body to the limits. There comes a point where the body pushes back and says, "sorry babe, you need to relax and repair."

[Captain Hilts]

37. She can't have had a decent night's sleep in nearly two months.

[Mrs. Overall]

2. That little ten year old girl also had a meltdown on stage in the semi-finals--

There's something messed up about the publicity/scrutiny/pressure that happens to these people just because they take a risk and perform on TV.

Reality shows just aren't good for some individuals.

[spanone]

3. bless her heart...show business is ruthless...

she's been thrown into one of the biggest entertainment phenomena's of the last many years

the 'idol thingy' is the height of showbiz....all it's good and bad....ms boyle has never been exposed to management, record labels, contracts, lawyers, future earnings, etc.etc.etc.

this would be daunting to seasoned professionals....

[malaise]

7. And those three judges -the exploiters -

are among the most ruthless.

[Karenina]

29. They were PURPOSELY fucking with her head.

Piers asking her for a date :thumbsdown: then announcing his preference that she win to get the crowd booing... :thumbsdown: Simon telling the press he was sick of hearing about her cat :thumbsdown: taking it out on HER when his company fucked up on ad revenue... :thumbsdown: The production company did a HORRIBLE JOB.

"Then I was young and unafraid
And dreams were made and used and wasted
There was no ransom to be paid
No song unsung, no wine untasted

But the tigers come at night
With their voices soft as thunder
As they tear your hope apart
And they turn your dream to shame"

Susan had NO IDEA what she was getting into. I sincerely fretted over her mental well-being AND her voice, as it is a very sensitive instrument. It was clear from the first that she was being handled by incompetent nincompoops. It was ALSO clear to me after the results of American Idol that she would not win. I agreed with her brother that she should get as far away from those assholes as fast as she could. GOOD ON HER for getting through it all with her dream intact. She's been SUCH an inspiration to me and I wish her all good things.

[malaise]

5. Another link

http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,25567931-5001028,00.html
<snip>
"...here were fears that Boyle, who was starved of oxygen at birth and has mild learning difficulties, was suffering under the pressure.

She was spoken to by police after an outburst at the London hotel where she was staying, while Britain's Got Talent judge Piers Morgan described her as "a frightened rabbit in headlights'' and said she considered quitting.

The Sun newspaper has reported that Boyle was taken to the Priory Clinic, a leading mental health clinic in North London, after staff at her hotel became concerned.

"She'd been at the hotel for a few days, but since Saturday's final had been acting strangely, causing a bit of a stir,'' a source told the newspaper.

"The staff were concerned - something wasn't right.''

A Britain's Got Talent spokeswoman told the paper that Boyle was exhausted and emotionally drained.

"She has been seen by her private GP, who supports her decision to take a few days out for rest and recovery.

"We offer her our ongoing support and wish her a speedy recovery.''
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This is too sad.

[Captain Hilts]

9. I think she'll be okay, Malaise. I think she's a limited, but very good future

ahead of her.

[Warpy]

8. Well, if it's true, I hope it convinces whoever has signed her

that hers needs to be a recording career, not a concert career.

Trust me, the lady's CDs will sell. Her material is not my favorite, but her voice is a pleasure to hear no matter what she's singing.

[depakid]

11. She'll be fine- and frankly I agree with Morgan.

She'll sell TONS of records- and perform, but what she doesn't need is to go all Amy Winehouse over any of this.

[Frustratedlady]

12. I am so sorry to hear this. Susan should not have been hounded and taunted as she was.

All the poor thing wanted was a chance to sing professionally. She didn't need all the hoopla and the media chasing her all over the country.

Yes, exhaustion is definitely a good description of what she has been going through. Sometimes, people come to a point where they can't take another step or deal with another problem. I hope that with a little rest and peace and quiet, she can recover fully and move on with her contract...IF she so desires.

They have done immeasurable damage to the poor thing.

Bless her heart.

[malaise]

13. True but sadly that's part of the package with

these reality shows.

[Captain Hilts]

15. I wonder how much/ how well she's slept the past month and a half. nt

[MercutioATC]

20. She "didn't need all of the hoopla" and she signed up for a TV "talent" show???

Kinda sounds silly when you look at it that way, doesn't it?

[metapunditedgy]

14. The music/entertainment industry sucks. Reading a Hendrix bio.

Talented people get snapped up, used, fed just enough to keep them happy, tricked, and eventually thrown away. She's in the hospital, but record ratings for the network.

[madaboutharry]

16. The British tabloid press make the press

here in the U.S. look lame. Remember how they hounded Princess Diana?

It is such a blessing that she didn't get 1st place. She needs to be left alone and then make a recording, which she can do on her own terms.

Add the meltdown Hollie Steel had on live T.V. during her semi-final and the crying from the boy dancer when Simon told him his performance wasn't that good. This whole week has not gone too well in terms of publicity for Mr. Cowell. The fragility of the participants isn't his fault, but he and others involved in these talent shows need to remember that these are novices. They are not people who have been, for the most part, working away at it for years. The only one in the whole competition who actually had been slaving away at it for 20 years was the saxaphone player. He was used to the hard knocks, but none of the others were.

I can't for the life of me understand some of the cruel things written about her. It was really kind of sick if you ask me.

I wish her well. I hope she puts out a wonderful cd and finds fulfillment.

[malaise]

21. Nice post

I agree with you 100%

[Captain Hilts]

23. How nice. I think I'll make that the last post I read this evening. nt

[justgamma]

24. They went after my favorite too.

I loved Jamie Pugh's audition. Amanda said that it was "Amazing" and voted him into the semifinal. Then she ran out and did an interview saying he sounded like an engine starting and a few other nasty things.
He suffers from extreme stage fright. I thought it was horrible that the "judge" would say some of those things before the semifinal. She couldn't wait until after his semifinal to tear him down.
He had performed in an amateur variety show before with a group. When Simon asked if he had ever been in front of an audience "like this", Jamie said no. The papers branded him a fraud and a liar. Did wonders for his fright.

[W_HAMILTON]

17. I thought the same thing might happen.

Not so much the pressure, but when everything subsides, and she most likely goes back to her regular life.

Everyone lifted her up so high, and now, they most likely will let her fall on her face. They're done with her. It's over. In a year, people won't even remember who she is. For someone that came from her background, to experience the heights of fame, then to fall back down to earth -- I know it has to be tough to take.

[Frustratedlady]

19. She is supposedly going to sign a contract under the Simon label.

I think she was going to be doing it next week. I had also read where, win or lose, the queen would like for her to sing.

She's got to be exhausted.

[W_HAMILTON]

40. Well, that's hopeful.

I figured everyone was going to dump her once her 15 minutes of fame were up.

[bridgit]

22. The crown is heavy

[CAG]

25. Wait a minute... Newt and Rush tell me that noone can be seen by a doc

for MONTHS TO YEARS in the UK because of the dreaded socialist healthcare machine!!!

[backscatter712]

27. Paparazzi are hell.

I feel bad for her - she's got a lot of talent, and she can go far, but thanks to the current media circus, the paparazzi are making her life hell.

[Captain Hilts]

31. People make it difficult too. I recently read a memoir by a guy

that served as Eleanor Roosevelt's last agent. He talked about what it was like traveling with her and how you couldn't leave her alone, or she'd be mobbed. Folks followed her into the bathroom, etc. He said it was really weird.

No doubt Boyle is dealing with the same stuff. She needs a posse or some peeps. Where are her sibs?

[backscatter712]

35. That's what I'm talking about.

She needs some space, but when there's that much of a media circus, you don't just have mere photographers, you have crazy people stalking you, you have paparazzi that will do things like provoke you, so they can get a money shot of you losing your temper, maybe cussing, or hitting someone, just so they can make money putting your picture in the tabloids. They will not leave her alone.

It does look like she has some good family and friends to help her out, but it's nearly impossible to keep the packs of hyenas away...

[mountainvue]

28. I'm beginning to think that this lifestyle

may prove to be too much for her.

[Karenina]

30. It already has...

[Captain Hilts]

33. I think it's possible for her to deal with it in doses. Record a CD.

Do voice overs. Do narration. Those are all controlled environments.

[Karenina]

34. She's contracted for an 18 date ROAD TRIP starting June 12.

I understand she isn't fond of traveling...

[JVS]

32. This is why a lot of people really didn't like the whole bandwagon mentality that happened

[Captain Hilts]

38. Okay, her brother has come out and talked about it and wanting to get her home for a few days.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/jun/01/susan-boyle-britains-got-talent

However, Boyle's brother Gerry today he had spoken to his 48-year-old sister just before she was admitted to the clinic and that she just needed some time to rest.

"She is feeling a bit exhausted. She is a bit tired and maybe even a wee bit homesick. When I spoke to her yesterday she was asking about her cat," he told the Edinburgh Evening News.

"It's going to take a wee while for her to get her head round all this because she just comes from a wee village in Blackburn . First and foremost we have to make sure she is happy, and she is – she wouldn't change all this for the world," Gerry added.

"It would be nice to get her back home for a couple of days. A couple of days off in Blackburn wouldn't go amiss. But she will bounce back – we know our Susan.

"This is the start of Susan's international career, now that the talent show is finished. She is not interested in money, she's not a material person, but what she is interested in is working with her idols and I'm sure Mr Cowell will have a few people lined up.

And a column on how the media should not try and diagnose her, etc.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/organgrinder/2009/jun/01/susan-boyle-mental-health-speculation

We are not in possession of all the facts and until such times as we are there is a real danger of fuelling ignorance not only around mental illness but around learning disability. Many reports over the weeks have mentioned that Boyle has a learning disability. Disability campaigners say there are questions to be asked of the production company, Talkback Thames, as to what support and advice (in particular independent support) has been provided to Boyle. They are, of course, right. Campaigners worry that as a result of how Boyle's story is presented unjustified links may be made between learning disability and mental illness because of general ignorance around what learning disability actually is. They may be proven right about this too.

[kjackson227]

39. I'm hoping she'll be okay so that she can perform again...

she is a great talent, and it would be ashame to lose her. I'm sure she'll get a lot of broadway offers once she feels better.