With all the news about the newish Mrs Windsor and her hyperemesis gravidarum, or rather extra ordinary green gilled morning sickness to everyone else, it isn’t a surprise that someone, somewhere, was going to try and pull a stunt to get information about her, or the family.
I find it a little outrageous that the two Australian DJ’s are being pilloried as monsters in need of punishment for their royal prank, but I do find their behaviour sickening, in poor taste and reprehensible. Did they do something illegal? Probably. Impersonating the Queen sounds like it should be illegal.
With all the fuss over the Leveson, I really don’t see the difference to be honest. Someone impersonated someone else, to find out information they were not entitled to have. End of story.
Just because they weren’t journalists working on some massive newspaper, or even in this country doesn’t give it any more credence to me than hacking someone’s phone.
The end result is the same – access to information that they have no right to have. The Leveson might only affect British journalism, and it might not. I wasn’t really interested enough to read it word for word, but I don’t see the principle as any different.
The humiliation of anyone on the end of a prank like that is incredible. If you’ve never been pranked, you wouldn’t know how it feels. I have. It stinks. It’s nothing more than legalised bullying for profit when it is done for TV programmes or radio broadcasts. I’d like to see the end of them.
I’m not talking about the ones where peoples cars go missing and they turn up remodelled.
I’m talking about the ones that affect a person’s life. Being humiliated should never be misjudged. It can have a devastating effect.
It’s nothing but legalised bullying to me. They didn’t prank Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge, or the Royal Family – realistically, just how much information can you get about someone being sick? It’s either she’s been sick, or she’s feeling a bit better. Big woop.
They pranked the women who answered the phone. Who knows, the suicide may have happened anyway, but being humiliated sure isn’t going to help someone feel better about themselves.
It’s just another Leveson type issue to me and it’s got nothing to do with being royalist or not. All humiliating pranks should be made illegal.
If that makes me a stick in the mud, then I am proud to be one.
It’s hard to say whose fault it is, but it’s sad all round.
Yes, it really is.
Describing Hyperemesis Gravidarium in the way you have is pretty insulting to anyone who’s had it, I’ve not but I’ve witnessed people suffering and its far from extra ordinary green grilled morning sickness. What’s happened is very sad however I don’t for a moment think the individuals involved thought a possible outcome could be the person taking the call would take their own life. I don’t believe there was any malice involved. The individuals affected were in no way public figures or celebrities as you point out it wasn’t the Duchess that was pranked. Those points make it different to the cases investogated in the Levenson enquiry. The Levenson cases all had an intention of malice. This is a tragedy for the victims family but I find it hard to believe it can be the only reason for doing what she did.
Hi Claire. Extra ordinary means way beyond what is considered normal, ie, well beyond the normal levels of green gilled morning sickness. I’m not sure what’s insulting about describing it in that way.
Setting out to humiliate people by intentionally trying to ferret out information and use it, shouldn’t matter whether they are famous or not.
The DJ’s wanted to capitalise money wise on someone else’s misery and they broadcasted private details about the health of someone famous. Yes, it went further than they probably intended, but jails are full of people who’ve found themselves going further than they intended.
Underhand methods with the intent to publicise information they sought immorally, and without any regard for the potential feelings or future of the people they tricked is plain irresponsible bullying. It falls into the same category as the Leveson for me.