Emmy Awards' Cory Monteith Tribute Is Brutally Honest About His Death

maandag 23 september 2013

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by Jeanne Sager 7 hours ago

The Emmy Awards tribute to Cory Monteith had created a surprising amount of controversy before the awards show even aired. Some, like Jack Klugman's son Adam, accused the ceremony's producers of glorifying someone who died at his own hands. And then, Jane Lynch got up onstage and told it like it is: her Glee co-star wasn't perfect. He was a drug addict who died because of his addiction.

It wasn't your typical tribute. Memorials tends to speak in glowing terms of the deceased.

But in telling the truth about how Cory Monteith died, Lynch did something better.

She made the tribute to Cory mean something more to the world than just a chance to remember a good actor.

As Lynch said:

Cory was a beautiful soul. He was not perfect, which many of us here tonight can relate to. His death is a tragic reminder of the rapacious, senseless destruction that is brought on by addiction.

Tonight we remember Cory for all he was and mourn the loss of all he could have been.

And there it is, folks: why mourning Cory Monteith in front of a world's audience made sense.

Klugman's son had accused the ceremony's producers of playing to a "youth-centric culture that has an extremely short attention span and panders to only a very narrow demographic."

Lynch's tribute to her Glee co-star was the very opposite. It was a warning to the youth of America, an arrow straight to their hearts: life is short; don't screw around.

Monteith's death wasn't part of the natural course of things. He wasn't an elderly man who'd contributed decades of work to the entertainment industry, only to die peacefully of something related to his age. Is he someone today's youth can relate to better than someone who hasn't graced a television screen in years? Perhaps, but that's all the more reason why the Emmy's tribute worked. There was a stark difference between the tribute to Monteith and those to Jonathan Winters and Jean Stapleton that preceded it.

Winters and Stapleton had done much, gotten far.

They were old.

And their tributes were uncomplicated by talk of "imperfection" and "addiction."

Cory Monteith died before he got to do most of what he could have done. His youth, his superstardom, was not enough to save him.

And to cement just what it was we lost, Lynch offered a reminder that there was more to Monteith than just the drugs:

All that warmth and that charm, that open-hearted quality that we loved in Cory was no act. This gifted and wonderful young man was worthy of your love.

If you were lucky enough to know Cory as we did and witness firsthand Cory's goofy, breezy sense of humor, his natural instinct for inclusiveness and his unbridled sense of generosity day in and day out, I promise, you'd have loved him even more.

What did you think of the tribute to Cory? Was it appropriate?

Image via Kevin Winter/Getty Images

Click the "Like" button below if you're a Gleek! ABOUT THE AUTHOR Jeanne Sager

writes articles for The Stir by day, slays closet monsters and bounds through bedtime stories with her elementary schooler by night. The Phineas and Ferb soundtrack reverberates through her brain.

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iCarly's Jennette McCurdy Dealing With Death of Mom to Breast Cancer

zondag 22 september 2013

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by Michele Zipp 2 hours ago

The sweet and bubbly Sam from iCarly, Jennette McCurdy, is facing something no child wants to face -- the death of her mother. McCurdy is just 21-years-old, and her mother Debra had been battling breast cancer for 17 years. Though the cancer was in remission for 10 years, in 2010 it returned and spread throughout her body and to her brain.

McCurdy was very close with her mom and was often photographed with her at special events. She was set to appear at Nickelodean’s Worldwide Day of Play in New York City, but had to cancel due to the devastating news. Thankfully McCurdy's has a huge support system including her boyfriend who tweeted about his sadness.

NBA Detroit Pistons’ player Andre Drummond and Jennette's boyfriend wrote: "First time in my life, I don't have the answers for something." And "Rock the sky's. Your a angel!" (sic)

McCurdy wrote an emotional article for the Wall Street Journal two years ago when her mother's cancer returned.

I can’t imagine how difficult it must be for my mother to tolerate all she has gone through and continues to go through – the pain, the worry and the battle. She wakes up every day hurting and goes to sleep hurting even more. My mother, the constant optimist and effervescent, sprightly woman I know her to be, is caged along with this hideous beast they call cancer.

Many thoughts and prayers are going out to Jennette and her family.

What words would you share with McCurdy to help her get through this very difficult time?

Image via Splash

Click "Like" if you wear a pink ribbon. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Michele Zipp

loves vintage and will defend skinny jeans to the death though she is highly superstitious and "death" is probably a bad word choice. She has a touch of the hoarding disease and enjoys sleuthing, the worst reality shows, and wearing high heels, even at the playground. She's an AP mom of twins, slightly crunchy but with a pedicure.

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Cause of Death for Hannah Anderson’s Mom Only Makes DiMaggio’s Motives Harder to Understand

dinsdag 20 augustus 2013

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by Adriana Velez 3 hours ago

A sad bit of closure has been reached in the case of abducted teen Hannah Anderson. The San Diego coronor's office has released the cause of death for Hannah's mother: Christina Anderson died from "blunt force injury of head." Her death has been ruled a homicide, and she was declared dead at 8:25 p.m. though police do not know at what time she actually died. According to a leaked arrest warrant, Anderson was found in family friend James DiMaggio's burned home next to a crowbar.

Since the coroner's report doesn't mention burns or smoke inhalation, we may be able to infer that she died before DiMaggio's home was set on fire ... but that doesn't make her death any less horrific or tragic. She was still murdered in a brutal way. And we still don't know why.

There are the allegations that Christina and her 8-year-old son, Ethan, were tortured before their deaths. There is no new information either confirming or refuting this. And there is still no report on the cause of Ethan's death. According to reports, his body was found badly burned. So a lot of questions are still to be answered -- and yet I'm not sure how much we really want to know.

But most puzzling of all, even if police do prove that DiMaggio killed Christina and Ethan, we may never know what his motivation was. Does Hannah even know? She says she didn't even know her mother and brother had been killed.

With DiMaggio also dead, police are left to piece the case together based on what they can find. With every new detail revealed, it's even more infuriating to know that DiMaggio will never have to answer for his alleged crimes -- if he really was responsible for the deaths of Christina, Ethan, and their dog.

Do you think police will ever figure out why Christina and Ethan were killed?

Image via San Diego Sheriff's Dept.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Adriana Velez

is a staff writer who dabbles in food, parenting, news, entertainment, molecular biology, and anything else that that pops into her head. She lives with her elementary school-aged son in Brooklyn, land of urban farms and artisan everything.  

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3-Year-Old Boy's Accidental Death Is Not Enough to Stop Dad From Supporting Guns

maandag 19 augustus 2013

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by Maressa Brown 1 hour ago

Heartbreaking tragedy struck in Dundee, Michigan yesterday afternoon when 3-year-old named Damon Holbrook fatally shot himself in the head. The little boy found a loaded 40-caliber Smith and Wesson firearm on the floor of a bedroom closet, police say. It reportedly belonged to Joshua Michael Greenhill, a friend of Damon's father, Brian Holbrook, who was living with the family.

Greenhill, who has a permit to carry the gun involved in the incident and has no criminal record, has since been arrested on charges of manslaughter and gross negligence. Meanwhile, in the midst of his devastation, Damon's father took to Facebook to set the record straight on his position on guns  ...

Holbrook wrote (all sp):

Yesterday I lost my 3yrd son to a gun accident. We r all hoping to wake up from this nightmare. ... I have nothing wrong with guns it's with this country was built on. I will still support the Second Amendment. All I ask is that everyone please, please safety first lock it up and put it out of reach of anyone that has no business being around a gun especially kids.

Agh. I have to admit, I don't completely, personally agree with Damon's dad on this ... I feel like recent events, perhaps even including this traumatic incident, do make a case for stricter gun control laws. However, I have to respect Holbrook for standing up for what he believes -- which is that this horrific accident and similar ones that we've heard of far too often shouldn't necessarily mean withdrawing support for the right to bear arms. This isn't a black and white issue.

That said, what he's asking of fellow gun supporters and owners is so important. Acting responsibly and safely must come first. As for how far we as a country and a community and even individual citizens want to take that, the jury's still out, but I'm sure we can all agree that it is imperative to preventing even more heart-wrenching, untimely deaths like little Damon's.

What are your thoughts on Holbrook's Facebook post?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Maressa Brown

has enjoyed reporting and writing for a variety of entertainment and women's magazines and websites. More often than not, you'll find her blogging, hitting the gym, reading, researching something on her iPhone, laughing, chatting at an above-"normal" volume, or getting her caffeine fix.

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Gia Allemand’s Grieving Mom Speaks Out to Tell the Truth About Her Daughter’s Tragic Death

zaterdag 17 augustus 2013

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by Sasha Brown-Worsham Yesterday at 4:25 PM

Beautiful Bachelor and Bachelor Pad star Gia Allemand tragically took her own life this week. The news came as a shock to all those who knew and loved her as well as to all of her fans. Clearly no one saw this coming. By all accounts, Allemand was well-loved by all who knew her. Of course, the tragedy has also brought out those who might seek to profit from someone else's pain.

While many have mourned the beautiful star quietly and appropriately, many others have tried to capitalize on the tragedy. Today, Allemand's mother, Donna Micheletti, issued a statement that disavowed some claiming to be "friends" of Gia just as the horrifying 911 call from boyfriend Ryan Anderson's house was released to the public.

In her statement, Micheletti says:

As her mother, I am well aware of Gia's close friends and her best friends, and I am personally going on record to refute all statements to the media out there thus far with the exception of official statements we have released through publicist Penelope Jean Hayes, and those jointly with Ryan Anderson's NBA team representation. Gia liked everyone and always found the good in people, however there were acquaintances that she had disassociated with whom are now speaking as her close friends. I don't like to give further publicity by mentioning names here, however there is a particular individual, Loredana Ferriolo, identifying herself as Gia's best friend and the fact is that Gia expressed directly to me that she did not trust this individual and her motives for her own public exposure.

Now, obviously, this is what her mother says and it's possible her mother just didn't know her life that well. But still. In addition, she said she would have more to say after the funeral and that the funeral was going to be announced soon. This is just so, so sad. What kind of sick person wants to become famous by using their troubled friend's name?

Whatever went wrong for Gia, there is likely no simple answer. Even people who have her best interest at heart might not be able to answer the most basic questions about what went wrong.

This is a tragedy and clearly a lot of people were kept in the dark. But there is no excuse for this kind of sick behavior. Trying to make money or gain fame off another person's tragedy is about as low as one can go.

Some tragic Hollywood deaths have these kinds of people trailing behind, trying to get in with the media. Good for Gia's mother for having the ability to speak out even in her time of grief. I can't even imagine what she must be feeling now.

There is not much more that can be said except that we all ought to be cautious about what we read and what we believe in the coming weeks. I am guessing this friend mentioned by Allemand's mother may not be the last.

This is just so tragic.

If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please call a suicide prevention hotline. There are always people who want to talk to you and help you. Please reach out to your friends. They want to help. You can reach help at: 1-800-273-TALK.

Why do you think someone would try to profit from another's tragedy?

Image via ABC

Click the "Like" button below if you're a fan of The Bachelor(ette) ABOUT THE AUTHOR Sasha Brown-Worsham

can't decide whether she is a mother, writer, or runner, but is usually all three at some point each day. She has written for dozens of print magazines, newspapers, and websites. She rarely ever writes on bathroom walls.

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