The other day, I was reading an article about Harry Styles from One Direction writing some solo material and I thought, Here we go, it’s Robbie Williams all over again.
I have to hand it to Simon on this one. When he first started The X Factor he was constantly saying, ‘I want to find an ‘N Sync, I want to find a Spice Girls.’ Oh my God, he really did with One Direction. They are, at this moment, the biggest boy band in the world and they came from little old X Factor UK. Basically, they’re five little boys who look great, with great personalities too, but OK singers. I don’t think they would have made it alone, but you put them together and you create magic.
Again, we have musical history repeating itself. We’ve seen this kind of success in the past with the Jacksons, the Osmonds, Backstreet Boys, Bros, Take That, the Bay City Rollers, ‘N Sync, New Kids on the Block and let’s not forget the fabulous Spice Girls. Each group represented their generation, their time. Each had amazing worldwide success, generating millions, but having a specific shelf life. Boy bands are like athletes. Their careers are like a flame. They burn strong and bright but only for a short period of time. Also, in any group you’re dealing with different personalities of course, and history tells us again that there’s a honeymoon period and after that, because of egos, musical differences, maturity or immaturity, people change and they want different things. How often have we seen the most popular one or the cheekiest one leave to pursue a solo career? Some of the bands I have mentioned have reunited in recent years and have had success for a second time but I think it’s only Justin Timberlake, Robbie Williams, Gary Barlow and Michael Jackson who can truly say they made it on their own. Based on past musical history you would give One Direction another three years and – being the betting woman I am – I would say Harry Styles will be the first one to leave the group for a solo career. Let’s see. It’s fascinating being an outsider looking in on these scenarios.
When you consider the 60s club, each of them is a pioneer in the industry. Elton John, Rod Stewart, Bruce Springsteen, the Rolling Stones, Robert Plant, Ozzy, Billy Joel, Cyndi Lauper. Each one of them is a quintessential artist who represents their genre. When they are gone, who will take over? These are icons of their individual musical genres, unique and irreplaceable.
Of the newer artists, Adele stands out to me in the same way. She is a breath of fresh air in the music industry. She had her first hit record when she was just eighteen, her first album was nominated for a Grammy and her second album won the Grammy. She’s an artist who goes way beyond any particular demographic; her music speaks a universal language. At a time when many stars in the industry couldn’t sell albums any more, she came along and proved a point. You can still sell tens of millions of albums worldwide. Her audience ranges from kids to pensioners.
Artists like Adele come once in a lifetime. She arrived at a time when music executives were screaming about illegal downloading, music streaming services, YouTube, the demise of MTV as a music channel, the prevalence of iTunes leading to record stores closing by the thousands. And Adele proved that if the music was right, it would sell. Taylor Swift – who appeals particularly to a younger audience – also came out of nowhere and sold millions.
The thing that always amazes me about this industry is that, decade after decade, people make slamming statements like, ‘Heavy metal is over,’ ‘Grunge is over,’ ‘Boy bands are over,’ ‘There is no record industry any more and DJs are the new rock stars.’ And then from virtually nowhere you get these ground-breaking artists who change all the rules and the face of the industry. It’s amazing what one artist like Adele can do for a record label. The fact is, there are no rules, there are no standards, there are no ‘ABC’s and that’s what makes the record industry so exciting, sexy and innovative. There’s always a new generation with a new talent pool waiting to be discovered.
Kelly works as an international fashion correspondent on Fashion Police, hosted by the brilliantly acerbic Joan Rivers, famous for poking fun at Hollywood celebrities as well as herself. As the title suggests, the idea behind the show is to critique what famous people wear to various red-carpet events, so if, like Lady Gaga, you have a fondness for wacky outfits, then it’s fairly likely you’re going to attract attention. Some might say you’re actively seeking that attention.
At the 2012 Grammy Awards, Gaga skipped the red-carpet bit but appeared inside wearing a bizarre dominatrix outfit that caused quite a stir. It had a mesh veil that covered her face and a long flap at the front that covered her stomach area. Her breasts seemed larger than usual, and Kelly speculated that she might be pregnant.
Well, that off-the-cuff comment unleashed a torrent of abuse against Kelly on Twitter, from Gaga’s fans – or ‘little monsters’ as Gaga calls them. Some of it was really nasty stuff, saying that Kelly should be raped or murdered.
Obviously, she was upset, not to mention disturbed, by this – and it didn’t let up. Their threatening, horrible messages continued to come. It was like a tsunami and went on and on and on.
As I know Gaga’s manager, I contacted him and asked if she could just post something on her website to tell her fans to lighten up on Kelly. Gaga is the self-proclaimed poster child for anti-bullying.
She and I had actually met. We had been moderators with Cyndi Lauper for the make-up company MAC, when they were doing the Viva Glam campaign, and we had hosted a press conference too and had a great day together. As I’d also met her a couple of times with Elton John, I didn’t think there would be a problem.
Her manager said, ‘I’m on it,’ but I didn’t hear from him again and nothing appeared on her website. Then the comments got worse and worse, to the point where Kelly called me in floods of tears.
‘Mummy, it’s just never-ending.’
Eventually, in May 2013, Kelly did a magazine interview in which she mentioned that Gaga’s fans were some of the worst for bullying her and that, in her view, the star was a hypocrite for not stopping it. In the meantime I emailed the manager, politely reminding him that I had asked before and nothing was done, but could Gaga please tell her fans to cool it with Kelly, as it was becoming really uncomfortable and upsetting for her. I sent him a link to a fan blog that suggested my daughter ‘needs to kill herself’, and reminding him that Gaga was a vocal campaigner against bullying:
Vince,
I’m leaving it in your hands to do the right thing here. One tweet from Gaga can change this whole situation. I’m not asking her to deal with this directly but if she could tweet something to her fans about being more respectful that may end this. I’m sure she doesn’t condone her fans saying such hideously offensive things.
Wishing you and your family the best in 2013.
All the best,
Sharon
Within one hour Gaga posted a reply to Kelly on her website, signed off by her and her mother Cynthia, as co-founders of the anti-bullying charity, the Born This Way Foundation. It was a pompous statement about promoting positivity, criticising Kelly for ‘choosing a less compassionate path’ in her job on Fashion Police, and saying that she, Gaga, was a ‘woman that cares deeply for humanity’.
However, it seems that her humanity doesn’t appear to extend to telling her fans to back off from sending relentlessly bullying comments to a young woman so obviously distressed by them. She could easily have done that, but instead she said that, while she actively discourages the fans from negativity and violence in general, she can’t control them.
I’m afraid that, as the reply was from her mother too, I saw red and thought, That’s it, the gloves are off. If your mother’s in it, I am too.
She may well have been bullied at school and been the outcast, but she was also the little rich kid from New York that got everything she fucking wanted. She should know better.
So I responded in an open letter and went to town on her, saying she was a hypocrite.
Ms Gaga,
I am responding to your open letter to my daughter Kelly, and I am perplexed as
to why you would go public with an open letter. Regarding this current situation: Kelly didn’t contact you, I was the one that contacted your manager today and the email is attached below for your reference. I reached out to him as Kelly’s manager and mother to ask him if you could address your ‘little monster’ fans and stop them from writing libellous, slanderous and vile comments about my family, including death threats to Kelly. Your open letter is hypocritical and full of contradictions. And as your mother Cynthia supports you, I support my daughter Kelly. I must say, your opinions on what is politically correct and acceptable totally differ from mine, but that is what makes the world so interesting… we are all different. How sweet that you have empathy for my daughter, as you feel that she has taken a less compassionate path in life. You say her work on E! with the Fashion Police is ‘rooted in criticism, judgment, and rating people’s beauty against one another’. Welcome to the real world. Example, when I saw you wear a dress made out of raw meat, I was sickened. When I see you wearing fur, and using it as a fashion statement, the fact that defenceless animals have been killed so you can get your picture in the press is abhorrent to me. Shouldn’t you be teaching your ‘little monster’ fans to respect animals, and life? I don’t feel I have to justify Kelly’s choices in life to you. By your actions to Kelly right now, you have shown me that you are nothing more than a publicity-seeking hypocrite and an attention seeker. You know it would have been much more dignified of you to do this privately. I am calling you a bully because you have 32 million followers hanging on your every word and you are criticising Kelly in your open letter. Are you so desperate that you needed to make this public?
You state: ‘Every day, through my music and public voice, I choose to be positive and work towards a kinder and braver world with our community of followers.’ This is obviously not translating well to your fans, as a large portion of them have not only been vile to Kelly, but also to other celebrities such as Madonna, Adele and Rihanna. You say ‘a kinder and braver world’. I don’t know what world you live in, but supporting disgraceful fan comments doesn’t fall under the words ‘kinder and braver’. It comes under the heading of bullshit.
In closing, stop wearing fur, stop looking for publicity and stop using your fans to belittle not just Kelly but an endless stream of celebrities. A word from you would stop all the hideous, negative and vile threats from your ‘little monsters’. Let me know if you want to continue this debate. I’m an open playing field for you, my darling.
Sincerely,
Sharon Osbourne
As far as I am concerned, everything that Gaga is trying to stop – i.e., bullying – she’s perpetuating by not telling her fans to do the same. That’s the responsibility. If you’re an artist, and your followers are threatening other people, you can’t just give them free rein. That’s insane behaviour, especially for the times that we live in when kids are going to school and fucking mowing down their classmates.
By not repudiating her fans’ bullying behaviour towards Kelly and others, she was condoning it. And that’s why I called her a hypocrite.
I was so disappointed with her attitude because I had always been a huge fan. I have been to three of her shows and she’s undeniably a very talented woman. But you can’t bang on about being anti-bullying and then refuse to tell your fans directly to stop haranguing other young women with nasty threats.
On Gaga’s last tour, there would be a bus parked out front of each venue and she put therapists in there, for kids who were unhappy or being bullied. It’s all well and good for a vulnerable young person to go and have fifteen minutes or half an hour’s chat with a therapist, but where’s the follow-up? I felt it was just a publicity stunt.
Perhaps the next time she has one of these mobile counselling stations, she should go in and ask the therapist for advice on setting good examples for her fans.
6
Talking with Friends
Comparing diamonds with Joan Collins on The Talk.
Anyone who was a fan of the ground-breaking US comedy series Roseanne will remember Roseanne’s deeply sarcastic daughter, Darlene. She was played by a very talented actress called Sara Gilbert, who I first met when she came to a book-signing of The Osbournes in 2002, specifically to meet us. She was really lovely and very straightforward, just the kind of person I get along with. So, years later, when she called me to ask if I was interested in doing the pilot for a new show she’d come up with, I said yes immediately.
The concept was a simple one: a panel of five women of different ages, all with children, filtering the day’s stories or issues through a mother’s eyes – a similar idea to Loose Women in the UK. Barbara Walters has hosted a hugely successful show on ABC called The View, which has been running for seventeen years. But we weren’t in competition. The Talk is much less political. Sara had originally come up with the idea because, when she was pregnant, she joined a mothers’ group which got together each week and would discuss whatever issues arose around raising kids and families generally. There are no qualifications for mothering, and most of us come to it completely cold, inexperienced and unprepared. In these days of nuclear families, few of us have access to a network of aunts and grandmothers who, in earlier generations, would have been the main source of advice. Sara said she had found these sessions really interesting and helpful. The show would just be a bigger version of the same thing.
The ethos was very much focused around the five women talking in an organic, natural way about ordinary things that affected us all as parents. Having seen The Osbournes, Sara naturally felt I might have the right experience to bring to the table. And of the five proposed panellists, I was the only one with older children. The other women’s children ranged from one year to age fourteen. The show hadn’t been commissioned at this point; it was just a pilot for CBS. If they liked it, they would take it. If they didn’t, it would end up in that same toilet where five episodes of Osbournes Reloaded were blocking the U-bend.
The original line-up was Sara, me, news anchor Julie Chen, whose husband is CEO of the network, actress Holly Robinson Peete who I had done Celebrity Apprentice with, and The King of Queens actress Leah Remini.
Although the show got commissioned, the first season felt really uncomfortable. It just didn’t gel. Backstage, everyone was arguing constantly, unable to agree on the topics for discussion, and it felt like everyone was jockeying for position. Who was going to be the funniest? Who was going to do the craziest thing? Who could shout everyone else down? Yuck.
I had really been looking forward to working on The Talk because I imagined it would be a friendly, fun thing to do. How wrong you can be. I remember sitting in the morning meetings, thinking, Fucking hell, what’s going on? It wasn’t what I expected at all. I got on well with Sara, and Julie was a real pro. She had done CBS news for sixteen years in New York, and she also hosts Big Brother. But Holly and Leah were another matter.
Our day would start at 8 a.m. with a morning meeting, to chat through potential topics with the producer. It proved surprisingly hard to find issues to fit with the mothering format. We would all chip in with various thoughts, give our slant on whether we were for or against a point of view, then head off back to our respective dressing rooms to get the warpaint on.
We would have a second meeting at 10.15 a.m. to finalise the content, before going live at 11 a.m., and always either Holly or Leah would never seem happy with what had been chosen.
Holly had been in two hit sitcoms, one in the eighties and one in the nineties. She was an actress who wasn’t used to working without a script, so it was difficult for her. Unless you’re an over-the-top personality, or a writer, or a stand-up comedienne, it’s extremely hard to be engaging and witty on tap five days a week, particularly on live TV. Holly is mother to four gorgeous children, and in addition she is a philanthropist who’s done great things for Parkinson’s disease and autism. She works tirelessly for her causes. But I never felt she was at ease in this situation, though we never spoke about
it.
As for Leah, she was a strange one. A very tough lady; a Scientologist. And that was the elephant in the room. Everybody knew, but it was never discussed. I honestly don’t know what the fuck Scientology is. Is it a religion? A philosophy for life? I know it’s got something to do with spaceships. The truth is, I didn’t give a fuck what she believed in. It was none of my business. Whatever turns you on. I’ve heard that she’s since left them. But at the time it was like a secret sect that the rest of us were excluded from. Leah’s crassness intimidated everyone around her – particularly the crew. I understood that for Leah, as for Holly, this show was a different animal because she usually worked with scripts. In my experience the majority of actresses – and actors, there’s nothing gender-specific in this – are so used to playing roles that they find it hard just to be ‘themselves’. And that’s what was needed on our show. The irony was that The Talk was supposed to be about celebrating women – their differences, their warmth, their spontaneity. I never found Leah to be either warm or cuddly, and certainly not the kind of woman you’d feel comfortable telling your innermost secrets to.
Women are often portrayed very badly on American television, particularly in those ‘housewife’-style reality shows where everyone is fighting and back-stabbing. On air, we were the antithesis of that, but it would have been nice if we’d replicated that off air, too. Unfortunately, it rarely felt that way. Sisterhood, I’m afraid, had packed her bags and left the building.
At the end of the first season, we were on hiatus for five weeks when I got a phone call from one of the team to say that Leah and Holly’s options had not been picked up.
We were told that it was ‘a creative decision’, that the bosses felt the vital chemistry they place so much emphasis on in the world of TV just wasn’t there. The network doesn’t get involved in who doesn’t like who behind the scenes; the executives would just go on what came across on screen and the results of any audience research. If you don’t get on in front of that camera, you can’t wing it.
Unbreakable: My New Autobiography Page 7
