I had to stop watching The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills because of the disrespect for abused women and suicide. Taylor Armstrong, AKA “Lips” is a mess this season. Rightfully so, her marriage is falling apart and her husband is abusive. On a recent episode, Camille Grammar, the abominable ex-wife of Kelsey Grammar, purposely reveals that Taylor confided in her about her physically abusive husband, coincidentally, while the cameras were rolling.
Before & After plastic surgery
Sadly, before the season aired, Taylor’s husband took his own life. To me, this season trivialized some extremely serious issues: domestic violence, suicide and drug addiction. Lately, I have felt a chilling sense that we are watching actual events that lead to Armstrong’s suicide. It sickens me that viewers find this acceptable. Maybe, I am hyper-sensitive because I recently lost someone close to me to suicide. I am not naïve but you would hope that Bravo would feel some sort of sensitivity towards this man that took his own life and re-edit the season with that in mind. Despite what Bravo says, the show still villainizes Armstrong. You never know what a person is going through and obviously, Armstrong was in severe pain.
Most of the reports say that his suicide was a complete shock to those around him.Whatever way a person chooses to express their pain, hopefully someone is listening. Here are 2 cases that had plenty of people listening but choosing to ignore the cry for help.
Recently, a 13-year-old girl used Twitter as her suicidality forum to seek help. Out of 500 followers, no one responded. “In her 144 tweets over 6 hours, Billasano allegedly claimed that she had been molested by a family member and forced into prostitution. She also detailed her unsuccessful attempt at seeking justice” Huffington Post.
An even more horrific story relating suicide and social networking is the woman who committed suicide on Facebook… and none of her 1,082 online friends helped. Worse yet, they mocked her – see below:
If you or anyone you know is contemplating suicide – please get help!
Need help? In the U.S., call 1-800-273-8255
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline
