doesn’t seem likely with this sort of backhanded apology. what? it isn’t enough to have made the prank but they had to stress how stupid it was to fall for it in the first place?
I don’t necessarily disagree, but given that 2Day FM has a history of bad taste segments that ultimately seem to appeal to its teenage demographic, I can’t see major long-term fallout from this. Politicians here are largely treating this as a case of “Shit happens”, which will also help to mitigate long-term repercussions, as far as public response.
Yeah, it’s awful and tragic and senseless, but there’s no way to ever guess someone would off themselves over it. The kid that gets pantsed in the locker room stands a better chance of killing himself out of embarrassment than a nurse who puts through a call.
I’ve not heard the audio but I read the transcript here
It wouldn’t be impossible for someone in Britain to have never heard the queen speak (I only remember hearing her voice on the Queens Speech and the Olympics this year). However most people would have a fair idea of her accent, and Charles more so. Although her regular voice may be less clipped.
But, 5:30 in the morning? Tired nurse? I can buy it. I suspect the nurse that gave the information had been told that the palace was on the line and didn’t think to verify it. So the (perceived) fault lies with the poor nurse that answered the call. Also, from the transcript, she doesn’t say that much more than would go out in a press release. Plus if I thought I was speaking to the freaking Queen I probably wouldn’t think to verify it either.
Having said all that I’m sure that the nurse involved had other issues – either mental issues or something else that the exposure may have uncovered. Although the police treating the death as ‘not suspicious’ doesn’t mean suicide necessarily – has that been confirmed elsewhere? Maybe it was accidental.
I resent the assumption that everyone should be well prepared to accept a prank from a stranger in good humor. There are times in life when people are fragile emotionally or mentally unwell. You are entertaining yourself at someone else’s expense. Saying she should have been tougher after a foot has been planted in her ass to send her over the edge seems really dismissive to me.
I wonder if she was unofficially fired. As in, they hadn’t put in the paperwork, but had told her she wasn’t going to work there anymore. Once they hear of the suicide, they don’t want to let that be known.
UK resident: I have a good ear for voices and wouldn’t have been fooled. However: middle of the night, middle of a shift, nurse rather than receptionist, taken by surprise… I still don’t think many people over here would be fooled but that Mrs Saldana was is not proof of stupidity.
I think the Queen is quite hard to imitate convincingly. Charles’ and Philip’s posh mumbling is much easier to take off. I do a rather good Philip myself.
I doubt. The hospital is at fault for not having a receptionist manning the switchboard.
Also it was the other hapless nurse who actually divulged info. I’m not blaming the pranksters for the womans death, but saying fuck them for fucking around with nurses and people on their sickbeds.
I understand how public pranking is funny, but the fragility of human beings makes such endeavors extremely risky. Yeah, the nurse was probably not that healthy to begin with. But this still doesn’t mean that pranking is a harmless activity. Many people are just a bad day away from bugging out. What’s scary is that they and the people around them rarely realize this…up until the trigger is pulled.
Pranking probably does have its place. Lots of practical jokes are hilarious. But people’s livelihoods shouldn’t be screwed around with. And neither should someone’s privacy. What if something very personal had been revealed as a result of this joke?
I’ve noticed it’s a fairly common thing for Canadian and Australian radio DJs to prank call the British royals. Usually they just harass the receptionist at Buckingham Palace.
I guess these prank calls are supposed to represent a small victory in the inspiring struggle of the plucky lovable upstarts against the oppressive stuck-up imperialist Poms … or something like that.
I’ll echo this. Play all the pranks you want; but pick your fucking targets people.
It does not matter if you never intended harm, fact is, they did it and this is the result.
Those DJs have to take responsibility.
I have done less than sensible things in all innocence, still had to carry the can when they went unpredictably wrong.
Oh, good-- can you call the victim’s family and get some info for us?
I’ve never understood who liked - who could *stand *- braying jackasses posing as a “morning show” or whatever. Much less the endless stupid ‘contests,’ pranks, and other attempts at entertainment for morons.
This is not the first time such crap has had unintended, even tragic consequences. Makes it a whole lot less “funny.”
There’s a “morning aint-we-zany crew” that prank-calls family members and tells them horrible things, with the husband/child/mom listening in.
“I’m afraid your son’s been kicked out of school for…”
“WHY, I ALWAYS KNEW THAT SHITSTAIN WOULD SCREW UP HIS LIFE! HE CAN JUST ROT LIKE HIS FATHER …”
“Ma’m, it’s the Z-106 BlewCrew-- Hardy-har! We’re here with Josh…” *“Hi, mom, it’s me, Josh” *
“OH, YOU LITTLE SCAMP! YOU GOT ME GOOD.”
“But, you’ve always known I’d screw up…?”
I’ve been recited a classic (allegedly on YouTube, no cite) where the radio guys told the wife that hubby’d been fired for sleeping with the boss’s wife: “Well, then I don’t feel so bad that I’m sleeping with his brother.” CLICK. “Uhh, hon, it was just a… honey?”
This one is verified by Snopes He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not? | Snopes.com
No, that’s not the story the poster you quoted was refering to.
I for one am rapidly growing sick to death of any and all immature stupidity being excused away because it was a joke, or prank, or punking.
You don’t have to be Kreskin to realize that whoever falls for your stupid gag is going to take some heat. Yes, you can’t know whether they’ll get scolded, fired, demoted, or publicly humiliated. Nor can you know how seriously they take their professionalism, or the honour of serving their monarch. Nor can you understand the nature of the culture of that hospital, how badly or deeply shamed or shunned, that innocent might become.
But they were clearly willing to roll those dice, for shits and giggles. Because those things wouldn’t affect them. They’d be okay. They were right, too. Suspended temporarily. Station squarely in their corner saying, “I don’t believe we actually broke any laws here.” Because that’s the measure of what’s okay it seems.
How can you not know that you are attempting to subvert security, at a hospital, to obtain confidential medical information? Saying, “But we didn’t think it would actually work…” makes them sound like ten year olds.
Those who would say the dead woman must have had some other issues, to excuse the dj’s culpability, should be ashamed of themselves, in my opinion. What if she did have some other issues? Everybody has some issues. To imply she was obviously mentally unstable to begin with, should be deeply offensive to everyone. I cannot imagine anything much baser, to be honest.
It reminds me of those trick toys you buy that give a mild, unexpected electric shock when used. If you read the fine print, it explains that you should be aware that while the shock is mild and won’t hurt most people, some people have heart conditions such that this shock could, in fact, cause their heart to stop. So you’re going to discover your friend had an, as yet undiagnosed, heart condition when he falls dead to the floor in your livingroom. Har, har. Hope you thought the joke was worth it.
Here’s a good rule of thumb; If you have to follow up your prank/joke/jest with an explanation that resembles; “It was a joke!”, “Where’s your sense of humour?”, “Your skins too thin.”, “How could I know it would take such a turn?”, “Lighten up, don’t be such a tightass already!” - chances are you’re being a real jerk.
I hope the dj’s and the radio station take heaps for it, if it begins the pendulum to swing the other way. Because there is a lot of collateral damage in a “Jackass The Movie” inspired world.
But the one with the wife *[redacted]*ing the brother has been around for years, and “Legend” according to snopes.