# Melissa Etheridge brings the stupid **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 19, 2013, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melissa-etheridge-brings-the-stupid/661372 "2013-06-19T16:47:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2013, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melissa-etheridge-brings-the-stupid/661372/1 "2013-06-19T16:47:08Z")
From the Clueless Celebrity Chronicles we have [Melissa Etheridge](http://abcnews.go.com/Health/melissa-etheridge-stands-fearful-jolie-comments/story?id=19430484&page=1#.UcHdFtiHNjs), a breast cancer survivor who decided it would nice to criticize Angelina Jolie for how she dealt with the discovery that she’s carrying gene sequences that greatly increase her risk of breast cancer. Etheridge is apparently pissed off about news reports describing Jolie as “brave” for having had a double mastectomy, and has announced that Jolie actually took the most “fearful” path possible. “My belief is that cancer comes from inside you and so much of it has to do with the environment of your body,” Etheridge told the newspaper. "Etheridge, who was diagnosed with the same high risk BRCA gene mutation as Jolie, goes on in the interview to say that Jolie’s choice is “… way down the line on the spectrum of what you can do” and that those faced with the same set of facts should “really consider the advancements we’ve made in things like nutrition and stress levels.” Sorry Melissa, but “nutrition” and stress relief have not been shown to counteract BRCA mutations. And maybe you should recall having told an interviewer that your experience with chemotherapy (after 2004 surgery and removal of lymph nodes) took you “far down into hell” and left you “close to death”. Maybe Jolie decided prophylactic surgery was better than reliving _your_ experience.\* \*it also sounds like Etheridge, who owes her life to evidence-based breast cancer treatment, has gone heavily over to the woo side. ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2013, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melissa-etheridge-brings-the-stupid/661372/2 "2013-06-19T18:30:20Z")
Damn, if she’s going all stupid woo, I’ll probably stop mentioning the fact that Melissa and I were born in the same town. So Melissa, what did all the little kids who get cancer do to their own bodies to cause themselves cancer? ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2013, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melissa-etheridge-brings-the-stupid/661372/3 "2013-06-19T18:53:07Z")
Rumor is that Etheridge’s cancer was caused by performing cunnilingus on Michael Douglas back when they both had serious drinking problems. ---
**Author:** ![markdash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@markdash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markdash)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2013, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melissa-etheridge-brings-the-stupid/661372/4 "2013-06-19T19:11:09Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > Rumor is that Etheridge’s cancer was caused by performing cunnilingus on Michael Douglas back when they both had serious drinking problems. A woman can perform cunnilingus on a man, now? I’ll let my wife know when I get home. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2013, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melissa-etheridge-brings-the-stupid/661372/5 "2013-06-19T19:22:02Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > Rumor is that Etheridge’s cancer was caused by performing cunnilingus on Michael Douglas back when they both had serious drinking problems. It wasn’t Michael Douglas. It was a woman who looked like Michael Douglas. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2013, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melissa-etheridge-brings-the-stupid/661372/6 "2013-06-19T19:23:38Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > Rumor is that Etheridge’s cancer was caused by performing cunnilingus on Michael Douglas back when they both had serious drinking problems. Anyone who has serious drinking problems might well make that mistake. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2013, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melissa-etheridge-brings-the-stupid/661372/7 "2013-06-19T21:32:21Z")
I have an inlaw who’s like that. He came back from alcohol-induced liver failure through the grace of modern medicine, a localized cancerous tumor too, and now swears that doctors dispense poisons and are only motivated by money, and that pharma companies are hiding cures and only sell treatments because that makes more money. Considering I work in medical research, his statements are deeply insulting to me, and if he wasn’t otherwise a decent human being I’d be tempted to write him off. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2013, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melissa-etheridge-brings-the-stupid/661372/8 "2013-06-19T21:38:22Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > It wasn’t Michael Douglas. > > It was a woman who looked like Michael Douglas. [Michael Douglas’s son](http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_7HancZaO1t8/Sno36mZ5ysI/AAAAAAAAAxk/a3-MLh5ojpI/s400/image5210857.jpg) [kd lang](http://www.theage.com.au/ffximage/2008/04/23/PM_lang_narrowweb__300x399,0.jpg) Not there yet, but the resemblance is too much to be coincindental, and the ring around the truth is becoming smaller. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2013, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melissa-etheridge-brings-the-stupid/661372/9 "2013-06-19T21:50:42Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > [Michael Douglas’s son](http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_7HancZaO1t8/Sno36mZ5ysI/AAAAAAAAAxk/a3-MLh5ojpI/s400/image5210857.jpg) > > [kd lang](http://www.theage.com.au/ffximage/2008/04/23/PM_lang_narrowweb__300x399,0.jpg) > > Not there yet, but the resemblance is too much to be coincindental, and the ring around the truth is becoming smaller. “Come to my window…” ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2013, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melissa-etheridge-brings-the-stupid/661372/10 "2013-06-19T21:58:47Z")
So, Melissa, how did nutrition and lowering stress work for you? Oh right, you got cancer. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2013, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melissa-etheridge-brings-the-stupid/661372/11 "2013-06-19T22:13:46Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Etheridge is apparently pissed off about news reports describing Jolie as “brave” for having had a double mastectomy, and has announced that Jolie actually took the most “fearful” path possible. Yeah, well, when you’re told there’s an 80 percent chance you’re going to get cancer some fear is to be expected. That doesn’t mean what she did isn’t brave. You know what they say about bravery not being the absence of fear? Oh well. Another celebrity joins the woo brigade. ---
**Author:** ![woodstockbirdybird](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/woodstockbirdybird/32/7905_2.png) [@woodstockbirdybird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/woodstockbirdybird)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2013, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melissa-etheridge-brings-the-stupid/661372/12 "2013-06-19T22:26:45Z")
Well, the fact that she picked David Crosby as the sperm donor for her child clued me in to how unbelievably stupid she was years ago. Her shitty music didn’t help matters. I guess if I’d ever had any respect for her in the first place, this would make me lose it. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2013, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melissa-etheridge-brings-the-stupid/661372/13 "2013-06-19T22:33:48Z")
Maybe if Angelina Jolie was as much of a sex symbol as Mellisa Etheridge is, it wouldn’t have been a brave decision. It would have been a no-brainer, like having your appendix removed or something. But a major part of Jolie’s appeal is her looks. She put her health above her vanity, which is something a lot of people wouldn’t have the guts to do. ---
**Author:** ![stpauler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@stpauler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stpauler)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2013, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melissa-etheridge-brings-the-stupid/661372/14 "2013-06-19T22:40:30Z")
Melissa Etheridge had a TV show that was all about the woo (I can’t remember what it was called). Her radio show hosts some of her favorite [psychics/clairvoyants/bullshitters.](http://melissaetheridgeradioshow.com/tag/psychic/) ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2013, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melissa-etheridge-brings-the-stupid/661372/15 "2013-06-19T22:52:50Z")
> [@Ferret\_Herder](#): > > I have an inlaw who’s like that. He came back from alcohol-induced liver failure through the grace of modern medicine, a localized cancerous tumor too, and now swears that doctors dispense poisons and are only motivated by money, and that pharma companies are hiding cures and only sell treatments because that makes more money. “Repeat after me: pharma being shit does not mean magic beans cure cancer.” – [Ben Goldacre](http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Big_pharma) ---
**Author:** ![JeffB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeffb/32/188_2.png) [@JeffB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JeffB)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2013, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melissa-etheridge-brings-the-stupid/661372/16 "2013-06-20T15:09:30Z")
> [@stpauler](#): > > Melissa Etheridge had a TV show that was all about the woo (I can’t remember what it was called). Her radio show hosts some of her favorite [psychics/clairvoyants/bullshitters.](http://melissaetheridgeradioshow.com/tag/psychic/) “Beyond Chance” ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2013, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melissa-etheridge-brings-the-stupid/661372/17 "2013-06-20T15:36:53Z")
My wife probably has the BRCA mutation (her mother and sister do) and is considering a prophylactic mastectomy. I hope she doesn’t see this. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2013, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melissa-etheridge-brings-the-stupid/661372/18 "2013-06-20T16:58:01Z")
Best wishes to you and your wife, **Really Not All That Bright** , no matter what. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2013, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melissa-etheridge-brings-the-stupid/661372/19 "2013-06-20T18:07:03Z")
Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2013, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melissa-etheridge-brings-the-stupid/661372/20 "2013-06-20T19:16:39Z")
Does a mastectomy mean the patient winds up with no boobs, or do they replace the flesh with silicon implants? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melissa-etheridge-brings-the-stupid/661372.md?page=2)