You may have heard of Ted Williams, the homeless guy with the “Golden-voice”. Apparently he was randomly interviewed by a news crew and they were shocked that a homeless man had a voice that was in essence made for voice overs. Of course that went viral and then he was made into an instant star. MSNBC hired him to do voiceovers. ESPN, MTV and the Cleveland Cavaliers have all reached out to him with offers as well (After last night’s game, I think the Cavs actually want him to play in their starting 5). It’s a heart warming story. A man who fell into the abyss of alcohol and drugs and became homeless is now finally being given the opportunity to get back on his feet.
And so you know the media has to ruin it right?
First it was CBS and NBC bungling the reunion of Williams and his mother. Williams hadn’t seen his mother in ten years. TEN YEARS.
According to sources at both networks, the “Today” and “Early Show” teams attempted to work out a deal to bring Williams and his mother together Thursday morning, but negotiations stalled, delaying the family reunion. Further, NBC sources tell the Huffington Post, CBS refused to allow Williams to speak to his mother Thursday morning, when she was on “The Early Show” and he was on “Today.”
“If the interview with Ted had only appeared on CBS, would anyone have even heard his story?” an NBC source sniped to Huffington Post. “If CBS really cared about reuniting Ted with his mother, they would have let her come to the ‘Today’ show immediately following her appearance on the ‘Early Show’ at 7:40 AM. Instead, they held her hostage at their studio, and wouldn’t let her talk to her son on the phone as he repeatedly called CBS asking to speak to her.”
In a statement to the Huffington Post late Thursday, a spokesperson for “The Early Show” blasted NBC’s version of the story:
“All day long we have been trying to do the right thing for Ted Williams and his mother because we wanted to give them the privacy and respect they deserve. However we can no longer stay silent because NBC’s account of what happened is a complete fabrication. When NBC learned of our intentions to bring Julia to the airport to meet her son they told us that they would not let them reunite even if it meant keeping Ted and Julia apart for days and that the reunion had to happen live on their show and that’s exactly what they did. They snuck him off the plane into a van and away from the airport in order to avoid his mother. NBC is spreading malicious lies because they got scooped with Ted and they got scooped with Julia. They should get over it.”
A “Today” show spokesperson shot back, saying:
“While what CBS is claiming is completely untrue and ill-intended, we were thrilled to have Ted live on TODAY yesterday, and even more thrilled he was reunited with his mother. After all, that’s what matters.”
No you fools that’s not all that matters. What really matters is, while this man was trying to see his mother after 10 years of no contact, he was delayed by the bickering of 2 networks complaining over who would have better ratings and make more money over this. At some point don’t you put the welfare of this man and his mother above ratings? Oh wait…I’m talking about TV and the media here so the answer just isn’t ‘No’, it’s ‘HELL FUCKING NO’.
But wait…it gets better.
The NY Daily News dug up Williams’ ex-wife and wrote an article basically about how Williams was a shitty husband and father. Listen, Patricia Kirtley sounds like an amazing woman. Partially blind, raising 4 kids left behind (one that isn’t hers) by Williams. But here’s my problem, what exactly was the point of this story? We know Ted Williams was homeless on the street. Usually that means a troubled past. Yes raising children as a single mother is hard but so is battling addiction as a homeless man on the streets of America. I know some in the media will see this as just “giving all sides” of a story but to be honest I don’t see why sometimes we can’t just stop at a feel good story instead of trying to dig deeper until we find some dirt. We all have a darkness in our past. But that doesn’t mean it needs to be “exposed.” The guy is doing voice over work…he’s not running for office.  He doesn’t need to be followed around by reporters and made an instance celebrity. Hell, he had an argument with his daughter in an airport is briefly detained by the police and then all the news outlets are writing about how “Ted Williams, Arrested”. Come on folks. Dr. Phil booked him on his show to do a 2 episode reunion with his ex-wife. Really? Why? Why does this need to be televised? Why does this need to be done on air for millions to see and scrutinize? I actually question Dr. Phil’s credentials knowing that he thinks its wise and healthy who has been battling addiction and homeless to immediately pivot to reuniting with his family on national TV for millions to watch.
It’s pathetic. Not everyone needs to be a celebrity. We don’t need to elevate everyone who has a great story or interesting personality, just so we can tear them down. When I first heard of Ted Williams, I didn’t write about it, tweet about it or even give it a lot of thought. I simply thought to myself: “Good for this guy”. Now though? Now I feel sorry for him. His life has become a spectacle for the media and people to hound and scrutinize. It’s a real shame. I hope it doesn’t consume him like it does so many.
I get this! I appreciate you articulating how complex the media has made a simple story…we all have pasts. Things that we are trying to forget, remember, and move beyond and grow…Dr Phil has no credentials at this point and his show is for monetary gain. At some point, people should acknowledge their capitalistic ways and how their greediness is placing the universe into demise. Its sad. Moreover, fame has a way of motivating and pushing” celebs” into self-medicating…all this drama only increases his risk of abuse…..again.