Caroline Flack: Murder by the Mass Media by Sienna Mullen

The month of May, and specifically the week commencing 18th May, the week in which I write, is dedicated to ‘Mental Health Awareness’, so it only feels relevant to address a subject, which should be spoken of all year round, but since it is coincidently May, it seems even more apt.

Caroline Flack, known to many as “that presenter off of ‘Love Island'"; known to a minority as friend, sister, daughter; and known to the mass media as their next target. An average woman, who just happened to have a career which was in entertainment. On the surface, this career is every little girl’s dream; a fantasy of glamorous red-carpets, exclusive events and luxury. Yet, in this media-centric age, naturally such a job as Caroline had comes with press coverage- the occasional headline, a cover shoot here and there, paparazzi turning up from time to time. Glamorous right? Tell that to Caroline’s corpse.

Privacy- a basic human right- one that stardom often strips you of. You can’t even let a sigh of relief out without the click of lenses sounding as you’ve just become ‘The Daily Mail’s’ next piece of what they like to label as ‘news’. Freedom- another principal human right- one where you shouldn’t feel constrained to your house, as if you’re on house-arrest. These two fundamental rights, that saw centuries of people campaign for, were blatantly disregarded by the murdering media, to the extent that one simply could not justify it with ‘she works in entertainment, media coverage comes with the job’. Caroline did not ask for this.

As human beings, we are all flawed- we all have a ‘harmartia’ as the Greek’s termed it in their tragedies. Caroline was a human, therefore she too, like all of us, was flawed. I am not here to go into the specifics of what she did/didn’t do; there is no way of reaching facts now, as our only reliable source is dead, and what she allegedly did has been scrutinised to death by the media. What I’m here to focus on is justice. In a world where consumerism is at its peak, where we are essentially desensitised to news; we move on too fast. Yes, celebrity tributes to their bereaved friend were touching and sincere, but she was forgotten too soon, obviously not by her friends and family, but by society. Caroline’s cause of her suicide was glossed over too quickly by the media, who didn’t even comment on their significant contribution which literally tied the noose around her neck. Instead they retreated to cowardice- deleting brutal, interrogative articles about her, refusing to get off of their high horses and hold their hands up, probably trying to think of a quirky headline to summarise her suicide. Meanwhile Caroline’s mum buries her daughter too soon. This reeks of injustice.

Paloma Faith, a singer, wrote a piece inspired by Caroline shortly after she passed away entitled ‘Shut Up and Look Pretty’, in which she wonders ‘if Caroline was a man (would she) have been treated this way?’ The answer is no. Caroline’s fatal end isn’t just one of abuse, it is also one of misogyny and sexism. In this patriarchal society, the media feel it is their duty to scrutinise every single woman in the public eye. You’ll see a clear patriarchal divide if you go on to any tabloid between stories sexualising and objectifying women-‘Jennifer Lawrence put on a leggy display at last night’s Oscar awards’- and stories about the male career; genuine news. When will this end? Caroline went around with a target on her back for the best part of her career, and is now a mere speck in the mass media’s rear-view mirror. The media is hungry, its appetite to destroy another career is insatiable, and they look for fresh meat constantly. Caroline’s story isn’t an anomaly- the majority of women in the media, as well as some men, get ripped to shreds everyday of their lives. It is a cyclical structure, one that will not end until society evolves.

I will echo what I said at the start. It is Mental Health Awareness week as I write this. Be kind. Spread love, always. As Caroline’s life proved, you can have a great, loving network of people around you yet feel so alone. Let us learn from this, and fight for justice for Caroline- we owe it to her, and every person who has ever suffered from online abuse.