Alarming news, now, as we hear from Washington that Naomi Campbell's not the only starlet to "do" third world. Oh no: it seems that Geri Halliwell's been hard at work too!
In what we can only assume to be a fit of benevolence on the part of the President himself, the former Spice Girl and sometime novelist was allowed to address congressmen and journalists on - and here we quote - "mental health issues". More proof, then, of our long-held theory that global warming is in fact conducive to stupidity (cf Boris Victory).
Anyways according to this website she said some pretty useful things like, uh, "The United States taught me girl power," and "I've learned that some people don't have that opportunity to be given a voice."
Of course it's not the first time that Ms Halliwell's done DC; only a few months ago she displayed her flair for Jacki-O dressing and posing outside landmarks on a flying visit in the capacity of UN goodwill ambassador.
Then too she offered plenty of profound if somewhat confusing insights like, "We are all mothers or have mothers, so we need to support the mothers of the world," as well as plenty of moving tales of her travels to... somewhere (Watford? Zambia?).
As she says: "I loved going to the villages and seeing light in the children's eyes when they see that they are not forgotten and that people care." (Yes, of course she knows that the light was for her. She's just too modest to say it.) She also said her UN ambassadorship has allowed her to achieve something close to long held ambition to become a journalist because - and this is the best bit - "a journalist has a voice".
Oh Geri, how we wish you were right.
Pic: Getty Images
You lose credibility when you don't take the time to get your facts straight. Geri Halliwell was in DC to discuss MATERNAL health, not mental health. This is a follow-up to her 10 years of advocacy on these issues on behalf of the United Nations. It is a shame that you did not take a moment to read the article you linked to as it may have given you a moment of pause.
Posted by: Alexandra McDermott | Wednesday, 21 May 2008 at 10:41 PM
Why does everyone give Geri such a hard time? She is a very hard working woman who is standing up for what she believes in. She is giving women who don't have a voice a chance to be heard. I admire her not only as a Spice Girl, but as a UN Ambassador
Posted by: Dana | Wednesday, 21 May 2008 at 10:42 PM
oh please, she went to Manila and made a TV programme about a girl who lived on a garbage dump...where is that little girl now? Did she re house her with her millions, did she set up a trust fund for the kids of the Manila slums , has she helped anyone really at all? has the situation changed because she or Angelina Jolie or George Clooney or Bono have opened their mouths? Of course not - it is easy to speak, to have the badge of UN ambassadour etc, but it is not easy to really put your money where your mouth is, to stop living like a prostitute on the planet, living the highest lifestyle money can buy when you have seen such misery. It is atrocious and shows the lack of spirit. I know that the great Audrey Hepburn was so moved and so distraught after her visit to famine areas that she broke down and became ill afterwards, these people like Halliwell are made of stone, it is all self promotion. It is sad that you and so many others are duped by the power of celebrity.
Posted by: lorrie | Wednesday, 21 May 2008 at 11:27 PM
Lorrie
You seem to be quite taken with Geri that you are aware of her work in the Phillippines. What gives you such certaintly that the situation hasn't changed for that child or the Filipino people based on Geri's work raising awareness on these issues and the work of the UN. Would you applaud her if she "adopted" her as you suggest or would that be additonal fodder for yor criticism.
Obviously the power of celebrity has some impact by the very fact that you are aware that Geri has traveled to the Philippines to raise awareness. Where ever she goes - the camera and the press follow - and bully for her that she uses that celebrity to call attention to the fact that a woman dies every minute from a preventable cause of maternal mortality.
Posted by: Suzanne | Thursday, 22 May 2008 at 03:57 AM
no i am not quite taken with Geri. I follow the news and i am quite taken with things that I cannot change due to lack of resources so I feel very sad and frustrated about many things in the world. I often think that people who are the mega rich of the world are actualy the biggest takers of the planet- it is a conspiracy to think that they actually help; they do not, they make the imbalance worse. I observe the acts of these people such a Geri Halliwell and I see a worthless self promoting person; i was aware of the Philippines garbage tip children long before she went there and I have given some resources to that cause. I do not think adoption of one child would help the whole situation - but I do think that once life has led you to such a catastrophic situation if you had any depth you could not carry on as you were before in how you conduct your life....and this is the point - it is all on the surface with these people - at root and at heart their work changes nothing and they are empty vessels. Take the Beckhams for example - with their money they could give up one of their homes and fund a whole African village of children to have a world class education to lift them out of poverty. One of VB's designer dresses could provide clean water for a whole village - this business including the clothes they wear, the way they travel, the way they live is CORRUPT. End of story. And don't tell me they work hard for their money.
Posted by: lorrie | Thursday, 22 May 2008 at 08:44 AM
No, Alexandra: I meant mental. True, the article did made reference to maternal health conditions (as well as the less-specific condition fistula) but she also subjected the crowd to rants on the subject of post-traumatic stress disorder. Ironic as in doing so she no doubt aggravated the problem.
Mental illness simply proved more joke-worthy than maternal health or, indeed, fistula. Funny that.
Posted by: The Gutter Sniper | Thursday, 22 May 2008 at 10:05 AM
Again, you don't know what you are talking about. It is extremely clear that you were not at the event and are woefully unaware of the issues of mental health, maternal health or obstetric fistula. It is truly sad that you would make jokes the expense of women who are suffering from a debilitating health condition.
Obstetric fistula occurs during prolonged labor without trained medical assistance. The result is a hole or fistula that results in leaking of urine and feces - constantly. In almost all cases the baby is stillborn - so a mother loses her child and her dignity. Women who have this condition are often very poor and have no idea why this has happened to them. Since they smell from the leaking urine, they are shunned by society and often are abandonded by their husbands and family. This results in serious mental health issues as well due to the isolation and many fistula patients talk about their desire to commit suicide.
God bless Geri Halliwell for her willingness to lend her celebrity to raise awareness for this issue. Hopefully her speaking out with clarity and passion will lead policymakers to action to direct the funds to improve health care and education to bring an end to this tragic yet preventable condition.
Posted by: Alexandra | Thursday, 22 May 2008 at 01:18 PM
Oh Alexandra you have won us over! How wrong we were to poke fun at Ms Halliwell and her probable mental incapacities. How tasteless! Let the poor girl lecture congress all she likes. We wouldn't want to offend her now would we?
God bless Geri indeed!
Posted by: The Gutter Sniper | Thursday, 22 May 2008 at 05:11 PM
Thank god some people speak sense...The Gutter Sniper is brilliant. Alexandra, if you think Ms Halliwell talking about this at congress is going to change a gaddam thing then you are having mental health problems too. The whole world is mad with thinking that these people even have right to speak out about such infortunate people - they are so spolit and so far removed that their speeches are actually an insult to the moral integrity of humanity.
Posted by: Brigitta | Thursday, 22 May 2008 at 06:14 PM