Friday, October 24, 2008

A few words in defence of Kerry Katona

There's been a bit of a hoo-ha this week about Kerry Katona's appearance on ITV's "This Morning", when some reckoned she looked "drunk".

She wasn't drunk. Yes, she slurred her words. She very honestly explained this by the fact that she was taking night-time medication, which she, very openly, named.

But you can tell (video below) from the very quick, controlled pace of her words, her perfect appearance and the fact that her body language seems entirely controlled, that she was, in fact, stone cold sober.

If she had been drunk, her body would have been wobbling (it wasn't), her hands would have flailed about uncontrollably (they didn't) and she would have had difficulty stringing a coherent sentence together (she didn't - she was remarkably lucid if you take away the slurred speech).

Her body language and coherency were entirely sober - her speech alone was slurred.

The best way of describing her demeanour is that she was like someone who had had a very strong injection at the dentists and, as a result, couldn't get the words out unslurred, but whose command of language was completely intact.

Give old Ferny and Philly-boy their due. They pressed their questions with great tact. They haven't lost their nose for a good story, albeit somewhat over-hyped.

But the woman wasn't drunk and she deserves a break.

I will be buying a bag of chips at Iceland (she does their adverts) this weekend in solidarity with the girl.

Her husband explained:

Due to the TV commitments Kerry had last night, Kerry was four hours late in taking her medication for an ongoing bi polar condition.
One of the side effects of her drugs is slurred speech and as Kerry took the drugs late and was up early it was particularly bad today. Kerry would like to categorically state for the record that that the only thing she drank before the show was cups of tea.
Having answered the questions to the best of her ability, Kerry was upset at the insinuation that she was on anything other than the prescription drugs which she has always been honest about taking.


A little respect, or at least consideration, for someone with bi-polar disorder would be appropriate. "This Morning" now deserve a return visit from Katona, supported by Stephen Fry (fellow bi-polar disorder sufferer), to give them a good old grilling.



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