The Hospital Nurse Who Got Duped In The Duchess Kate Prank Call Committed Suicide
The "I Don't Like Jokes" tag has never been more appropriate.
Two days ago, Australian radio hosts Mel and Michael put on their worst British accents to try to talk to Duchess Kate at the hospital she was staying in. They pretended to be Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles and they didn't think they would get through since they butchered the British accent more than Brit Brit has. But they did get through. A hospital receptionist immediately transferred them to the nurse taking care of Duchess Kate. And now that hospital receptionist is dead.
The Daily Mail said that her body was found this morning at an address really near King Edward VII Hospital where she worked. When the paramedics showed up to the address, she had already passed away and they couldn't revive her. Scotland Yard is treating her death as a suicide. And no, now is not the time for our MI6 jokes.
The hospital hasn't commented on this, but yesterday, a spokesperson for the hospital spoke out about the prank and called it "foolish" and said they were reviewing telephone protocol. Mel and Michael also released a statement yesterday saying they were sorry and didn't think their prank would go very far:
"We were very surprised that our call was put through. We thought we'd be hung up on as soon as they heard our terrible accents. We’re very sorry if we’ve caused any issues and we’re glad to hear that Kate is doing well."
Damn, and the hospital receptionist had a husband and two kids. One minute, she's falling for a dumb prank and the next minute she's committing suicide. That escalated quickly. Duchess Kate hasn't even been knocked up for five seconds and a life has already been lost. Sadness all around.
UPDATE: A spokesperson for King Edward VII Hospital said that the nurse who was found dead is Jacintha Saldanha. Answering the main line wasn't even part of Nurse Jacintha's duties. The receptionist needed to step away from the phones, so Nurse Jacintha was helping her out. In a statement, Prince William and Duchess Kate said their "thoughts and prayers are with Jacintha Saldanha’s family, friends and colleagues at this very sad time."
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@ SFRB
People get pranked all the time. There are entire TV shows around how people are pranked. Imagine if everyone committed ssuicide as a result? The DJs arent responsbile, if anything the royals are for instilling this feeling of total loyalty onto everyone to the point that they think after such a thing they need to off themsleves.
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"Charlie you fucking bitch, let's work it out" - High Fidelity
Submitted by CandyPerfumeGirl on Fri, 12/07/2012 - 12:46pm.
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It's nowhere near worth it, is it? It's tragic and just an absurd situation.
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Help me!
It's going to get to the point where nurses aren't going to want to work with "famous people". Look at the Kennedy asshole who wanted to take his infant "out for some fresh air" and the nurses tried to stop him and yet they get shit for trying to do their job. This poor lady obviously was stressed out enough that this was the straw that broke the camel's back so to speak. Sad.
The Fly:
Can you paste some of the attacks? I can't seem to find it (DUH they deleted their account.)
Did you happen to copy any? Why are you up at 2 am?
Is Vegemite really good? I've never had it.
CandyPerfumeGirl i was thinking the same thing, she let down the Queen, she was probably mortified....also, being a nurse she probably felt she failed her professional duty.
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Submitted by louise_brooks on Wed, 09/19/2012 - 10:19am.
Bitch, you are not better then Keanu Reeves!
I'm confused. Is this how her pregnancy was leaked? Through this prank call, or was it already known that she was in hospital for pregnancy-related sickness?
I believe they announced the pregnancy when kate was admitted into the hospital for morning sickness on sunday. The prank happed on monday. so no the nurse didn't let the cat out of the bag on the pregnancy.
Submitted by lilywhiteclass on Fri, 12/07/2012 - 12:38pm.
Submitted by WWJDFAKB on Fri, 12/07/2012 - 12:32pm.
Not to conspire but this stinks to high hell. All I can say is those DJ's better watch their backs.
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Actually, I will say that my heart also goes out to these two Australian DJ's. Not for one second do I believe they meant any serious harm to anyone involved in the prank call. If you have listened to the call, it was stupid, and yes, I laughed at the absurdity of it. The two DJ's must be going through absolute hell.
And, yes, I'm afraid there will be some nutjobs out there who will attempt to get "revenge" on these two.
Just an incredibly sad event for all concerned, especially the husband and two children.
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I didn't listen to the prank, but you know a world of side eyes and death threats are coming their way despite who is really at fault. I do feel sorry for them, nobody saw it coming, but not as sorry as I am for the dead woman's family.
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What would Jesus do for a Klondike Bar?
This is so surreal. I can't believe these local DJs here in Sydney are now on the news ticker on CNN.
You can just imagine the amount of pressure that woman was given from co-workers, her bosses, journalists, news stations, the public...and how it became a huge deal, it must've been relentless and given her a warped sense of the issue. And how it is going to continue with those radio hosts. They've already deleted their Twitter accounts and it's the middle of the night here in Sydney. Plus people on Twitter are attacking them relentlessly.
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Help me!
What ever your views, there are some kids who have lost their mom and a man who has lost his wife.
"Let them all boil in their own hotdog juice." Deb 7/2012
Submitted by LaChaylo on Fri, 12/07/2012 - 12:34pm.
I'm not a fan of prank calls, especially to people you don't know. I don't think the djs had bad intentions, but a prank pulled at a stranger's expense in full view could have unintended consequences. You never know who you're dealing with. Just something to think about.
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Right there with you - I don't listen to him, but it seems like when I'm surfing the radio and come across Elvis Duran, he's always got someone yelling b/c they're falling for a damn prank call. Jerky Boys and Crank Yankers ran it into the ground. Move On.
In regards to this, I would have NEVER thought it would have ended like this, but from the get-go, these DJs made my stomach turn by their half-ass way of trying to put ALL the blame on hospital with their, "Our accents were really bad!". You were receiving real, personal medical info on someone and you're broadcasting it on the air - and who CARES who it was! Hey, Jerkoffs, HANG UP or take it off the air. Do they shoulder all the blame? No, but their lack of real responsibility in this whole situation is so juvenile. I hope they lose their jobs and the station gets fined out the ass. Can you imagine if that happened here in the states?! Holy crap, the FCC would have handed out HUGE fines already and they'd probably still be off the air. This poor woman's family and those children.
Okay.... now that I got that AM rant out of the way.
Submitted by lilywhiteclass on Fri, 12/07/2012 - 12:43pm.
Lawsuits are not going to bring this poor woman back.
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No one said they would. But they can make sure people consider their actions before pulling random pranks like this one.
Does anyone know if the receptions was from a different culture where she somehow felt "honour bound" to kill herself?
Fucking royalty. The poor nurse was so embarrassed for having let down yuor royal fucking highness she did what any minion would do and kill herself. And let's face it, that is the only reason why she did it. The brits are fucking serious with their royalty. How sad. Here you got some bitch who was randomly picked as the next mother of the messiah - pampered and spoiled and reverd - and then you got a poor normal person thinking she needs to take her own life because the queen may have been embarrassed. Fucked up...
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"Charlie you fucking bitch, let's work it out" - High Fidelity
Ugh I'm not a lawyer, but I think it'd be an easy civil suit if you can prove damages.
Criminal? Not so sure.
This is a whole other country.
Rande, what say you?
Submitted by ewe on Fri, 12/07/2012 - 12:42pm.
Isn't it illegal to impersonate someone? In terms of fraud? Isn't what the DJs were doing fraudulent? I'd sue!
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Lawsuits are not going to bring this poor woman back.
If you don't have better security protocols in place where a call can simply be put through to the future queen of England then the blame needs to lie on the Hospital's feet itself not some poor receptionist.
There should have been SOME protocol in place so you know it's actually the Queen.
If the receptionist questions whether it's the queen would she get in trouble for embarrassing her?
If she puts the call through does she get in shit for NOT questioning her?
Again the hospital is DIRECTLY responsible for this because the DJ should NEVER have gotten through in the first place..PERIOD!
Submitted by lilywhiteclass on Fri, 12/07/2012 - 12:38pm.
And, yes, I'm afraid there will be some nutjobs out there who will attempt to get "revenge" on these two.
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I think a bigger threat will be from more official people. How long before someone in authority points to this and thunders that Something Must Be Done, i.e., regulation of the press?
Isn't it illegal to impersonate someone? In terms of fraud? Isn't what the DJs were doing fraudulent? I'd sue!
Submitted by MooseMama on Fri, 12/07/2012 - 12:26pm.
You never know how on the edge someone is, something as random as a prank could be the final straw,
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Ember cosigns that motherfucker!
And also - the update will bring the trolls in 3... 2..
It was the nurse.
I don't know man, she had to be a little unstable to begin with...I mean, the call wasn't exactly "Red And The Tube Bar" level stuff.
I thought the update was gonna make me feel better. But it didn't. Whacked news for a Friday morning.
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Don't blame me! I voted for Kodos!
So terribly sad and tragic. Possibly the humiliation and probable job loss put her over the edge.
Most pranks involve some type of humiliation.
Not something I ever considered funny.
I'm sorry, but I find it totally ridiculous to keep saying the DJs are at fault. They spoke to her for 2 seconds, she passed the call. How can anyone in their right mind decide to kill themselves after that? No one knew her name, she wasn't the butt of every joke. No one even considered her in this prank, the nurse was the main focus. To say their "conversation" with her was in any way to blame is absurd, any incident could have tipped her over the edge then if this is what drove her to suicide--totally mentally unstable.
Kate did not want to talk to commoners, so she had who was responsible whacked! =/ Don't mess with preggo Kate. ;>
~O..+~
"I want monaaaay!"- what HBB wants for Christmas
Submitted by WWJDFAKB on Fri, 12/07/2012 - 12:32pm.
Not to conspire but this stinks to high hell. All I can say is those DJ's better watch their backs.
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Actually, I will say that my heart also goes out to these two Australian DJ's. Not for one second do I believe they meant any serious harm to anyone involved in the prank call. If you have listened to the call, it was stupid, and yes, I laughed at the absurdity of it. The two DJ's must be going through absolute hell.
And, yes, I'm afraid there will be some nutjobs out there who will attempt to get "revenge" on these two.
Just an incredibly sad event for all concerned, especially the husband and two children.
Sad.
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Your Chick-Fil-A is showing. - ISprainedMyUvula 8/3/2012
What crap to blame the DJs! She was probably bullied at work after and now those same people get to have tears down their cheeks and hold a candlelight vigil, just like the kids do in schools after their victim is dead.
Yeah, those DJs should be stoned.
I really cannot wrap my mind around this. I've been on the receiving end of some pretty epic pranks, and other than feeling like a fucking idiot, I cannot fathom a person wanting to take their life over it. I'm curious to hear more details come out of this. I'm not going to jump on the conspiracy theory bandwagon yet. This whole thing is just so senseless and TRAGIC!
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Douchechill!
cc&c: it's on CNN
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Submitted by louise_brooks on Wed, 09/19/2012 - 10:19am.
Bitch, you are not better then Keanu Reeves!
I might add that none of the information the nurse shared with the DJ's was a secret at that point. All of what she shared had already been released to the press. So, no harm, no foul in my opinion.
Ok, I think those prank calls that djs oftem make to liven up their shows should stop or the djs should realize that NOT EVERYONE out ther is stable and can take a joke/humiliation for entertainment, like this receptionist. A little while ago some djs called this woman pretending to be a friend of her husband and told her that her husband was cheating on her...she then screached that she was then glad that she slept with HIS brother! Yep this was a birthday prank for her...you could hear the husband in the back ground freaking then crying. You cant always predict how these gags will go or how someone will take it. If they do these jokes then take responsibility for what you unleash.
"Let them all boil in their own hotdog juice." Deb 7/2012
I'm not a fan of prank calls, especially to people you don't know. I don't think the djs had bad intentions, but a prank pulled at a stranger's expense in full view could have unintended consequences. You never know who you're dealing with. Just something to think about.
I thought for sure she'd get fired, but HOLY SHIT. I hope this isn't true. British tabloids are well known for these kind of shenanigans.
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Don't make me quote Nabokov at you. I'll do it. I promise.
Not to conspire but this stinks to high hell. All I can say is those DJ's better watch their backs.
None the less, it's saddening for the family of whoever died, and incredibly irresponsible for the DJ's. I bet they feel like the bottom pile of shit.
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What would Jesus do for a Klondike Bar?
The nurse who gave the information to the DJs and the nurse helping out on the switchboard who transferred the call are two different people, if I understand correctly. It is the person who transferred the call who is now dead.
As far as confidentiality, I work for a hospital in the US and we give out a passcode for anyone calling for information for a certain patient. If they don't have it, they are referred to the family. Not sure how it would work in the UK.
The poor woman was probably humiliated. The Daily Mail story says that no disciplinary action was being taken against the woman, so the notion that she was being fired is probably not true.
This is just too awful. Prank phone calls are the lowest form of juvenile "entertainment." You are not pranking the ROYALS but poor schmoes.
The woman who transferred the call is the one who killed herself? Wow, she wasn't even the main one to be humiliated. She did a bad thing of transferring the call to the hospital room/nurse without first asking for verifying information but killing herself over that, well like others have said, she probably had other issues.
This is so sad. I wonder if the woman really killed herself JUST over this or if there were other underlying issues.
I heard the prank call too, and I thought it was pretty harmless. As others have said, the DJs didn't make any threats and were pretty obviously NOT trying to be taken too seriously. At the same time, the nurse they spoke to was polite and seemed to share only generic information with them (Kate feels fine, she is resting now, etc.). None of what she shared could, in my opinion, be considered a violation of Kate's privacy. The DJs did ask when they could visit, and the nurse gave a time, but she probably did that knowing that the hospital isn't going to let just ANYONE in to see Kate. You know they had security out the wazoo while she was staying there and any unauthorized visitors that might have TRIED to get in would have been stopped in their tracks. I think the nurse probably just played along, not knowing who exactly she was talking to, but I felt she did an okay job keeping confidential information confidential.
People, she was the RECEPTIONIST who simply transferred the call. NOT the nurse who was babbling about the medical condition. Not that this isn't sad, but if anyone should feel embarrassed, it's the nurse.
The receptionist just did her job by transferring the call. I'm not sure she would have been fired. She must've been very thinned skin and have had to been unstable prior to this prank.
Again, not to make light of her death but the DJs are not to blame.
someone else just suggested to me the Royals had her offed too!
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Submitted by louise_brooks on Wed, 09/19/2012 - 10:19am.
Bitch, you are not better then Keanu Reeves!
So sad and tragic.
It's easy to be logical and rational about bad life experiences when they're not happening to you.
Submitted by vsminimoose on Fri, 12/07/2012 - 12:21pm.
Ultimately it is the woman to blame but the DJs should have stopped as soon as she was about to drop information.
They did stop though. After that they only asked about visiting hours and joked around that Charles was also there with the Queen. They didn't go on to ask about the baby or the length of dehydration or vomiting or anything else. Their first question was about how she was doing, very general, and the nurse gave a full report.
Submitted by mike on Fri, 12/07/2012 - 12:25pm.
Submitted by Doll-Parts on Fri, 12/07/2012 - 12:23pm.
You gotta be kidding me. Over the useless Royals? Over that "confidential info" she leaked?
You think the queen had her offed?
I hope this is a payback prank and not real.
If this were a playback prank that would be awesome.
Alas, I think it's all too real.
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CNN just confirmed it
http://www.cnn.com/2012/12/07/world/europe/uk-royal-hospital-death/index...
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I wish I had multiple Alts, that way I won't be so lonely when I'm talking to myself
This is tragic. I hate, hate, hate radio prank calls. They are not funny, just mean.
Submitted by vsminimoose on Fri, 12/07/2012 - 12:21pm.
I think they did do something wrong. I have heard phone scam pranks lead into illegal territory and the DJs pull the plug on it right away. These DJs should have known that calling a hospital and obtaining medical information about someone that you knowingly has not authorized you to do so is getting the person on the other end of the line in some real trouble.
Ultimately it is the woman to blame but the DJs should have stopped as soon as she was about to drop information
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Agree. And if I read correctly (ok, in the Daily Mail, but still...) the woman who transferred the call through to the nurse who gave up the details is the one who died. She was a nurse who happened to be helping in reception. again, according to the Daily Mail... *shameface*
You never know how on the edge someone is, something as random as a prank could be the final straw, I had a very close friend I knew from high school who was always so happy, he was the one person who would cheer everyone else up, it was a shock when he committed suicide, no one could make sense of it because he seemed to have a great life and never let anyone know that anything was wrong. He didnt leave a note or anything to tell us why he did it. we know he had an argument with his girlfriend earlier in the night but no one thought it was that serious, but we think it was just the final straw for him.
This is so tragic
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I wish I had multiple Alts, that way I won't be so lonely when I'm talking to myself
This is...AWFUL. I feel for her family and friends, but not those idiot DJs.
Twitter is stupid. And Instagram is Twitter for people who can't read. (Two Broke Girls)
Submitted by Doll-Parts on Fri, 12/07/2012 - 12:23pm.
You gotta be kidding me. Over the useless Royals? Over that "confidential info" she leaked?
You think the queen had her offed?
I hope this is a payback prank and not real.
If this were a playback prank that would be awesome.
Alas, I think it's all too real.