Today's Evil Beet Gossip

Brittany Murphy 911 Call

It’s not often that I have to debate whether or not to post something. But this really had me questioning myself. When it comes to celebrities, there’s this Victoria Beckham-thin line between harmless curiosity and shameful, hurtful voyeurism. Usually everything from drug addiction to sexcapades lies on one side of the line with people’s kids and death lying on the other. This item encompasses a little of both of those over-the-line subjects, and I question the value of bringing it to your attention.

But every foray onto the internet is an exercise in self-censorship. You’ve learned how to navigate between useful information and landmines of stupidity and depravity. You know what’s out there, and you choose for yourself what to view and what to bypass. So, I’ll leave the decision up to you, dear readers, as to whether or not to actually listen to the recording. Not that I have any faith whatsoever in your judgment– it’s just the easy way out for me.

You can listen to the entire 911 call here.

I’ll warn you: it’s heartbreaking.

54 CommentsLeave a comment

  • OMG… I have SO much respect for this guy on the phone…. I have so much respect for anyone working in a hospital or anything like that anyways…. gee. terrible

    • Right? What a tough job. And I know this is small in the grand scheme of things, but can you imagine being that guy and finding out later the passed out person was Brittany Murphy (or whatever other celeb)?

      • I imagine he feels bad when anyone dies-not just a celebrity. Like they matter more than anyone else. Jerk.

      • to defend meredith,

        first, i didn’t listen to the tape at all. but..

        i’m sure he feels bad whether the person is a celeb or not, but w/ a non-celeb, at least he doesn’t have to constantly hear her story being retold and see her family in pain on the news, over and over. and hear the gory details and have people remind him of this horrible death over and over for months to come..

  • SO SAD.

    you really the scene while listening to it.
    creepy.

    this is the worst situation a mother can ever turn into.
    omg.

  • That was awful. I couldn’t even finish it, it made me cry. When I first heard about her death I was like “Oh, thats sad. I guess she shouldn’t have done drugs” but now it really puts emotion with the tragedy. I feel for her family and husband, no one should have to go through that.

  • There is no way in a million years I would listen to this. It’s ghoulish, macabre and utterly disrespectful.
    It definitely crosses a line in celeb gossip. I would shudder to think of anyone listening to such a deeply personal and tragic moment of mine.

    Being famous does not mean the public has a right to this kind of information. It is a sheer violation of the human right to privacy.

    Saying, ‘Oh I don’t know if I should post it, I don’t know if this is right.. here’s the link though’ is a fairly weak cop-out strategy. Take responsibility for the fact that you have posted it, even if it’s in a roundabout way.

    • You probably don’t know that all 911 calls are released eventually? For instance, on your local news station if there’s a high profile murder, or someone dies in a tragic incident.

      I’m not saying it’s not wrong, because it is! I don’t think anyone’s 911 calls should be released to the public, only to police etc. But it hasn’t been released BECAUSE she’s a celebrity.

  • I’m not listening to that. A mother’s most painful, private, heart breaking moment does not equal ‘entertainment’ in my mind. Personally, I’m gonna stay away.

    With that said, I can see why it’s important to keep these public, as we are all paying for these services as part of our taxes, and they obviously therefore belong to the public. I also think it’s an important way for people to learn from emergency situations, and ensure that operators are doing their jobs correctly.

  • I listened to the whole thing and I can’t believe they didn’t know how to do CPR.
    The are clueless.. What a shame.. that could’ve saved her lived.
    Everyone should know CPR.

    • Well, it is sad that they didn’t know CPR, but even if they did, that doesn’t necessarily mean that she would have lived. She might have been too far gone for CPR to help.

    • You watch too many movies. CPR is a great thing. But really? It saves about 2-4% of lives. She was dead.
      If you’re not breathing, CPR helps to oxygenate the blood. But if you’re already dead it’s not going to help.

      I know on every single drama CPR is magic. And you should learn how to use it. Because maybe you can save a life with it. Maybe.

      But I highly doubt it would haves saved hers.

      But hey, take more ill-educated potshots at a grieving family. Why not?

      • Ren has the right of it.

        Jon, just out of curiosity (presuming your know CPR) how many times have you used it in an emergency situation? How many times have you used it on a loved one? Most importantly, did you execute it correctly?

        Until you’ve had try and save your child’s life, I really don’t believe you have the right to slander her mother/loved ones in such a manner.

  • i love your stuff evil beet, but i think you should take this down. this is some tmz horrible shit that none of us should hear. people know where to go to hear this if they feel so inclined. i think you should have listened to your gut on this one. think about your own mother— would you enable hundreds of people to listen to her screaming and crying in horror? i really hope you take this down.

  • These recordings aren’t “leaked” to the press, they are a matter of public record. I hear 911 tapes on the news all the time, and they usually aren’t relating to anybody famous. I still don’t think it’s right to play ANY 911 call on the news, unless it’s part of an important court case in which all the details are public anyway. Apparently, it’s unlikely that 911 tapes will ever NOT be available publicly though…

    From CNN:

    “It is unrealistic to expect that 911 calls will ever be considered by the courts to be private communication. They are, and should be, available to prosecutors and defense attorneys when criminal cases make it to trial, and when that happens, they are as a matter of course released to the news media, too — open court is open court.”

    http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/03/01/greene.calls/index.html

  • Is nothing private anymore? What right has someone to release a 9-11 call? This will be all of us one day, do you want your last moments out there on the net so some asshole can comment?

  • I don’t think I will able to listen to this.
    Curiosity about something of this nature I think is probably pretty normal, but it won’t add to my day/week/year/life to hear any given mother’s phone call to 911 trying to save the life of her child, when we all know her efforts were futile. It sounds positively heartbreaking.

    No thanks, there’s enough of that in life as it is.

  • its horrible, i listened just like 15 seconds and i shut it down its so sad, but you said so its heartbreaking

  • seriously? Fine, understood that 911 calls can be used for the public, but are you seriously going to post Brittany Murphy’s crying mother’s hysterical 911 call just because she was a celebrity? What insight is this going to provide? Just because it exists for the public to see doesn’t mean this shit should be posted on a celebrity gossip site. Low. I bet her mother would just love the idea of one of the most horrifying moments in her life being replayed on the Internet for the sole reason that her dead daughter was a celebrity so we all have interest in this bullshit?? Peace out.

  • I will never be able to listen to a mother making this type of call. Not on purpose. As a mother my worst fear is someday making a call like this. Hits way too close to home.

  • There’s no way I will listen to this. Please take this down. Just because it’s public record doesn’t make posting it any less ghoulish or insensitive. If indeed you debated yourself as you claim (and which I doubt) then good judgment definitely lost the argument. How does someone’s mom on a “heartbreaking” 911 call qualify as celebrity gossip? Poor, poor taste putting this on the site.

    • Totally agree
      Evilbeet please take it down.
      How would you feel if this was your mother reporting on your loved one?

      please take it down

  • “Not that I have any faith whatsoever in your judgment– it’s just the easy way out for me.”

    Wow. So not only do you admit that you’re full of crap when you say you weren’t sure whether to put this up, but you basically are saying that your readership is a bunch of idiots with no judgment. Well, if so, you’re definitely the leader of the pack.

    • She doesn’t try to say she knows better than we do and gives us the choice, not because she necessarily thinks we’ll make the right one, but because she knows that maybe her choice isn’t necessarily the right one, either, and she allows us to make the decision for ourselves. I don’t see any need to insult her for prefacing her decision. And frankly, I agree with it.

  • I am never visiting this site again. This statement may make me sound like some old busybody who gets offended at everything which I most certainly am not but I cannot believe this has been posted. Kelly, you should be sacked for this ‘judgement’ call if it was your own. How dare you make such a harrowing private moment so easily accessible to thousands. Can you imagine her mother coming across this you classless pig?

    • Um, Jenny? First of all, the LINK being on this site is hardly making it so “easily accessible”. The recording is on every news, gossip and blog site. Secondly, if her mother comes across this site and sees the LINK she surely would not listen to her nightmare all over again. The poor woman has a lot more on her mind than going to various gossip sites looking for links about her deceased daughter. Get real.

  • i listened to the whole thing. the only thing that struck me was that the relatives seemed pretty helpless, but i guess that’s to be expected. it’s an awful thing, anyway you look at it.

    why anyone is horrified that it was linked i don’t know. if you think it’s too private or too sad, then don’t listen. you’re an adult right? capable of making your own decisions?

    simmer down.

  • I can’t listen. I just can’t. My thoughts and prayers remain with Brittany’s family, especially her poor mother.

  • I must be an ice cold bitch or something, because it didn’t move me at all when I listened to it. It’s sad, obviously, but it didn’t break my heart or anything. It’s a bit useless to have posted this on Evil Beet Gossip. We know she died, we know CPR didn’t help. Why having to listen to her mother crying and trying to make her husband perform CPR correctly?

    Would it have moved you if it were a call from a non-celebrity?

  • Why does it seem like two adults seeing a loved one in distress had no clue that moving quickly and starting CPR was her only chance, and her husband thought dragging her into a shower was going to help her? I don’t want to blame them because more than likely poor Brittany was beyond help but still, if someone doesn’t seem to be breathing CPR is the only thing that will keep them alive or possibly revive them. Side note, you can’t do CPR on a bed, you need to get the person to the floor if you are doing compressions. I feel like her mother and husband were unable to act in a crisis that was life and death and that is very sad to me.

    That call is heartbreaking but it’s public information and on many gossip sites, does that mean you aren’t going to go to any of them either, because all of the major gossip sites have this link as well. It’s part of the double edged sword of fame, the glamor and riches versus the dirty real life things that happen in every human’s life. I’m just sorry she died, I’m sorry her mother had to make that call while her husband thought water was going to help her. Poor girl.

  • I listened to it and you are right it was heartbreaking. For me it was informative and a good reminder about CPR and chest compressions. I had no idea you would have to do this 600 times.
    I don’t think you need to take this down. People can choose not to listen if they have a problem with it.

  • ps. when is the last time any of you got this up in arms over a 911 call replayed by your local news? hmm???

    • Every fucking time the networks stoop to such depths. They’re a bunch of vampires just waiting for the next neck to suck on. No reason Katie Couric lost her sister AND her husband to diseases….she’s a fucking carrier with all the bad Karma she’s built up.

  • I listened for a minute, weeping. I did to try to picture the last moments of my sister’s life—I wasn’t there and still have a bizarre need to “see it”. So fucking sad—I feel so bad for her mother and husband.

  • You know what I did…read that it was heart breaking and didn’t fucking click on it. It’s a choice to listen to it, you dumb shits!

  • Why would you even post a link? If you had thoughts about it then it was probably not the right thing to do. I hope this never happens to your mother.

  • I’ve got my own horror stories. I don’t want to listen to theirs. That being said, to say that just because you listen to the recording makes you a horrible person is absolutely mad!

  • I can see why people wouldn’t want to listen…it was hard but you know what? It was informative too. How many people have taken CPR classes? I’ve been certified three times (it expires) and it’s STILL good to be reminded. The guy was good at telling them how to do it and hopefully people who do listen will either learn, or be reminded like myself and maybe (slight chance but still) someday they’ll have that to put to use if they need to.

  • OMG!! i feel sooooo bad for that mother. She must keep seeing the image over and over in her mind, and feeling the pain all the time when she knows her daughter diedd right in front of her eyes on her own floor.. 7aram