I think this is a very interesting choice for People Magazine, to put Susan Boyle on the cover and openly question her sanity. This is after People made some questionable choices with their Kate Gosselin and Heidi Montag covers – so are they trying to appeal to a different demographic with a SuBo cover? Or is this a real question to ask – is SuBo too crazy for the level of fame she’s achieved? Her family seems to think so. They spoke to People, and the portrait they paint of SuBo is rather sad:
After performing at Italy’s Sanremo music festival on Feb. 16, Susan Boyle told an adoring audience, “Dreams have no expiry date. I’d like this to go on and on.”
But at what cost?
Two of her brothers are now voicing concerns for her well-being and speaking out about her ability to handle the pressure of global stardom.
“The traveling and the whole [fame] thing is exhausting. She still has her anxieties and her loneliness,” her brother Gerry tells PEOPLE in the latest cover story.
Her other brother, John, is even more blunt: “She needs 24-hour care. She needs to be looked after.”
To ease her fears following a break-in at her home last month, Boyle, 48 – who lived with her mother until she died in 2007 – makes late-night calls to her family and friends, and her management installed 24-hour security outside her home.
And when that’s not comforting enough, “She knows she can come up to me anytime,” says her longtime friend Lorraine Campbell. “If she’s upset, she’ll stay the night. Security would bring her up to my house. I take her home in the morning. Susan stayed with me a week ago. Nighttime is a lonely time for her.”
[From People]
Well… see, I don’t know. Yes, I think SuBo isn’t like other people. Some people will call her crazy, some people will say that she’s “slow”. But I just think of her as different, as eccentric, as odd. Maybe she does get really scared and nervous and upset when she’s alone in her house. You know what? I do too, sometimes. As far as the “24 hour care” comment by her brother… well, really? Was she under 24 hour care before she got famous? No. So why now?
And besides all that, there are plenty of highly-functioning crazy people in the entertainment business. For my money, someone like Tom Cruise is more batsh-t insane than SuBo. Where’s Xenu’s People cover?
People Magazine cover courtesy of CoverAwards.
I see your point, Kaiser, but I don’t know. Given the rumors and reports of break-downs and tantrums, I can understand her family’s concerns. If she was already suffering from some minor issues, I’m sure the pressures of fame and the exhaustion of constant performing may have exacerbated the problems.
Ideally, she would have a companion or assistant to at least give her some stability while she’s on these tours.
“As far as the “24 hour care” comment by her brother… well, really? Was she under 24 hour care before she got famous? No. So why now?”
Because the fame, all the attention, the constant travelling, performing and the pressure that comes with it has really gotten to her.
How often have I read that she had a break-down backstage or at the airport? Too often to think that she can handle all that what she has experienced the past year.
Even people like Lady Gaga, one of the biggest attention seekers out there, is rumored to pay the price of fame – weight loss, exhaustion, emotional break downs.
SuBo is just not made for showbusiness and I don’t think we’ll see her around for much longer than maybe 3 years.
LOL @ Where’s Xenu’s People cover? I totally agree.
I hope ppl who are willing to go in the entertainment industry know that you must give up your soul for worldwide fame, that’s just the price you have to pay.
Your soul, for riches and fame.
People Mag hit it right on the mark by using the adjective “fragile.” If ever there was a fragile woman, it’s Sue Bo.
I’m not a psychologist, I’m just the daughter of one (ok, no one will get that unless they’ve lived it) so I’m a pretty good judge of ‘crazy.’
She’s handicapped, not insane.
I witness fame first hand here in LA all the time and truly it’s not easy especially when you are tabloid target for whatever reason. I think once the hoopla around her dies down and she goes out and does her thing like so many other performers, she will be fine. I can’t imagine what it’s like to the the cat lady on Monday and an international sensation on Friday, that really does have to take it’s toll on your after your entire exisitence is turn upside down. And just so you all know a paparazzi storm around you is terrifying, I don’t care how long you have been know to the public.
Well yeah she’s a target now. She SHOULD be fearful. Had she been as fearful as she SHOULD have been, she would have had a high end security system installed immediately. Before the break-in there was a stalker. If her brothers want to help their sister out, they’ll stop talking to the press and learn to word things in a pr savvy way, when/if they do, so simpletons don’t have a hay day with interpretations. People Mag has really hit bottom on this one.
I wanted to add a lot of people are lonely. Especially if your life has taken a sudden turn and you’re dealing with many new people and variables. Nonetheless it DOES sound like her brothers are trying to sabotage her career. Either that or People did misquote them. Let’s hope for Susan’s sake it’s the latter.
I agree with Alexis. She has a handicap or some kind of disorder. You don’t live with your mother and claim you have never been kissed by a man, well into your forties, without there being something going on. Her brothers know a lot more than they are letting on.
Susan is from a tiny village in Scotland and not at all street wise. I think she just needs 24 hour protection and maybe and assistant for company. iI also think her own greedy brother sold her out for the money.
It would seem that she’s the wrong kind of crazy for fame.
Because, generally speaking, you cannot be too rich, too thin, or too crazy to be famous.
You don’t have to be all three, but crazy usually helps.
She should find herself a man, S.. can do miracle:-)
It sounds like her brothers want control of her new-found wealth…
I don’t think Subo is crazy or particularly fragile. Most people would crumble under the kind of pressure and flat-out insults she’s endured. She also admitted she was joking when she said she’d never been kissed, but it stuck. lol
Maybe she’s simply a nice young lady who is busy adjusting to such intense fame and expectations. So what if she hasn’t been intimately involved with a guy. A lot of celebs have been viciously bashing her and she’s gone a long time as a nonfamous person and when she goofs around it’s always overanalyzed and she’s unused to that.
She is likely at WORST a harmless eccentric and the press is so used to carefully constructed images that Susan must seem anomolous so they label her as a nut.
I don’t know how any SANE person could be living a totally normal life could be thrust into the spotlight and overnight become a world-wide sensation and how *they* could handle it! For someone who was already a bit of a hermit and with not alot of social skills (that sounds snarky, but I don’t mean it that way) — I can’t even imagine the stress and anxiety she must feel.
As for her brother saying she needs 24/7 care… I don’t know, that sounds like he’s getting ready to pounce on her newly found riches.
I feel bad for her, it sounds like the pressure and fame are getting to her. Hopefully she can find some sort of happy medium – perform and tour a bit, but not to the point of exhaustion, and limit other personal appearances.
Whatever’s going on, it’s kind of lousy for her brothers to be commenting publicly about it.
Gerry is the one that’s been screaming his head off because Susan didn’t have 24/7 security. She didn’t want it. She doesn’t want to move.
He’s scum. He’s a failure as a business man.
She better watch her bank account, maybe now he’s going to try to have her declared insane so he can get his paws on that money. How else will he get his huge empire off the ground.
I’m surprised nobody has picked up on her drinking problem. She was clearing out the hotel mini bars last year.
Funny how when she sold the biggest album of the year, People had nothing to say.
Now her scum bag brother comes up with this and she makes the cover.
Just another trasy tabloid.
I’ll never buy it again.
ThunderC*nt…….please post the link for this info.
You’re full of sh!t.
One thing that she’s never been accused of is drinking.
Susan Boyle never sought fame. She wanted to be a professional singer. But her voice and her talent touched millions of people and so she bacame famous. I fear her siblings, one in particular, simply can’t live with that. Jealousy in a family is the most destructive kind of all because it is from ones we should be able to trust.
That she does need 24 hr security, I think all would agree with. 24 hr “care”, hardly.
The world will be a darker and drearier place if deprived of this amazing woman’s voice, courage, and strength.
I find it so sad that she has to endure the slams from a jealous, less successful entertainer and at the same time from her own kin.
I am guessing she is an extreme introvert and doesn’t like all the attention that comes with her success. She just loves singing. I for one think it is refreshing not to see someone willing to flash their crotch for a buck, or give birth on tv. If that is a disorder, then let’s have more of that.
Her family and friends need to shut their mouths. She lives alone. She encountered and intruder when she returned home one night. Who wouldn’t be nervous after that? They twiisted it to sound like she should be sent away to an institiution. Shameful
This kind of sudden fame for a shy & somewhat backward Scottish lady must have caused a great deal of stress for her. Her life has been sheltered. She needs a period of adjustment, that’s all. She has a beautiful, beautiful voice.
Her brother is scum. He is after his own publicity by talking to anyone about his sister’s personal life. Somebody needs to stuff a sock in his mouth!!!
wow – i had forgotten about her. she seems like a nice woman with a nice voice who probably isn’t suited to fame.
Just another trashy tabloid.
-KathyM
NOOOOOOOO, really?????
There’s a reason the poor woman lived with her mother well into her 40’s.
@Ling, yes there’s a reason she lived with them.
She was their caregiver. I don’t think any of the other siblings offered to take them.
Susan Boyle does not need 24hour care, this comment made by her brother referrred to security in her home nothing to do with her health and was taken out of context by The People for a grabbing headline. Outragious. Susan Boyle is fine and is living her dream, just let her get on with her careeer which is flourishing, Denmark, Italy, (a standing ovation) and soon Japan. The World lovel Susan Boyle.
Susan Boyle is a wonderful lady with an awesome voice. Her problem: her brothers who sold her out just like that dude who did the same thing 2000 years ago for 30 pieces of silver. Crazy? Fragile? H-m-m-m! I don’t hear this about crazy Mel Gibson, Russell Crowe, Brittany Spears or Tom Cruise. Oh, I get it! If you are the trashoid’s definition of cool, you are not criticized. Susan, unfortunately, is too kind, honest, and sincere to be glorified as that kind of crazy. Susan, you keep on truck’in, lady, and continue to make us all happy. Mary Dobish
Susan’s brother John was referring to 24-hr. security, which many starts have. Her brother Gerry seems to be the one who can’t handle fame–because it isn’t his. He needs to shut up and get used to being way below her in success. Nothing like trying to make your own sister look miserable so you look better.
Other than the trip to the Priory for exhaustion, Susan’s breakdowns are nonexistent–what she does as a joke is construed as a sign of mental illness. The tabloids, and I now include People among them, are the ones who are sick.
Her brothers have to shut up, they are hurting Susan’s career. If they really care about Susan, they should talk to her manager personally. Definately not speaking to the whole world about their sister’s problem. This is call “Betrayal”. Gerry & John have to shut up. By the way, I think they are after her money. Susan is a strong woman, she bounce back almost immediately. So please the “Brothers”, please keep quiet and talk to her management if there is a problem.
Well why doesn’t she go to therapy? She has the money to afford it.
I thought I’d read somewhere that she is mentally “slower” than the average person and that’s why she’s a little excentric like living with her mom and never been kissed.
And IF she is afraid to be alone at night-I would be too with all the psycho stalkers out there-for someone with her fragile state mentally, having your home violated, its scary and she’s probably afraid it will happen again. I had my home broken into and for months I was scared to be in my home at night-because my mind would think about all my personal space that was violated by a stranger. It wasn’t my “safe haven” anymore.
Just a thought…..
My armchair diagnosis is Asperger’s.
John Boyle’s comment referred to 24 security, the day after Susan had a break in,because he said he was afraid she’d be “assassinated like John Lennon”. Simon Cowell hired the guards the next day.
Gerry Boyle, who is essentially a promoter with minimal success, is trying to get investors for his scheme to build a huge TV,film and recording studio in Edinburgh. Gerry has had trouble getting money. Earlier he slammed Susan’s business mgr. for not giving Susan her millions, but instead putting it into an investment trust for her and giving her a weekly living allowance. He wants to break that trust. Well, Gerry, dear, Susan has a lot bigger people than you protecting her.You’re not going to get a dime, unless Susan takes pity on you someday, which she probably will. But she’s not going to fund your pipe dreams.
Eileen, Susan’s brother John says her problem isn’t cognitive, but emotional volatility. And Gerry has said she did as well in school as any of them. She and the rest of them have their “O” Levels. After high school, Susan attended the Edinbugh Theatre School for two years and is qualified to teach drama. So much for “slow”. But she was called home to take care of her elderly parents. Apparently, neither of these “concerned” brothers offered to.
@MsTriste:
I have a child with mild autism, and Susan doesn’t strike me as an Aspie. There are LOTS of people out there with debilitating social anxiety and awkwardness that aren’t autistic.
well, duh…if she where young and HOT, we’d dismiss her antics…*ahem* st. angie. besides, who isn’t off kilter for Godsakes!
Blah, Blah KathyM. You’ll see, just like Rosie O’Donnell’s drinking caused gasps on here & then you found out it was true.
Aspergers with alcholism. Bet my life!
Kathie, don’t be so aggressive, okay?
Yep, it sounds like he’s laying the foundation to have her declared mentally incompetent, so that he can try to take all of her money. Watch your back, SuBo.
The “never been kissed” comment is part of a cliche’. – Sweet sixteen and never been kissed, is the phrase. She was merely quoting that after she said how old she was and everybody takes it as a sign of mental illness. Which is stupid.
I think she just needs to limit her travel more and work with a coach. And her brothers need to STFU with the media.
She’s not *talented* enough to be famous … her voice is adequate, not more …
This is all a bunch of bull. Susan is fine. Her brother John just meant that she needs 24 hr security, which isn’t an unusual request because of her fame. Her brother Gerry is the main problem. He won’t keep his mouth shut. He wants to ride on Susan’s popularity & wants her money. He also wants to be her manager since he started his new business venture. He will do or say anything in order to cause trouble. Simon has Susan’s back. You can be sure of that!!
It’s partly because of misrepresentations like this that mental illness has such a stigma. Dealing with issues of anxiety, loneliness, depression, etc. DOES NOT make a person crazy or insane (which, by the way, is a legal definition, not a psychological diagnosis). The fear of being seen as “crazy” keeps many people away from treatment.
Seems like many people are hugely upset by Susan Boyle’s success, both from press and some famous celebrities. They just can not stand how someone can suddenly be more successful than they are. To me, Susan is normal; but “the system” can not take it. Susan’s only luck in life has been to squeeze through “the system” by accident. Now “the system” sits pouting and shouting to come back to shackle her. Must be threatening to “the system” to think they lost some control. The only action I can take is to buy more of her albums to at least do my part to make this poor lady a little console.
Well hey, clearly the woman has some issues with mental illness. I’d venture to say she has some anxiety problems big time, perhaps also depression. But those alone should not preclude her from being able to handle fame as long as she is getting excellent therapy, maybe some meds. Many stars do. Beyond that, it’s up to Susan Boyle to decide for herself if being famous is too much.
I mean, unless she pulls a Britney or something.
Didn’t she dump her cat?
Alcoholic? No. Friends said they’d all hang out at the neighborhood pub to socialize, and Susan only ever drank lemonade.
Susan’s a regular person to whom an extraordinary thing happened. In my opinion, many of today’s stars who make their whole life about being famous are, in my opinion, way crazier. And less talented.
Yeah, let me know when she shaves her head in public and takes after photographers with an umbrella (not a mop). Then we’ll talk about “crazy”.
Erm, Britney Spears?? If someone who is on anti-psychotics can be famous than I think Susan can be too. If she chooses it that is.
There are far more crazier people than Ms Boyle in the industry. Besides, everyone around her just wants to explore her for quick money. She needs support and security like other celebrity. That’s it.
Is Maria Carey more sane than Ms Boyle? Is Angelina Jolie who collects children more sane than Ms Boyle who collects cats? It’s difficult to tell.
I really think People is a rather boring magazine which does’t run any interesting stories anymore but only paying high money for baby pictures. Rather pathetic.
Sorry Kaiser but you come off as pretty heartless on this one. “Fragile,” “hurt,” “lonely,” and “struggles with anxiety,” are terms People used on the cover. You are the one calling her “crazy.”
is brad pitt also collecting those children or just the Jolie
Too crazy to be famous? Is there such as thing? (See Lohan et al) Now as for Ms Boyle I think she has some mental and emotional issues that makes her more vulnerable to the fame machine and she needs careful handling and scheduling but I think with all that she can cope and enjoy herself.
My take?
Susan’s probably lived a lot of her life fairly sheltered, probably one of the people you don’t really notice, but she’s not exactly hiding. She seems to have enjoyed her quiet life, but still had the guts to go on television in pursuit of her dream.
Thrust into the insane amount of scrutiny her instant fame brought, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if she’s developed an anxiety disorder. Everyone’s looking at her, people want to make her over, isn’t that a dig that she didn’t look good enough as she was and therefore she needed to fill a stereotype of what people wanted her to be? Not healthy for someone who already is anxious and overwhelmed.
Then she gets to see (I hope, hope that she doesn’t read stories about herself, although I think she probably does) covers like this piece of trash that People’s become, with her brother adding fuel to the fire that she’s hearing about being inadequate and that there’s something wrong with her. The people she’s supposed to trust to take care of her and support her are running around talking to tabloids or thinking of ways to give her the shaft.
I’d have freaking meltdowns too. Hell, I do and I don’t have millions of people looking at me and measuring my worth.
I don’t know if she’ll do album #2, but she’d do good touring smaller venues.
I’ve always thought she was a little too ‘eccentric,’ if that’s what we’re calling it, to make the most of her opportunity. Remember that story about her freaking outand running around the airport? Yeah, that’s one of many similar stories. The woman clearly isn’t all there. Even though she seems super sweet and lovely, and I’d LOVE to have a cup of tea with her. But yeah. She’s not cut out for the machine.
Well, it’s not like Hollywood is filled with the msot stable people on the planet.
I think every human is crazy if you put a magnifying glass to look at each one. Even Einstein was viewed “crazy”. If you put People.com’s editors in a mental hospital and they will certainly be diagnosed as crazy.
Too crazy to be famous? She is already famous worldwide and loved by many over the world. This woman has a mysterious inner strength which pushed her to the BGT stage and it will lead her through all kinds of crazy negativities.
I haven’t trusted her brother Gerry from the very start. Having closely followed his comments over the months, I’ve picked up on his highly critical attitude toward her. Never once has he said how much be admires her, in a genuine sort of way. One comment that stands out in a live interview is when he put down her baking skills as a young girl. If was made to sound funny, but was actually a subtle cut. Who knows, maybe one reason for her high anxiety is that he constantly picked on her while they were being raised. There seems to be a hold over of jealousy there. Sibling rivalry can detrimentally affect relationships for a lifetime.
One other thought I’ve not seen anyone bring up is the possibility of the ‘system’, the wealthy British elite, in particular, having played a part in her not winning the final. Remember, Scotland is their vassal. We can’t have them one upping England now can we? Just a thought, from an American’s perspective.
To Alexis-I AM a psychologist who works with intellectually disabled persons. Susan is not anywhere NEAR handicapped as you see it! Given her life skills prior to becoming famous,she is very capable.Her problems stem from having some learning delays manifested at school when a child, but she went to a regular primary and secondary school, has level 8 Guildhall acting qualifications and looked after herself and her parents for a long time.She reads complex crime novels-need i go on?She IS sheltered and has only had a role as a daughter and sister & yes, is eccentric.But anyone would have problems adjusting to this new hectic lifestyle.She needs to pace herself & rest until she’s more used to her fame.24 hr care?I DON’T think so and don’t know why her brothers would suggest this-especially Gerry.Look at the interviews with her on youtube for dutch TV& Australian TV and radio.This is no hanicapped woman, but a woman who has not had a truly adult role before.She is naive,shy and needs to develop emotionally as she herself has said-she has great insight into herself and is articulate and no fool in the interviews I cited.We’re gonna se a lot more of this lady.I am sooo angry at this comment!!!Lindsey Lohan,Amy Winehouse etc need the 24 hr care!!!Susan is allowed to get stressed,cross,anxious just as we all do-but we’re not labled are we?She must slow down a bit tho, so she can ease into her new life.Good luck to this high achiever!
Thank you Jackie. I honestly believe that a lot of people have trouble interpreting things allowing for the many variables which are necessary to understand them. Which is why it’s dangerous to say something like “learning disability.” Too many people can’t put it in context. And she reads Steinbeck. Slow, stupid? No. Given that Susan took care of herself for a long time and lives by herself when she’s back home, she does not scream of someone who needs 24/7 care either. Though sadly a star at that level usually needs 24/7 security or something close to it.
Another thing is both Piers and her Scottish vocal coach describe her as bright, quick witted, and insightful. The coach said he didn’t recognize the slow, needy person they were describing in the media.
Thankyou! I wish I could post this somewhere where it can immediately be seen by those on YouTube who are ignorant of ‘slight learning disabilities’ compared to ‘mentally ill, crazy, retarded …’
She has a cute personality and a sense of humour but she is sensitive from her life experiences of being bullied at school and others having low expectations of her as well as living in a small village all her life. She is not sophisticated. I have no doubt she is lonely in her personal life but I believe that like her ‘discovery’ the right person will come along for her-she just needs to be patient. She’s so cute, talented and funny, I can imagine that there are men who would find her very attractive! All your dreams will come true eventually Susan. XX
Let her go back to her old life. Clearly she can’t handle the pressure.
Why force fame and fortune on her?
@Magsy, she’s not being forced. She’s enjoying it.
Considering what her whole life has been like, this might be even more difficult than it is for most people, but so far so good.
We all get anxious and depressed sometimes, and while she might be more emotional than most, she’s smart and certainly not crazy.
She really wants this, she’s trying very hard, and she deserves this chance as much as anyone.
Instead of all the critism that’s awalys thrown at her, let’s just all wish her well, and buy her a roll of duck tape to use on her loving brothers.
Interesting that my subscriber issue of People arrived today and Susan Boyle is NOT the cover story. It’s Carrie Underwood’s engagement. Susan get 1/3 of the sidebar and it reads “Susan Boyle: Is Fame Hurting Her?”
When I was a girl about 10 yrs old, my body started changing, and 12 times a year thereafter I became a little itzy bitzy bitchy. This went on for about 40 years, then my body started changing again. Now I’m not so bitchy!