A prank phone call to London Nurse Jacintha Saldanha at King Edward VII hospital, and by Mel Greig and Michael Christian, two Austrailian “shock jock” radio show hosts of a show called 2Day FM, caused Ms. Saldanha to commit suicide. That’s the verdict rendered by the World’s media outlets that have focused on this sad story.
Earlier this week, Saldanha, a 46-year-old mother of two, who was a nurse at the hospital where the Dutchess of Cambridge Kate Middleton was admitted for morning sickness after discovering she was pregnant, was called by Mel Greig and Michael Christian. The DJs impersonated Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Charles in the prank call, and managed to get Saldanha to admit that Kate was “retching.” Here’s the transcript as posted by The New York Daily News:
MEL GREIG: Oh hello there, could I please speak to Kate please, my granddaughter?
NURSE: Oh yes, just hold on ma’am.
GREIG: Thank you.
MICHAEL CHRISTIAN: Are they putting us through?
GREIG: Yes.
CHRISTIAN: If this has worked, it’s the easiest prank call we’ve ever made. Your accent sucked by the way, I just wanted you to know.
GREIG: I’m not used to playing old 80-year-olds.
[phone picks up]
GREIG: Kate my darling, are you there?NURSE: Good morning, ma’am, this is the nurse speaking. How may I help you?
GREIG: Hello, I’m just after my granddaughter Kate. I wanted to see how her little tummy bug is going.
NURSE: She’s sleeping at the moment. And she had an uneventful night. And sleep is good for her. As we speak, she’s been getting some fluids to rehydrate her. She was quite dehydrated when she came in. But she’s stable at the moment.
GREIG: Okay, ill just feed my little corgies then.
CHRISTIAN: Lovely. But they’re all okay, everything’s alright?
NURSE: Yes, she’s quite stable at the moment. She hasn’t had any retching with me, since I’ve been on duty. And she’s been sleeping on and off.
CHRISTIAN: Wonderful.
NURSE: And I think it’s difficult sleeping in a strange bed as well.
CHRISTIAN: Yes, of course! It’s hardly the palace, is it?
GREIG: Oh, it’s nothing like the palace, is it, Charles?
Jacintha Saldanha did not know who she was really talking to, and when it was revealed, she obviously took the error harder than she should have. He body was found dead Friday.
The resulting anger toward Mel Greig and Michael Christian was considerable, to say the least. They disabled their Twitter accounts, and their Facebook page exploded with thousands of angry comments. Additionally, the radio show hosts may have violated Aussie law in the process. They’ve since issued an apology and their show has been suspended.
Stay tuned for more on this.
Bill Carroll