Earlier this week, Australian radio DJs Mel Greig and Michael Christian pulled a tasteless prank on the royal family–they called King Edward VII Hospital, where Kate Middleton was being treated for acute morning sickness after announcing her pregnancy on Monday, pretending to be Queen Elizabeth II inquiring about the Duchess of Cambridge’s health. The DJs received private medical information about Kate’s condition, and posted the conversation on their radio show 2Day’s website. Now, the fallout since the phone call, which was made on December 4th, has turned a foolish prank into an unfortunate tragedy.
The hospital nurse who put the call through, leading to the unintentional release of confidential patient information, was found dead today. The nurse, identified as Jacintha Saldanha, is believed to have committed suicide.
Since news broke of the grim aftermath of a seemingly innocent, if inappropriate, trick, the two DJs have deleted their Twitter and Facebook accounts. The backlash of the news sparked appalled and angry responses on social media sites, from many who believe the DJs should be punished. While the exact cause of Saldanha’s suicide is unclear, the DJs did break an ACMA law (Australia’s equivalent to the FCC) stating that any party must be made aware of a conversation being recorded.
In a video posted on HuffPost Live, Book Publisher and Executive Director Mike Lawson states that while the prank may have been a catalyst to Saldanha’s death, an isolated incident rarely leads a healthy person to commit suicide.
The DJs station, 2Day FM, responded to the tragedy on its Facebook page: “Southern Cross Austereo (SCA) and 2Day FM are deeply saddened by the tragic news of the death of nurse Jacintha Saldanha from King Edward VII’s Hospital and we extend our deepest sympathies to her family and all that have been affected by this situation around the world.
“Chief Executive Officer Rhys Holleran has spoken with the presenters, they are both deeply shocked and at this time we have agreed that they not comment about the circumstances. SCA and the hosts have decided that they will not return to their radio show until further notice out of respect for what can only be described as a tragedy.”
Prior to the death of Saldanha and the termination of their social media accounts, both Greig and Christian responded to their prank by saying that they never believed their call would actually go through. “We’re very sorry if we’ve caused any issues and we’re glad to hear that Kate is doing well,” Christian wrote on his Twitter page.
Once the full extent of the prank’s aftermath was understood, users took to both Facebook and Twitter to express their disgust for the DJs’ prank.
“You two have to live with this for the rest of your lives!!! Happy now??? Was it worth paying for people’s lives just for ratings and $$$???” posted one Facebook user before the DJs shut down their page. “And on Twitter, one user posted, “@2DayFMSydney SHAME ON YOU & YOUR DJs. They MUST be fired & they MUST be prosecuted for breaking basic recording-without-permission laws.”
The hospital has released a statement expressing their regret of the tragedy, as well as an assurance that an internal investigation has been launched, with a plan to revise their telephone protocol. Both Kate and Prince William have said they are “deeply saddened” by the nurse’s unfortunate passing.
