Is The Suicide Of Disturbed Paula Abdul Fan A Warning?
Paula Goodspeed Dies
by TVGrapevine
Last week, a mentally disturbed fan of Paula Abdul, who had crossed the boundary between fan and star more than once (twice this year involving the police and disturbing the peace), committed suicide not far from Paula's home:
Paula Goodspeed, 30, who auditioned in front of the show's three judges in 2006, was found dead on Tuesday just outside of Paula Abdul's home in Sherman Oaks, Calif. Police said the death was an apparent suicide by drug overdose, and Goodspeed—who was allegedly stalking Abdul—had a photo of the "Idol" star in her car, along with some of Paula's CDs and a license plate that read "ABL LV"--"Abdul Love." On her MySpace page, she admitted that Paula was "My Secret Crush shhhhh!!" Goodspeed sent Paula flowers the day before her death (the note: "Hope you're doing great. Here's my new cell phone number") and apparently her real name wasn't even Paula. People Magazine reports that it was Sandra, and Goodspeed changed it so she could be more like the "Idol" judge.
I had dispensed with the juggernaut known as AI by the time this woman auditioned, but I watched the video of it online, and it was disturbing at best:
She went before the judges in 2006 dressed in pink from head to toe. She proclaimed her love for Paula, without a trace of irony. "I really like Paula Abdul a lot," she said. "She's really cool. I'm a really big fan." Goodspeed even wasn't embarrassed to confess that she'd been drawing life-sized pictures of Paula ever since she was a kid, which the producers, of course, went on to show us. If she was a bad artist, she was an even worse singer. The judges cringed as she performed a screechy rendition of "Proud Mary." "I don't think any artist in the world can sing with that much metal in their mouth," Simon said, in reference to her braces. When Goodspeed was booted off the show, she immediately attacked. "I was pitchy on a couple notes, big f---ing deal. There's a lot of people they send to Hollywood who can't really hold a note," she said. And then she said cryptically: "It's not over." The line seems eerie now, but Godspeed seemingly got what she wanted: fame, and the attention of Abdul, who released a statement about her death. "I am deeply shocked and saddened by what transpired," said Paula.
If you've watched any AI at all, you know that before the season really gets started, they have a few weeks of episodes devoted to the auditions. Needless to say, they can be quite eyeopening and somewhat life-affirming (you tend to think, "Hey, I may be bad, but at least I'm not that bad!"). Continued on the next page
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