Suicide Idol's Brother, Friends Rip Paula Abdul

The brother of the Paula Abdul-obsessed "American Idol" reject who OD'd outside the star's LA home is blaming Abdul for crushing his sister's dreams and sending her on a downward spiral.

Paula Goodspeed, 30, had withered away to just 78 pounds at the sad end of her life, brought on by eating disorders and a broken Hollywood heart, her brother, Charles McIntyre, told The Post yesterday.

Although the grieving sibling disputed tentative police reports that Goodspeed committed suicide in her car, McIntyre said his sister's "Idol" tryout in 2005 crushed her dreams of stardom.

Goodspeed auditioned for Season 5 of the hit Fox reality show, and her train-wreck performance of "Proud Mary" brought jeers and cutting comments from the three "Idol" judges.

"[Abdul] didn't speak up for her. She let everyone take her down," McIntyre told The Post from his home in Maine.

"She [Abdul] said she was 'speechless,' when she could have said something in her defense."

Earlier in that "Idol" episode, Goodspeed showed off life-size drawings she had made of Abdul and professed her admiration for the former Laker Girl.

KEEP READING NY POST INTERVIEW

PLUS FROM THE NY DAILY NEWS:

A good friend has rushed to the defense of 30-year-old Paula Goodspeed, telling the Daily News that the aspiring singer wasn't a suicidal, "looney freakazoid" still obsessing over the mocking she received at her September 2005 "American Idol" audition.

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Instead, Goodspeed was upbeat and planning for the future when she last communicated with pal Brianna Schlanger less than 24 hours before cops recovered her body Tuesday.

"She sent me a text at 10:22 the night before about meeting for a latte and movie. She ended the message with a happy face," said Schlanger, a model from Reseda, Calif. "She seemed fine. Some

PLUS FROM PEOPLE, A DIFFERENT SIDE:

Last week, Paula Abdul got flowers with a note signed, "Love, J.T." and the message, "Hope you're doing great. Here's my new cell number."

Thinking they had come from her restaurateur boyfriend J.T. Torregiani, Abdul called him asking why he had changed his number, a source close to Abdul tells PEOPLE. When he said he hadn't, Abdul knew immediately who really sent them: ex-American Idol contestant Paula Goodspeed, according to the source....

Also, PEOPLE has learned, Goodspeed had changed her first name from Sandra to Paula.

Comments

[Territc]

These family and friends need to blame themselves and not Paula. From 2005 to now they watched her wither away and did nothing about it. Now they want to blame someone who is not their relative, does not live with them and did not see her on a daily basis. In fact we need to charge these frie
nds and family with neglect - of their sister and friend. Neglect from the day they allowed her to go on to Idols knowing she could not sing - in fact was down right crap. How dare they not tell her she can't sing and then how dare they allow all this foolishness to continue up to a point where she committed suicide. What did they want Paula to do? Tell her she can sing when she clearly could not! That would have created a blacklash for Paula for creating hope when there was none - at all. This foolish woman was mentally unstable and obsessed with Paula and now her equally foolish and stupid friends and family want to lay the blame on someone else instead of taking responsiblity for their non action. Or are they just trying to run and hide from their own guilt by passing it on to someone else.

[Revelation]

You know how it goes, blame paula Abdul and then go for the lawsuit.!. It really is sad mthe lengths desperate people will go to for money and fame.

[devans00]

I agree Territc. Much easier to blame someone else than look in the mirror.

[KickerBoard]

Although last season's David Cook was a talented winner, American Idol has outstayed its welcome - along with the rest of the reality TV cycle. That said, blaming Paula Abdul in any way for the death of this woman is completely out of order.

[thetoetagman]

Just one less person consuming air.

[MagicalPossibilities]

This poor girl obviously had untreated mental illness going back before she went to audition for AI.
I pray for her soul to find peace.

[Indy 44]

Here's an idea.

Turn off American Idol once or twice this year and go listen to some Beethoven. Or find a good book.

You won't regret it.

[msladydeborah]

I do not watch American Idol. I have seen the audition portion of this show. There are some folks who need to realize that they are not talented prior to going before the judges. I am always amazed and amused at the individuals who think that they can sing and really cannot.

But in this case, I am not feeling the blame being placed on Paula for Goodspeed's death. It appears to me that this young woman had issues long before American Idol was in her story. I suspect that if an indepth background check is conducted there were probably signs of problems long before she auditioned for the show.

[copestir]

Paula Abdul was not responsible the downward sprial of this woman. After viewing the video, she demonstrated considerable emotional illness even prior to the audition. Here was a woman with no talent. Even those that can a least carry a tune get the gong. If she was that emotionally fragile the family is out of line to blame Paula Abdul. Excuse me, what kept the family from getting her the help she needed?

[vinny]

it seems hard to get around the cold, hard fact that young person committed suicide in connection with the tv program... for me, the personal responsibility arguments (below), which brush aside the suicide, are themselves symptomatic of a society that delights in the grotesque and worships its idols... (you say "oh, not me!") whether they admit it or not, their puritan complacencies reflect personal dispositions moulded in a culture of pedestrian consumerism... while these bystanders shake their heads and offer their asympathies for 'the weak and troubled girl,' the suicide becomes just more tradgic event to be folded into the mythology of making, worshipping and reviling worldly idols... your world continues to turn - apparently unaffected... advertising continues to sell... and you continue to buy goods without too much regard for the human and environmental costs of their production... this is how the fantasy of capital accummulation through the projection of polished self-image becomes reproduced... this is how a media industry makes its profits...

a child chose death rather than life... and all you can muster as a response is an argument about personal responsibility... seriously?

[SOLERSO68]

No one is "too blame" for someone elses suicide, but maybe we should take the time while everone is focused on "american idol to point out what a worthless pile of television crack that it is.If this is what the "American Dream" has become i'd rather be cuban, or even bulgarian.

[CC1]

When someone auditions for AI, or any other competition, it's unrealistic to not expect any negative feedback/rejection. Especially on a well-known show where negative feedback is well-known and publicized. Nobody is to blame for someone else's suicide.

[houstonbch]

As far as American Idol (and other performance reality shows) is concerned, the producers decide who goes before the judges, and who is shown on TV. They put forth the best, and the worst. This is why so many people watch the audition shows. Right or wrong, this is how it works. If you try out for AI and you are not a great singer, expect to be told this - and not in a cuddly way.

I can understand Ms. Goodspeed's family being upset and, due to the unusual circumstances not sure where to direct their anger. But Paula is not to blame. Not completely...just because Paula is just a judge on AI, and Ms. Goodspeed should have known what to expect, does not excuse AI, and it's judges, from partial blame. They were part of what ended up in tragedy.

If you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem.

[jdlund]

I'm sorry, but come on. Blaming Paula Abdul? Clearly the girl had some serious issues to even be in the position for Paula Abdul's opinion to have that much weight. It's sad, but the woman was an adult who made a conscious decision to end her life. It was in her right to do so, although it would have been better had she managed to reach out to someone and let her dream of being a singer go. People put way way too much emphasis on celebrity in this country. It's disgusting the extent to which famous people are worshiped by some, but it is still not the famous individual's fault that people become too obsessed and it is not his her responsibility to validate such people. By all accounts Abdul didn't even criticize the wanna-be singer. I'm not an Abdul fan, but I fail to see why it is her job to make sure every Idol hopeful feels good about themselves when they walk away. As it is Abdul rarely, if ever, comes straight out and actually criticizes anyone, why should she do anything more just because some people can't handle reality?

In the end people need to take responsibility for their lives. If a dream doesn't match one's actual potential, work for it, if it just isn't going to happen, be an adult, admit your shortcomings, and move on. Celebrity truly is a disease.

[Ivar]

when something bad happens, most look for someone else to blame

[lungfish]

Nobody knew more about this girl than her family and someone should have been looking out for her before she slipped away.....
It can be so sudden.

This isn't totally related but I offer it more to illustrate how quickly and suddenly things can happen when nobody is watching....Some friends were freediving and watching a buddy come up last summer. He surfaced, put his snorkel in and they turned away. He was never seen alive again. He blacked out immediately afterword and drifted away and drowned. He was found the next day. Nobody was watching him for just a few moments and now he is gone...

If you see it, have the courage to say something about it before its too late... there must have been many warning signs coming from this woman. How tragic.

[coloradoblue84]

heaven forbid anyone take responsibility for their own issues, or for not assisting a family member with theirs!! Abdul better watch out for that "wrongful death" lawsuit i guarantee the family will through at her, even though the chick's mental instability and OCD behavior had absolutely nothing to do with her!! and yet another example of the patheticness of society!