Have you ever found yourself watching news coverage of a scandal or horrible crime (not typically perpetuated by Black people*) where the prime suspect's identity is a source of mystery and debate? Of course you have. Do you secretly say a prayer: "Dear God, Please do not let the culprit be Black"? I know I do. And when the suspect turns out to be in fact black you cringe and yell, "Dammit! Why'd they have to be Black?!" If I recall correctly, the entirety of Black America yelled "G-d Dammit!" in unison after the D.C. Sniper turned out to be Black. Anywho, I say all this to introduce today's inaugural "Why'd they have to be Black" segment:
Dr. Jan Adams (pictured above). The plastic surgeon who performed the tummy tuck, breast lift, and liposuction on the mother of Kanye West, Donda, who died the next day at the very young age of 58. When news of Donda's death surfaced in the media, and that it was likely connected to recent plastic surgery, I couldn't help but say the little prayer I mentioned above. It was a short prayer, as I simply played the odds: the majority of plastic surgeons are not Black. But still, I said the prayer just to cover my bases.
Well, when the identity of the doc came out, I almost fell to the floor. Dammit! Why'd the have to be black?! However, on this occasion I was conflicted for a few reasons: 1. I was slightly happy the Dr. at the center of the tragedy was Black just to prove to America that we can, in fact be plastic surgeons. 2. For some reason I knew he'd have some serious skeletons in his closet (prior malpractice suits, DUI's, and more...oh my!) and sully the rep of all Black medical professionals in one fell swoop. 3. I was heartbroken because I had grown to like Dr. Adams. I am a big fan of the show he hosts on Discovery Health Channel: Plastic Surgery, Before and After.
So of course I was directly in front of my television last night to watch Dr. Adams give his first televised interview since Donda's death on Larry King Live. I was ready! Popcorn, laptop, and a cosmo, all at arm's length. For those of you that didn't see it I'll give a short recap:
Dr. Adams was not on the show in the beginning. Why? Because he was in the green room with his lawyers going over a very strongly worded letter written to him from the West camp directing him NOT to do LKL or they would pressure the CA medical board to de-certify him. So Larry assembled an "expert" panel to discuss the controversy surrounding Donda's death while Jan huddled with his legal team. The panel consisted of: Access Hollywood reporter Shaun Robinson, CNN culture reporter Lola Ogunnaike, People magazine's Senior Editor Galina Espinoza, and some other dude from Extra or something. Clearly they were just time-fillers until Jan came on, and they were all a little too excited and giddy to be on the show (sans Shaun, who was respectful and professional the entire time). Did they forget the tragic reality of the controversy? It's not just scoop people. This was someone's mama. Famous or not.
Meanwhile, what the hell makes these people experts? And of what? Must be gossip, cuz not one of these b's are medical professionals or legal analysts. Those experts would come on the show later (ps: I love me some Dr. Sanjay Gupta!).
Finally, Dr. Adams sits in the hot seat, only to get up within a minute and basically said thank you, but I'm going to respect the West family's wishes and not be on the show. And got up, yanked out the ear piece and mic he was wearing, and walked off the set chile! You could tell Larry was all flustered and thinking in his head, "No this negro is not walking off my set!" It was one of the most surprising, and awkward moments in TV history (the first time in 22 years a guest walked off the set). I loved every minute of it!
Before you pat Dr. Adams on the back for respecting the West family's wishes, note that The Los Angeles Times published an extensive interview with him on Tuesday...that may have precipitated the letter he received from the West family warning him not to do LKL. "He told the paper that nothing went wrong during the November 9 operation...and speculated about possible causes of her death, but phoned the paper just hours after the interview to emphasize that his speculations were purely hypothetical." I bet he did! Hindsight is 20-20 b!
And ps: Dr. Adams also gave People magazine an interview too - the issue will be on stands soon.
Dr. Adams is in a heap of trouble y'all. I agree with Shaun Robinson that Dr. Adams was right to walk off the show. But he should have used his LA Times and People interview to explain his shady past, and completely avoid Donda's death, out of respect for the West family, and in the name of self-preservation! Who are his lawyers? why on earth would they let him shoot off at the mouth about the death? I say keep your trap shut, but if you must speak to a media outlet, restrict it to only clearing your name regarding misconceptions of past incidents.
Do you think it was a coincidence that Shaun (the only black panelist) was the only one who thought it was a good idea for Dr. Adams to walk off and say nothing? I don't. Black folks are like that. Keep family business in the what? Family! If you want to talk about your prior misdeeds then fine, but respect family biz, and the deceased, for that matter.
And now, I'm off to say a little prayer...
KelleBelle
*Sniping, setting wildfires (arson), child molestation, child pornography, embezzling, etc. are all examples of crimes typically not attributed to Black folk. Now of course we have armed robbery, illegal dog fighting, and looting on lock, but that's another story.
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