There’s something about the pictures of Stacey Irvine that just don’t add up. I felt it in my gut when I read the Daily Mail and The Sun story about the 17-year-old who wound up in the hospital after eating pretty much nothing but chicken nuggets since age 2.
But it wasn’t until after I posted a link to Facebook and Liz Gumbinner of Mom-101 and Christine Coppa of Parenting.com suggested it was a hoax that I felt all Balloon Boyed.
According to two of England’s most popular tabloid newspapers, factory worker Stacey Irvine was rushed to the hospital after a 15-year addiction to (mostly) McDonald’s chicken nuggets with anemia and swollen veins in her tongue.
Yet despite warnings by doctors to eat better — she reportedly “has never touched greens or fruit” — Irvine continues her troublesome diet.
The story itself sounds plausible. Mom has picky eater, gives up completely and lets child eat nothing but chicken nuggets. We’ve all seen similar situations, albeit not as extreme.
I witnessed a tense negotiation in a Petco store on Saturday in which a mother pleaded with her 8-year-old child to accept the cat bed she’d picked out and leave with her, while I repeated to myself, “Must. Bite. Tongue. Must. Bite Tongue.”
I know and you know that moms and dads on both sides of the pond have forgotten how to be the parent.
The part of the story that bothers me is the photos of Irvine, smiling and holding up chicken nuggets in front of a McDonalds, and even more so, the one of her lying in a pile of Happy Meal toys that vaguely and disturbingly reminds me of “American Beauty.”
Why is this girl posing for photos after collapsing and ending up in the hospital?
Is she planning to file a lawsuit against fast food makers for her monotonously poor diet? Because anyone who watched Morgan Spurlock vomit through Super Size Me knows there are better-for-you diets. I doubt that’ll stick.
Is she vamping for a reality show in which she is taught how to eat correctly, landing her a spokespersonship for Boca Burgers?
Is she hoping to meet Jamie Oliver?
Is she going to hide in the attic while new helicopters chase a runaway balloon? Wait. That one has been done already.
A few major news organizations, including CBS and Fox, have picked up the story, and dozens and dozens of bloggers have commented on the story (And now, myself included.) But is it real? Even one commenter at CBSNews.com asked if anybody has verified the story.
Maybe it’s time someone did. I’ll start…
In a word where people get paid for tabloid stories, I can imagine a 17 year old has plenty of motivation to ‘adjust’ her story. Call me skeptical. I am.
But whether it is true or not, why do we care? I had a friend in university who ate only meat, never any fruit, vegetable or grain unless it was processed so much that it no looked natural. Ketchup, fries, bread, those were ok. And also pop and milk; he drank litres of both each day. He was very very skinny until about second year when his years of poor diet overpowered his natural body and he practically exploded and he was probably 350lbs by fourth year. He suffers from many other health problems as well now. Alas, no story about him. Chicken Nugget Girl will eventually figure it out. She doesn’t look like she excercises either. At least excercise and youth can help absorb a lot of bad diet.
I was surprised to see so few skeptical comments on the news sites that carried this bizarre story. Reminds me of the “balloon boy” hoax a couple of years back. I’ll bet she’s hoping for a modeling career, and she looks healthier than more models (not saying much). I noticed that the Telegraph and Guardian don’t have postings on this; they might be a little more skeptical than The Sun and the Daily Mail.
I know and work with this lying girl she did it for money and nothing else it’s all lies