What Happened, Brittany Murphy

[Whimsy]

HBO Max presents an in-depth, intimate character portrait exploring the life and career and mysterious circumstances surrounding the tragic death of 90's actress and rising star, Brittany Murphy.

[emma675]

I watched this last night and while it was incredibly sad, I don't think it revealed any new information. Brittany was a tragic character who was taken advantage of by a con man (and in many ways, let herself be taken advantage of) and he essentially caused her death. I think it all could have been avoided if just one person--a friend, her mom, even herself--had just said "what are you doing? why are you letting this man control your entire life? you deserve more than this." But no one did and she ended up dead at 32. So sad and yet so avoidable. 

[Atlanta]

This made me extremely said. I didn't know about the mold. Their house looked like a mess. She seemed like someone who just wanted to be loved and found herself a victim of a con man. The way her mom and Simon acted after her death was weird, but I guess grief is a strange animal.

[Cinnabon]

Both of them were on a huge number of prescription drugs. Did anyone else catch the long list?

[teapot]

7 hours ago, emma675 said:

I watched this last night and while it was incredibly sad, I don't think it revealed any new information. Brittany was a tragic character who was taken advantage of by a con man (and in many ways, let herself be taken advantage of) and he essentially caused her death. I think it all could have been avoided if just one person--a friend, her mom, even herself--had just said "what are you doing? why are you letting this man control your entire life? you deserve more than this." But no one did and she ended up dead at 32. So sad and yet so avoidable. 

Didn’t they say that her friends & manager tried but Brittany & her mom said they loved Simon, and then fired her team?
 

I liked the documentary but I wished there was more live footage instead of movie clips (although I kinda wanna check out that Across the Hall movie)

i gasped when it seemed that Simon was proud of the photo of her “taking a final bow” that was displayed at her memorial

[Atlanta]

It was frustrating to see Simon's parents defend him even though he was an obvious liar and user. He was a nasty piece of work. What's up with him trying to be her makeup artist? Crazy. 

Does anyone know how much she weighed when she died? She became so frail her last years. Being underweight, taking too many prescription meds (what kind of quack docs was she seeing?), and the mold seemed like the perfect cocktail for death. :( 

Across The Hall sounds interesting. I remember that there was a blind item years ago about an actress who couldn't remember her lines and would always call out "Line!" and the crew nicknamed her that behind her back. I wonder if it was about her?

Speaking of a different Brit, she bought the house from Britney Spears who left and never came back. People would say it had a bad energy. Murphy didn't even want to stay there. And also on the subject of con men, I have doubts about her fiance Sam.

Edited October 19, 2021 by Atlanta

[DiabLOL]

1 hour ago, Atlanta said:

Does anyone know how much she weighed when she died? She became so frail her last years. Being underweight, taking too many prescription meds (what kind of quack docs was she seeing?), and the mold seemed like the perfect cocktail for death. :( 

Apparently she was 5’3” and 115 lbs at time of death. Certainly not anorexic so maybe fluid buildup? Idk

 

[Enero]

18 hours ago, Cinnabon said:

Both of them were on a huge number of prescription drugs. Did anyone else catch the long list?

Yeah. That drug list was unbelievable, but likely not unusual for Hollywood.  I was able to catch the following on the list, don't know if it was all of them and don't know what all these drugs do: Topamax, Methyiprednisolone, Klonopin, Fluoxetine, Biaxin, Vicoprofen, Hydrocodone, Propranolol, Ativan and Barbamazepine. 

13 hours ago, teapot said:

Didn’t they say that her friends & manager tried but Brittany & her mom said they loved Simon, and then fired her team?

Yes. They did. My understanding is several people tried to warn them about Simon. That's what was so sad about this documentary. She had with her someone who should've protected her more than anyone - her mother. And the mother sat there and allowed this man to ultimately control her and her daughter's lives to the point of killing the latter. If Brittany would not have listened to anyone, I think she may have listened to her mom, if her mom told her that Simon was trash. But sadly, the mom was just as much, or more caught up in him than Brittany. If the mom is truly sad over Brittany's death, which I have no reason to believe she isn't, I would not be surprised if she's living a life filled with regret and guilt.  If only she'd been there for her daughter, at the very least took her to the hospital when she was obviously so ill, maybe Brittany would still be alive. 

 

13 hours ago, teapot said:

I liked the documentary but I wished there was more live footage instead of movie clips (although I kinda wanna check out that Across the Hall movie)

I didn't mind the footage used from her movies. I too would've liked to have seen more home movies, but I guess that was impossible with her mother not participating in the documentary. I didn't like how they'd intersperse lines she had in her movies with something they were referring to in her real life. That came off as bit disingenious.

I do agree with Simon's ex-girlfriend from Paris. I think he pretty much committed suicide. Not by putting a gun in his mouth or ODing on pills. Though the pills didn't help his situation, but by not seeking treatment when he too became deathly ill. He knew the gig was up. It was only a matter of time before he'd be exposed. He conned Brittany, but ultimately played himself too. 

Overall, it was descent documentary. Very sad though.

[MicheleinPhilly]

I watched this over the weekend and found it so unbelievably sad. I always found her to be a very talented young actress and her death was one of those that hit me hard. 

I didn't know a lot about the circumstances other than that she was married to a shady, older schlub and that he died shortly thereafter. 

The number of prescriptions they were both on was mind-boggling. I know it's not difficult to find pill mill doctors in Los Angeles but given the sheer number and combination, it's a miracle either of them were able to stand up, let alone function. 

I'm reluctant to criticize someone who experienced such tremendous grief as her mother did but for me, she belongs alonside the Lohans, Spears, and Markles as truly abhorrent people who used their daughters and contributed mightily to their mental health struggles. She can rot right alongside Simon...in the same bed. 🙄

[Atlanta]

1 hour ago, DiabLOL said:

Apparently she was 5’3” and 115 lbs at time of death. Certainly not anorexic so maybe fluid buildup? Idk

 

I'm 5'3" and have weighed less than that in the past, and like her I'm small boned so that doesn't sound unhealthy. (Trying to get back down to 115 right now.)  I was thinking she may have been more around 90. 

So sad that her mom didn't see through him. Her mom didn't seem to be the typical Hollywood stage mother who pushed her child into the business unlike Lohans or Spears. 

[Cinnabon]

Where did it say she weighed 115 at death? I’d say more like 90, also.

[chediavolo]

1 hour ago, Atlanta said:

I'm 5'3" and have weighed less than that in the past, and like her I'm small boned so that doesn't sound unhealthy. (Trying to get back down to 115 right now.)  I was thinking she may have been more around 90. 

So sad that her mom didn't see through him. Her mom didn't seem to be the typical Hollywood stage mother who pushed her child into the business unlike Lohans or Spears. 

I’ve been 103lbs at 5’3 in my younger days & certainly not anorexic at all. She was a good weight. Sounds like she was not taking care of herself & her husband & her mother did not care. The very fishy thing is all the prescription drugs, the mold, the creepy husband, the drunk sounding flirty mother, the weird father. The cluttered, dirty, classless house. How did Simon get away with having prescriptions in all those different names?  I know that is unlawful. I’d love to know the real dirt. So sad. He was awful & it seems her mother is too. 

[Cinnabon]

If she wasn’t eating much, then she was unhealthy despite the actual number on the scale. Some of those prescriptions are taken off label for weight loss. But have other side effects that aren’t so pleasant .

[DiabLOL]

1 hour ago, Cinnabon said:

Where did it say she weighed 115 at death? I’d say more like 90, also.

Her autopsy report states that she was 65” and 115 lbs at time if death 

[Whimsy]

This documentary was so sad. I used to think that Simon and Brittany’s mother poisoned her just based on the weird creepy clinging to each other they did after her death, but I really think now it was just a case of neglect. Simon was so controlling that he either didn’t allow or, at the least, didn’t encourage Brittany to go to the hospital. 
 

The best part of this documentary to me was when Simon’s mom was spewing some bullshit lie and her other son was literally staring at her like she had lost her mind, but then quickly recovered to his “neutral” expression.  No wonder Simon turned out the way he did…

[emma675]

4 hours ago, Cinnabon said:

Where did it say she weighed 115 at death? I’d say more like 90, also.

I've seen it on her autopsy report. It honestly surprised me because she looked so frail towards the end that I figured she was between 80 and 90 pounds. But she was sooooo very anemic that her weight didn't really matter in the end. That scene in the documentary of Brittany at her very last premiere before her death, she was visibly shaking and seemed like she had a hard time focusing. I wonder how many drugs she was on at the time? I'm amazed she and Simon hadn't od'ed years earlier looking at the list of prescriptions they had.

[teapot]

I think they could’ve

used time a bit wiser by showing interview clips or talking with other friends and costars; who in the world cares about the opinion of not one but TWO random beauty vloggers who were about as connected to Brittany Murphy as I am????

maybe they didn’t get the cooperation they would’ve needed but in that case, why not just make it a 90 minute documentary? 

[Atlanta]

The beauty vloggers got on my nerves. At least talk to some more entertainment reporters who had covered it or experts in the area of the drugs that were in her system.

[MicheleinPhilly]

58 minutes ago, teapot said:

I think they could’ve used time a bit wiser by showing interview clips or talking with other friends and costars; who in the world cares about the opinion of not one but TWO random beauty vloggers who were about as connected to Brittany Murphy as I am????

THIS. They drove me absolutely nuts and I have absolutely no idea why the filmmakers decided to include them. They served no purpose and offered no insight whatsoever. 

[ThisOne]

On 10/21/2021 at 3:05 PM, MicheleinPhilly said:

THIS. They drove me absolutely nuts and I have absolutely no idea why the filmmakers decided to include them. They served no purpose and offered no insight whatsoever. 

Yeah, I was wondering why they were included because it added nothing. But at the end I think the filmmakers explained it with the final shots of the vloggers and then Brittany giving the middle finger right after. And then basically a plea for "just let me die," like - let me RIP and stop speculating. Remember me for my talent and my career instead of dragging up conspiracies for my very tragic but not very mysterious death. At least, that's how I read the ending.

[Whimsy]

On 10/24/2021 at 1:05 AM, ThisOne said:

Yeah, I was wondering why they were included because it added nothing. But at the end I think the filmmakers explained it with the final shots of the vloggers and then Brittany giving the middle finger right after. And then basically a plea for "just let me die," like - let me RIP and stop speculating. Remember me for my talent and my career instead of dragging up conspiracies for my very tragic but not very mysterious death. At least, that's how I read the ending.

I guess that could be interpreted that way, but those (I think) were old vlogs.  I don't know if there are new conspiracy videos going up.  I just thought showing the videos was to highlight how everyone assumed she was murdered and probably still thought so.  Which, admittedly, I was on that same bandwagon for awhile. At least until Simon died.  The weird chummy-chummy/snuggle on the bed relationship with Simon and Brittany's mom was just too much for me so I assumed they had done it for Brittany's money.  But, then I also realized that they were better off with Brittany alive AND healthy AND working (the last two of which she was not).  She wasn't worth much at the time of her death.  Regardless, this was such a sad, sad tragedy that didn't need to happen.  

[Enero]

2 minutes ago, Whimsy said:

But, then I also realized that they were better off with Brittany alive AND healthy AND working (the last two of which she was not).

This. That’s what was so baffling, why Simon ultimately destroyed her? Was it a combination of narcissism and drug addiction, and thus an inability to see the forest for the trees? I don’t think he intended for her to die, but he certainly controlled her to the point where she did not seek medical attention likely per his direction. He controlled her to the point of death.

It was sad seeing how she went from being an actress with so much potential and was on the path to having a good career, to being strung out, unhealthy,  unable to remember her lines and getting fired from jobs. As I watched, I wondered how many other Brittany’s are out there. Actors/Actresses who are/were on the path to success and have/had so much potential but were derailed, not necessarily by death, but due to getting caught with the wrong person/s. 

[Cinnabon]

Can you imagine had Brittany or anyone else called 911, the paramedics asking what mediations she was on? I wonder if they would even have been truthful.

[Alice Mudgarden]

On 10/21/2021 at 2:57 PM, Atlanta said:

The beauty vloggers got on my nerves. At least talk to some more entertainment reporters who had covered it or experts in the area of the drugs that were in her system.

There aren't words for how much I cannot stand true crime youtubers who do their makeup while talking about sad, horrible crimes. These are people who were loved and cared about, and you're talking about their tragic demises while applying unflattering neon yellow eyeshadow? It's the most non-sensical, flippant and disrespectful way you could go about covering stories like these. So tacky.

[MicheleinPhilly]

11 hours ago, Alice Mudgarden said:

There aren't words for how much I cannot stand true crime youtubers who do their makeup while talking about sad, horrible crimes. These are people who were loved and cared about, and you're talking about their tragic demises while applying unflattering neon yellow eyeshadow? It's the most non-sensical, flippant and disrespectful way you could go about covering stories like these. So tacky.

Is this a regular thing??? I'll admit I'm not a big YouTube watcher so I was rather confused by the whole thing. 

"Here, watch me doing my dishes while I talk about something I have no real knowledge of or connection to." 

👵 #getoffmylawn

[Atlanta]

I've never heard of vloggers doing that before. Strange. I also wouldn't take their 'beauty' advice.

[Alice Mudgarden]

8 hours ago, MicheleinPhilly said:

Is this a regular thing??? I'll admit I'm not a big YouTube watcher so I was rather confused by the whole thing. 

"Here, watch me doing my dishes while I talk about something I have no real knowledge of or connection to." 

👵 #getoffmylawn

 

3 hours ago, Atlanta said:

I've never heard of vloggers doing that before. Strange. I also wouldn't take their 'beauty' advice.

Unfortunately, I've seen multiple come across my recommended videos. The biggest one, as far as I can tell, is someone named Bailey Sarian. She regularly gets millions of views. It's a shame, because I may otherwise appreciate how she approaches the topics she covers, but I just won't click on a video of someone doing their makeup while talking about awful things other people have had happen to them. I can't get past it.

[Luckylyn]

On 11/5/2021 at 9:07 AM, MicheleinPhilly said:

Is this a regular thing??? I'll admit I'm not a big YouTube watcher so I was rather confused by the whole thing. 

"Here, watch me doing my dishes while I talk about something I have no real knowledge of or connection to." 

👵 #getoffmylawn

True Crime Beauty Vloggers

Bailey Sarian

Better Off Red

Danielle Kirsty

[Tango64]

The state of their apartment was shocking. The fact that they lived that way, especially when they had the ability and the means to live normally, says a great deal about their mental states. 

That LA County coroner seemed a little too proud of saying he's the one who does all the celebrity deaths. Just another cog in the sick machine of Hollywood.

I'll agree with everyone previously about the beauty vloggers. Seriously, why the fuck do they exist and why would you include them in this documentary? Every time they came on screen they diminished the integrity of the project.

[Atlanta]

2 minutes ago, Tango64 said:

The state of their apartment was shocking. The fact that they lived that way, especially when they had the ability and the means to live normally, says a great deal about their mental states. 

That LA County coroner seemed a little too proud of saying he's the one who does all the celebrity deaths. Just another cog in the sick machine of Hollywood.

I'll agree with everyone previously about the beauty vloggers. Seriously, why the fuck do they exist and why would you include them in this documentary? Every time they came on screen they diminished the integrity of the project.

I'm amazed that they didn't bring in someone to clean, organize her clothes/closet, and such. However, Simon seemed like a control freak. 

[SimonSeymour]

I’m not a doctor or a pharmacist, but certain medications come up often in my line of work, so I know a little bit about them. 

Topamax is an anticonvulsant and is also used to treat migraines. 

Klopopin and Ativan are both benzodiazepines and are used to treat seizures, anxiety, and panic attacks. Benzos in general can be addictive.  

Methylprednisolone is a corticosteroid used to replace the hormone the adrenal gland produces, to treat severe allergic and asthmatic reactions, and in general is an anti inflammatory used to stop flares of autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis and colitis. 

Fluoxetine is the generic version of Prozac, so it’s an anti depressant.

Biaxin is an antibiotic used to treat lung infections.

Vicoprofen is hydrocodone (opiate) mixed with ibuprofen (Advil) which is a non-steroidal anti inflammatory, and it’s used to treat pain.

Hydrocodone is a generic opiate used to treat coughs and severe pain on its own, but it’s almost always combined with something else, like ibuprofen (see above), Tylenol (brand names Vicodin, Lortab, etc.), or aspirin (brand names Lortab  ASA and various others I can’t recall the names of). Obviously, all opiates are addictive. 

Propranolol is a beta blocker that treats high blood pressure, chest pains, tremors, and sometimes migraines (although it made mine worse). It also suppresses the physical symptoms of anxiety, like rapid heartbeat, sweating, etc., and some attorneys I know will take it before appellate court oral arguments, so they don’t come across to the court as nervous. 

Lastly, Carbamazepine (brand name Tegretol), is also an anti convulsant, used to treat seizures, and sometimes bipolar disorder and nerve pain.  

Edited December 26, 2021 by SimonSeymour

[pasdetrois]

Just watched this. My takeaway is that Simon was your typical grandiose and charismatic sociopath who, once he snared Brittany, had the means to indulge his worst impulses - food, drugs, wild spending and living out his delusional fantasies via Brittany's position in Hollywood. But the drugs, the food, and his own mental illness overwhelmed him - got the best of him - and the three of them were living in a beautiful madhouse. (folie a trois)  The attention to housekeeping, nutrition, and health are the first to go in those dysfunctional situations.

I believe he dangled a romantic relationship in front of Sharon - she wanted him and he leveraged that, all the while getting her hooked on pills. Predatory behavior.

Was there anything left for Sharon to inherit? Simon apparently spent all of the money, and I wonder if the house was mortgaged.

Edited January 2, 2022 by pasdetrois

[funky-rat]

On 11/5/2021 at 9:07 AM, MicheleinPhilly said:

Is this a regular thing??? I'll admit I'm not a big YouTube watcher so I was rather confused by the whole thing. 

"Here, watch me doing my dishes while I talk about something I have no real knowledge of or connection to." 

👵 #getoffmylawn

Unfortunately, yes.  There's a vlogger named Kendall Rae who does fairly decent true crime videos, but she just talks.  I started watching a few by others, and the minute I saw they were doing their makeup,  I was all "WTF?" and shut them off.  It makes zero sense to me and I have zero desire to watch.

[Nicmar]

On 1/22/2022 at 10:15 AM, funky-rat said:

Unfortunately, yes.  There's a vlogger named Kendall Rae who does fairly decent true crime videos, but she just talks.  I started watching a few by others, and the minute I saw they were doing their makeup,  I was all "WTF?" and shut them off.  It makes zero sense to me and I have zero desire to watch.

I like Kendall Rae and she does a very decent job. I couldn't get into Bailey Sarian talking and doing make up.