AN EMOTIONAL breakdown on live television, during which a responsible interviewer should have pulled the plug? Or the latest calculated outburst in her ongoing divorce battle with Sir Paul McCartney and a bid to raise the price for her story?
Heather Mills McCartney's rant on morning television became the talk of the country yesterday. As she called for a public campaign against British tabloids, she compared herself to Diana, Princess of Wales as a victim of an abusive press, and the sub
ject of death threats. And she said she had left "a box of evidence" in case "something happens to me".
Chris Horrie, a media writer and lecturer, was unsympathetic. "She's auctioning her story and needs publicity," he said. "It's self-serving nonsense. This woman comes from the heart of showbusiness."
But Charles Fletcher, chairman of MediaWise, a charity promoting responsible journalism, said after viewing the interview: "It should have been stopped. Clearly, she's distraught. That was somebody losing it on air. She came across as seriously unwell."
In the 15-minute interview on GMTV, Mills McCartney claimed she was close to suicide. She said she had received death threats and wondered whether she might be "revered" like Linda McCartney, Sir Paul's late first wife, if the "death threats came true".
Often turning to two file folders full of press cuttings and legal letters, Mills McCartney told interviewer Fiona Phillips that 4,400 abusive articles had been written about her. She claimed topless modelling photos from her past were recycled and ludicrous stories peddled in "18 months of abuse".
Her voice sometimes breaking as she gesticulated, Mills McCartney often interrupted or talked over Ms Phillips.
She said: "I've had worse press than a paedophile, than a murderer, and I've done nothing but charity for 20 years."
But she also dropped hints about a "certain corner" spinning stories against her and how she could be forced to tell her story. "There is such fear of a certain party of the truth coming out."
Mills McCartney claimed to owe legal fees of £1.5 million, and dismissed stories claiming she had asked for £100 million or £20 million in a divorce settlement as "made up".
She said she was campaigning to change media legislation and had launched a petition to the European Parliament.
Mills McCartney showed a film clip of paparazzi circling round her and her home. "I live in a prison, I will have to fight back or go insane," she said.
"They've called me a whore, a gold-digger, a fantasist, a liar, the most unbelievably hurtful things, and I've stayed quiet for my daughter."
Mills McCartney, who had a leg amputated, said: "My sister was crying her eyes out because Jordan and Peter Andre did a joke [on TV] on Sunday and I've six amputee girls crying their eyes out because they're getting bullied at school because people are joking about the loss of my limb.
"I am the one that is abused daily. I have protected Paul for this long and I am trying to protect him, but I am being pushed to the edge and I don't want my daughter when she is 12 going on the internet and reading this totally one-sided story.
"What did the paparazzi do to Diana? They chased her and they killed her."
Roy Greenslade, a media writer, said: "I don't think we should take it seriously. She has a long history of emotional outbursts which are lacking in logic and common sense. She seeks publicity at certain times, and this is another example."
DOGGED BY CONTROVERSY
HEATHER Mills has been at the centre of controversy ever since she began her relationship with Sir Paul McCartney, the former Beatle.
The couple met at an awards ceremony in 1999 and she quickly faced accusations of being a gold-digger with her eye on the star's £800 million fortune.
Sir Paul married the former model - who lost a leg after she was hit by a police motorcyclist in 1993 - in June 2002. Their daughter Beatrice was born in October 2003.
But Sir Paul's children were less than happy. His daughter Stella, in particular, was said to loathe Ms Mills.
She also remained an unpopular figure with the press and the public - so much so that Sir Paul felt moved to hit back at her critics in a statement on her website.
Despite his public declarations of love, the relationship was said to be dogged by rows. When they finally split in May last year, lawyers speculated she could get up to £70 million.
The divorce battle has become increasingly bitter, with Ms Mills claiming that "huge powers" were out to destroy her in their divorce battle.
The full article contains 794 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
