I’m watching Idol Gives Back on TV right now. It’s heartbreaking. (Click here to donate to Idol Gives Back, which divides the donations among six charities in the U.S. and in Africa.)
Many celebrities are making appearances on the show, including one of my favorite celebrity couples, David and Victoria Beckham.
Excerpts from their speech, which I wrote down as soon as I heard it:
Victoria: “David and myself are fortunate enough to be here [to be here to tell you to donate, etc. — didn’t get the whole thing].”
David: “Please join Victoria and myself in donating.”
The word myself is completely out of place. It should be I in the first sentence and me in the second.
If you ever have doubt over whether you should say “and myself” — or “and I” for that matter — drop the other subject.
I am fortunate enough to be here — not myself is fortunate enough to be here.
Please join me in donating — not please join myself in donating.
I know that it’s not their fault. The show’s writers are the ones to blame. Though it’s within my rights to criticize them, I do feel a tad guilty insulting a good cause like this one.
But I have to be honest with myself. Even if they had written those awkward sentences themselves, I wouldn’t have minded. They’re too damn good-looking.
Well, it wouldn’t be the first time beauty caused me to overlook grammar errors. I think my friends know where I’m going with this one. 
Please donate if you can afford to do so. $10.00 buys a mosquito net. That could save one or more lives in Africa.
The Grammar Vandal 
Thank you Kate!!! I was watching it and thought the SAME THING!!!
I hate when people do that! I also tell people this:
When you’re telling me about your photo of your vacation, would you say “This is a picture of I at the beach?” NO you would not. So do not say “This is a picture of Mark and I at the beach.” Simple enough to remember, but most people are too simple to understand it. Sigh.
Personally, I think it’s presumptuous to ask viewers of a TV show that has made billions of dollars to cough up ten bucks for a mosquito net. For their sake, I hope Simon and his cronies are donating at least 50 percent of their income from a program that has bilked money from Americans for years.
That goes for Oprah and her “Oprah’s Big Give” deal too.
Sorry, but it had to be said.
Anthony, I have to disagree with you on this. The show itself is making significant donations, as are several of the show’s sponsors. Asking people to help not only supplements the money, it promotes awareness of the hardships faced by people all over the world and gives people — particularly, kids, many of whom have never been exposed to charity before — a chance to donate and feel involved in helping people who need to be helped.
Hopefully, this instills a lifelong awareness of the importance of giving. And since it’s through American Idol, a show that is almost worshiped by kids, tweens and teens, it gives giving a “rock star” factor that you can’t get from family, friends or school.
OK, so I did some digging. From the PR Newswire:
Idol Gives Back, on the surface, seems to be motivated by good intentions, said Erik Whittington, director for American Life Leagues youth program. But, the reality is that American Idol is funding non-profits, such as Save the Children and The Childrens Defense Fund, that promote immorality and abortion on demand.
This is from Anna David of Fox News (of all places):
Still, there’s something disconcerting about watching people who make the most astronomical amounts of money possible asking those who are presumably significantly lower-paid to donate.
I know that it’s about getting lots of people to give a little, and that it’s perhaps wrong to find fault when Idol’s intentions are so noble. Still, I can’t help but feel that maybe every celebrity appearing on the show should announce how much he or she is personally donating before appealing to viewers.
The second annual “Idol Gives Back” telethon lifted Fox to No. 1 in the ratings on Wednesday, but far fewer viewers tuned in this year to the celebrity-studded charity drive than last year. Nielsen estimated that the prime-time portion of the “American Idol” special, which began its broadcast at 7:30 p.m., attracted 17.6 million viewers from 8 to 10 p.m.
I don’t know what the “per-minute” ad revenue is for the program, but I’d bet that the $60 mil they raised is a pittance compared to what the show brought in.
This is from Reality Blurred about last year’s Idol Gives Back:
But $5 million? Let’s be honest: It’s a generous donation, but is not that much relative to how much cash the show is pulling in. Fortune estimated that each Tuesday performance show makes an average of $16.39 million in advertising, and each results episode pulls $14.19 million. So, that’s $30.58 million per week. Even if those averages are generous or overestimate the actual revenue (since many ads are from show sponsors such as Ford and Cingular), $5 million is nice but not exactly bank-breaking—especially considering that the entire Idol franchise is worth more than $2.5 billion.
You know what? With all respect, I hate how people always try to tear down good things for not being good enough.
A classic example is when Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt adopt a child from abroad and people berate them for not adopting a child born in the U.S.
There is nothing wrong with this! Nothing could be more right! They are saving a child’s life! Additionally, they have brought so much awareness to the plight of so many people through their incredible charity work. After all, how many people knew anything about Namibia before they had their baby there?
And then people berate them, saying they don’t do anything in the U.S.
Angelina’s focus, her passion, is helping refugees, which is why most of her work is abroad. Brad Pitt’s primary project these days is the Make It Right Foundation in New Orleans — which is in the U.S.
What drives me crazy is how the people insulting their charitable actions, claiming that they aren’t doing the right thing, usually haven’t even done a FRACTION of the charitable work Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie and other people like them have done.
If it were a person who spends most of his or her time working for domestic nonprofits and charities, I would take the person more seriously. But most of the time, it’s a person who only gives a bit of money on occasion, if anything, and sits behind their computer and wonders aloud why they don’t give every penny to helping kids in the U.S.
It drives me insane.
does she EVER
does she EVER smile?! cheer up, lady!
reminds me of the great Austin Powers line: “Allow myself to introduce….. myself.”
“I hate how people always try to tear down good things for not being good enough.”
Isn’t that the point of the Grammar Vandal?
🙂
Brits often use “myself” and “him/herself” in ways we wouldn’t. I would consider it more along the lines of slang than bad grammer. But still, they should know better when on International TV. Then again, look who we’re talking about.