British reporter Richard Madeley is getting some negative attention for his response to pictures of his 21-year-old daughter Chloe smoking a bong. His exact words were, “Big f**king deal… It was just one of those things kids do.” I bet most kids wish their parents’ reactions to such information were equally laid back.
TV presenter Richard Madeley has said he is not worried by a photograph of his daughter Chloe smoking a “bong”.
He told Now magazine that the 21-year-old does not have a drug problem and that many young people experiment with cannabis at her age.
The magazine quoted outspoken Madeley as saying: “Somebody was passing a bong around and she inhaled some of it. Big f**king deal.
“It was just one of those things kids do – they go to parties and they do a bit of weed. I defy anyone to have a child of that age who doesn’t occasionally have a bit of weed.”
He then added: “They shouldn’t, it’s not good for you, but I know for a fact that none of my children – my stepsons, my son or daughter – have got anything approaching a drug problem.”
And wife Judy Finnegan backed him up, adding: “She does not do drugs. Obviously we’ve had huge talks about it, but I’m never worried at all about her, or indeed about any of them.
“They’ve all got their heads screwed on and they’re level-headed kids.”
In a previous interview Chloe admitted she had “tried a few things”, and denied her parents claims that she was “fiercely opposed” to drugs.
[From AOL Celebrity UK]
It’s fine for Madeley to have an accepting reaction to Chloe’s marijuana use, but I think it’s inappropriate to say he defies “anyone to have a child of that age who doesn’t occasionally have a bit of weed.” That’s making it sound like all young adults smoke weed simply because of their age. And there are tons of parents out there who have children who don’t ever do that. Mine, for one. And I know plenty of other people who’ve never smoked pot – though certainly many, many more who have. Nonetheless, I don’t believe that part of Madeley’s argument is fair.
I do think his response is realistic. Most (not all) people try pot, and many continue to use it occasionally. It’d be sort of ridiculous for Madeley to act like it’s the end of the world or say he thinks his daughter has a drug problem. I’m not a fan of marijuana, nor do I want to minimize it. But it is what it is, and getting publicly bent out of shape about it is unnecessary. Nonetheless, I’m guessing this might be quite the scandal in the U.K. for few days.
Here’s Chloe Madeley at the party to launch the English National Ballet’s Christmas season on December 4th. Header of Richard Madeley at the RTE Studios for the Late Late show in Dublin on October 24th. Images thanks to WENN .
His reaction was a hell of a lot better than the world’s reaction to Michael Phelps.
I’ve never done weed myself, but I’m with him on this. Big friggin’ deal.
The smart thing to do, would be to make it legal and tax the crap out of it. 🙂
Oh, I miss Richard and Judy!!!! This is probably how I would deal with it if my son was photographed under the same circumstances. I would guess that my husband would react completely differently.
I “smoked once in College”, he didn’t!!
… and I think it’s a stretch to call Richard Madeley a reporter – TV presenter/celebrity would be nearer the truth!
Ha! Spot on Kimble – Richard Madeley is to reporting what Rachel Ray is to innovative cuisine.
But did she inhale???
ah good old richard and judy. You can almost see her gritting her teeth and glaring as richard runs off at the mouth once again. Judy should have let the top of her dress fall down again to distract attention from richards inane ramblings.
I absolutely loved his reaction to the incident. I doubt anyone else would have the bollocks to say it… But maybe he could’ve shown a bit more concern. It’s almost as if he’s promoting the ideal excuse for smoking a bong – it’s the “age of curiousity.”
No, not really.
How do you know for sure your child doesn’t smoke? Famous last words.
He probably will get a lot of flak for this, but not from me. What was he supposed to say? I deeply apologize for the bad example she is setting as a ‘role model’, blah, blah, blah.
Yep, anyone who lives in Britain knows Richard is prone to foot in mouth – he is basically Alan Partridge! This is nothing, he once told Bill Clinton his Lewinsky scandal was similiar to Richard getting caught accidentally shoplifting wine!
Bravo to him. When will people get that a 21 year old with a bottle of vodka is looking for more trouble than a 21 year old with a bong?
Has his wife Judy ever seen ‘Skins?’ That show is pretty realistic about what UK kids get up to. And US teens aren’t much different, except for the accent. LOL
If my parents were Richard and Judy, I would want to smoke myself into oblivion too…
Love his reaction. Don’t blow it out of proportion. Most people do it at a certain age, some stop smoking pot completely at another certain age, some continue to do it occasionally, and some do it daily – and then again, there are the ones who manage to still lead kind of an organized life and the lost ones who end up doing not a lot of things besides smoking pot. I know people of all sorts and I wouldn’t worry too much if my child smoked weed at parties. If s/he started doing it on a daily basis, alone – yeah, I WOULD be worried.
Absolutely with ‘….’ on this one: no parent can say with conviction that their kid doesn’t do drugs – the fact is, you just cannot know for sure. I fully expect my kids to do everything I did and maybe even worse, and while I cringe at the thought, I have accepted it as part of what happens when you grow up. The key is to educate them enough so that it doesn’t become a problem. Madeley is right, making a big deal out it wouldn’t help matters any, and let’s be honest, given the choice weed is a damn side better than coke *cough* Biden *cough*.
Agree Tabby, as a parent myself, if your think your kids aren’t going to try something, you’re dreaming.
Although the parents may be public figures, a child/minor should be off limits.
I do think his comment was a bit flip, but a 21 year old isn’t a child, legally they’re adults.