Extreme' tragedy - Ugly Mom Sues ABC

Daily News via Drudge ^ | 09/18/05 | Hildy

[Hildy]

LOS ANGELES - The producers of "Extreme Makeover" promised Deleese Williams "a Cinderella-like" fix for a deformed jaw, crooked teeth, droopy eyes and tiny boobs that would "transform her life and destiny." But when the ABC reality show dumped the Texas mom the night before the life-changing plastic surgeries, it shattered her family's dream and triggered her sister Kellie McGee's suicide, says a bombshell lawsuit filed in L.A. Superior Court.

As part of the premakeover hype, producers coaxed McGee and other family members to trash Williams' looks on videotape, the suit alleges. When they suddenly pulled the plug on the project, and the promised "Hollywood smile like Cindy Crawford," a guilt-ridden McGee fell apart.

"Kellie could not live with the fact that she had said horrible things that hurt her sister. She fell to pieces. Four months later, she ended her life with an overdose of pills, alcohol and cocaine," said Wesley Cordova, a lawyer for Williams.

"This family is shredded. There is a human cost to this," Cordova said.

Williams, 30, and her husband, Mike, are raising McGee's two children, along with two kids of their own. The suit seeks unspecified money damages for breach of contract, intentional infliction of emotional distress and other offenses.

"Deleese is so hurt and humiliated, she won't leave the house now. She grocery shops at midnight," Cordova says.

ABC declined to comment on the allegations.

The show announcing Williams' selection for a mega makeover had already aired on Jan. 7, 2004, when the producers abruptly dropped her because the dental surgeon told them her recovery time would be longer than expected, Cordova said.

Williams was alone in a Los Angeles hotel room reading her pre-op instructions when a producer showed up and dashed her dream of a new life with a "pretty" face, the suit alleges.

"You will not be getting an extreme makeover after all. . . . Nothing. It doesn't fit in our time frame. You will have to go back to Texas tomorrow," the suit alleges she was coldly told.

Williams broke down sobbing: "How can I go back as ugly as I left? I was supposed to come home pretty," the suit says.

The 31-page complaint begins with the line "Deleese Williams is considered ugly."

It details a horrendous tale of pain and humiliation that began when she applied for the reality show in December 2003 and had to submit a "full body shot" video showing "all of the body parts that need help."

For years, Williams' friends and family "didn't notice or pretended not to notice" her homely looks, but once she got picked for the show, they were coached to focus on nothing but her physical flaws, the suit says.

In McGee's taped interview, she tried to play up her sister's good points. But the hard-nosed producers "peppered Kellie with questions about her childhood with the ugly Deleese . . . and repeatedly put words in her mouth," the suit says.

To please the producers, Williams' mother-in-law also laid it on thick. "She said things like 'I never believed my son would marry such an ugly woman.' " Cordova says.

The family's comments never aired on TV, but Williams, who was in an adjoining room, heard them all.

The experience ruined her family life.

"Now that she returned in the same condition in which she left, there were no secrets, no hidden feelings, no reward," the suit says.

McGee's "guilt was overwhelming." She OD'd on May 25, 2004, four months after the show's producers sent her sister packing.

"These programs are cheap to produce - there are no actors or screenwriters to pay. But there is a very high human cost," Cordova said.

[ShadowDancer]

If you can't figure it out, I can't help you.

this is the second-most stupid response anyone could give

Of course that translates to:

"I have no idea why I posted what I did and can't back it up but for God's sake, don't call me on it or I'll cry."

[LucyJo]

Good grief! I was expecting much worse than this. Hillary Clinton's makeover people could do wonders for her.

[teenyelliott]

Breach of contract is breach of contract, and ABC should be held accountable for that

Who says it was breach of contract? We have no idea what the contract stated. For all we know, she simply signed a release form, releasing the show of liability if something went wrong during any surgery.

I highly doubt the show signed something saying, "We'll do this no matter what, and we cannot change our minds."

I am a cynic, and I think this family is just looking for an opportunity to sue. That is where most lawsuits come from.

[teenyelliott]

Sometimes it certainly is too close.

But all in all, my family has been much more reliable than anyone else I have ever met.

I have never had a friendship that endured.

[teenyelliott]

Yeah, but for the whole world to see? I don't get that

Well geez, I don't either.

It takes a special breed to go on t.v. and air their personal lives. I am proud to not be amongst that sort.

[teenyelliott]

This family is shredded. There is a human cost to this

I missed this bit.

This family is "shredded" over the woman not having plastic surgery? Give me a break.

If they said crappy things, that is their failing, not any fault of some dumb show.

And if their happiness is determined by what this woman looks like, and if her happiness is determined by what she looks like, the whole lot of them need some counseling, not a knife.

[doug from upland]

YOU WON'T BELIEVE THIS BEFORE AND AFTER

[Mike Darancette]

The show announcing Williams' selection for a mega makeover had already aired on Jan. 7, 2004,

Meet the new owner of ABC.

[pepperdog]

I agree there was probably a preexisting problem. But the article clearly states it encouraged, even coerced, family members to speak badly about the woman's appearance while fully believing that they were helping the woman get a medical makeover. Any caring person who had said ugly things about someone they loved (because they thought they were helping her)and then had the words heard and the help withdrawn would be devastated. The drugs probably just deepened her anguish at what had happened to her sister. Whether it was rational or not ABC needs to pay heavily for such trashy actions. It is despicable.

[ordinaryguy]

What a horrible family. This poor woman probably wanted the surgeries so "they" would stop berrating her. The suicidal sister had to be loopey to begin with, the mother in law just seems nasty.

Suppose Deleese Williams really wanted this free cosmetic surgery. To make their sick show work the way ABC wanted it to, they required video emphasizing how much the subject needed the surgery. Suppose Deleese told her family that ABC needed them to criticize her looks in order for her to get the surgery she so desperately wanted. Suppose her family, because they wanted Deleese to be happy, went along with the scheme that Deleese had initiated. Suppose her sister "tried to play up her sister's good points," but the producers required a few choice quotes in order for her sister to get what she wanted.

Does her family seem quite so awful now? I would have sat it out, but she is the one who put her family in the situation where they were asked to say those things on camera.

[Burlem]

If your scenerio is correct, then I would agree. Reading the article I did not get that, but maybe you are correct.
Her picture shows a very plain Jane, not sure I would call her ugly. She has buck teeth which is sad, that will change your looks.

[Sally'sConcerns]

Judging from quite a few of the posts on this thread there are a lot of people who have never lived with being made fun of because of some type of difference. I use the word difference because in my case, I can't really call it a deformity since my foot worked as it was supposed to but being born with a club foot and being made fun of during quite abit of my childhood had an impact on me.

The club foot was corrected surgically when I was 7 but I also had extremely wide feet. Up until the 7th grade when I rebelled I had to wear truly ugly corrective shoes. I was always the smallest in my class and for the longest time (even as an adult of 30) I felt like all people could see when I was walking down the street were these enormous feet. It affects your self image and your self esteem.

Thankfully around 32 or so I came across the saying about 'I used to complain about my feet until I met a man with none'. I paraphrased because right this second I can't remember the accurate quote. Anyway, I took that saying to heart and became grateful I had working feet and even though difficult to find a good fit, could find nice looking shoes.

IMO, the sister had a drug problem already and used what she had said as an excuse to kill herself. I do understand how the lady who was turned down the night before is being affected by all of the negative comments though. Confirmation of thoughts and feelings one already had about oneself even if they were encouraged to say those things.

[metmom]

Boy, I've seen ALOT worse. She looks pretty average to me. What is it with our country today and its emphasis on looks?

[metmom]

Poor and struggling?
Excuse me, but call me when they have the "win a college scholarship" reality show.


They do. It's called Scholars and it aired on Monday nights last spring. My kids loved it because they'd try to answer the questions before the contestants and often did.

[SpringheelJack]

Boy, I've seen ALOT worse. She looks pretty average to me. What is it with our country today and its emphasis on looks?

Yeah. I think her problem is mainly just low self-esteem, which is no mystery considering the family she seems to have.

[ordinaryguy]

Do you think they would have picked her for the cosmetic surgery if they couldn't get her family to criticize the way she looks? I've never seen the show, and never plan to, but I'm guessing that they preface the surgery with the interviews about how bad things have been for her, how much she needs the surgery, and how much her life would change if she had it.

I seriously doubt they would pick someone if everyone around them said she was great the way she was, and really didn't need the surgery.

I think ABC was wrong to be exploiting her and I think it was cruel to change their mind at the last minute simply because it wasn't convenient for their schedule. However, I also think that the woman put her family on the spot - a spot I would have hated to be in. I believe that she needed them to say talk up how much she needed the surgery, in order to be chosen.

[Nachum]

If You Wanna Be Happy
Jimmy Soul

If you wanna be happy for the rest of your life
Never make a pretty woman your wife
So for my personal point of view
Get an ugly girl to marry you

If you wanna be happy for the rest of your life
Never make a pretty woman your wife
So for my personal point of view
Get an ugly girl to marry you

A pretty woman makes her husband look small
And very often causes his downfall
As soon as he married her and then she starts
To do the things that will break his heart

But if you make an ugly woman your wife
A-you'll be happy for the rest of your life
An ug-a-ly woman cooks meals on time
And she'll always give you peace of mind

If you wanna be happy for the rest of your life
Never make a pretty woman your wife
So for my personal point of view
Get an ugly girl to marry you

Sax solo

Don't let your friends say you have no taste
Go ahead and marry anyway
Though her face is ugly, her eyes don't match
Take it from me, she's a better catch

If you wanna be happy for the rest of your life
Never make a pretty woman your wife
So for my personal point of view>br> Get an ugly girl to marry you

Spoken:
Say man!
Hey baby!
I saw your wife the other day!
Yeah?
Yeah, an' she's ug-leeee!
Yeah, she's ugly, but she sure can cook, baby!
Yeah, alright!

If you wanna be happy for the rest of your life
Never make a pretty woman your wife
So for my personal point of view
Get an ugly girl to marry you

If you wanna be happy for the rest of your life
Never make a pretty woman your wife
So for my personal point of view
Get an ugly girl to marry you

If you wanna be happy for the rest of your life
Never make a pretty woman your wife
So for my personal point of view
Get an ugly girl to marry you

If you wanna be happy for the rest of your life
Never make a pretty woman your wife
So for my personal point of view
Get an ugly girl to marry you

[Cowboy Bob]

But when the ABC reality show dumped the Texas mom the night before the life-changing plastic surgeries, it shattered her family's dream and triggered her sister Kellie McGee's suicide, says a bombshell lawsuit filed in L.A. Superior Court.

Strange, but she wasn't ugly enough to prevent her from getting married and having a couple of kids.

[ladyinred]

These shows are just beyond belief, and finally someone has died as a result of them. The fascination with reality based shows has perplexed me for quite some time. One freak show after another is entertainment now? Encouraging family members to trash one and another has finally taken its toll.

[Heatseeker]

The only reason I ever watched MTV. I understand they're bringing out a new version of the show but without creator Eric Fogel, on MTV2.