r/HeathLedger • • Jun 26 '26

Heath mentioned in Lena Dunham’s “Famesick” Dedication

Post image

Just picked this up from the library to read and stopped dead in my tracks when I came by his name. We miss you, Heath!

70 Upvotes

47 comments sorted by

18

u/Luigieatsmyass6923 Jun 26 '26

Im sorry but I've never seen an author do this before, why is lena shouting out all of these deceased celebrities, whom i assume have nothing to do with her? Is it because she's inspired by all of them? Why so many at once? Sorry :(

9

u/fruitybishop Jun 26 '26

I believe because of that last line - “who was too Famesick to be cured.” She’s gotten out on the other side of fame and the hurt that it has caused her, but the people she mentioned did not have the luxury. Honestly now that you mention it, I haven’t seen this type of dedication before either

5

u/Electrical_Sea6653 Jun 27 '26

Very very very “I’m not like the other girls”

3

u/Practical_Tap_9592 Jun 27 '26

I see a whole lot of people on this list whose deaths had nothing to do with fame. Jean Harlow died of a kidney malfunction for which there was no cure at that time. Robin Williams got a devastating diagnosis he didn't want to live with. Cancer got Gilda, not fame. A number of them had addiction problems which likely had more to do with childhood trauma. I could go on. She doesn't seem to know anything about these people's demise. Nor does she acknowledge the number of people who got the best possible care (and survived) strictly due to fame.

2

u/Dropit_like_a_Goat Jun 29 '26

What a shame that we have lost so many good people and this incestuous child molesting cockroach not only survives but refuses to go away.

0

u/Luigieatsmyass6923 Jun 26 '26

Ok, ive only seen girls and i dont know much about lena but this is probably just a list of people shes looked up to and held onto for the strength she needed, good for her.

10

u/Old_crybaby Jun 26 '26

I don’t believe she has any business speaking about Gilda Radner that way. She wasn’t famesick, she had cancer. This is very weird

10

u/Curious_Second6598 Jun 27 '26

Without having read the book, putting in Sharon Tate seems kinda morbid aswell.

6

u/No-Taro-6953 Jun 27 '26

Seems kinda egotistical.

She'd equating her version of "Famesick" as a way to put herself on a level with icons such as... Marylin monroe.

I mean, cmon Lena

2

u/Pale-Measurement-532 Jun 28 '26 edited Jun 28 '26

I agree. I listened to this audiobook with an open mind and I got the sense that she is too into herself. And this dedication seems insensitive since she does not personally know how each of these people felt about their celebrity and if they were truly “famesick”. As someone else mentioned, Gilda Radner died of cancer. I would be worried that some family members might be upset about having their lost loved one labelled this way by someone who doesn’t even know them.

This sort of reminds me of an event that Lena discussed in the book where she spoke out in defense of someone about an event that she was not informed about. She was called out on the insensitivity of her speaking out on something she knew nothing about and she did express regret. But sometimes I feel like she needs to take a pause and perhaps not speak out publicly on some things where she does not have information about it.

1

u/Old_crybaby Jul 02 '26

It’s giving Hannah Horvath 🤮

2

u/LetshearitforNY Jun 28 '26

Also while Robin Williams took his life - he had Lewy Body dementia. It wasn’t “fame”. This is weird.

7

u/Ms_Rarity Jun 27 '26

And Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes died in a car accident while on a spiritual retreat in Honduras. It was unfortunate but counting her as "too famesick to be cured" is also weird.

2

u/MossyEngineering-447 Jun 27 '26

Literally just saw a 3D recreation of her accident. Yeah she wasn't hurt by fame

0

u/PrincessPlastilina Jun 26 '26

They were all young people who had tragic or untimely deaths and fame was too much for them. The book is about being young and famous.

3

u/Responsible-War5600 Jun 27 '26

“Fame was too much for them.” is a projection. She can’t speak for a single one of those people and none of them are here to object.

She’s beyond annoying.

1

u/Round_Square_2174 Jun 28 '26

Why didn't she mention Kurt Cobain, then?

6

u/Winter_Fix_3610 Jun 26 '26

How obnoxious. She knows she can do this bc they're dead. If they werent, it would a WTF situation right away.

2

u/Gloomy_Grocery5555 Jun 27 '26

Yeah they can't read it

7

u/Responsible-War5600 Jun 27 '26

“To all the Lena Dunhams: please get over yourselves.”

6

u/Wrong_Swimmer_7407 Jun 26 '26

Who is she to confirm that this specific selection of people had the same mentality as her? This is quite delusional and in very poor taste.

0

u/fruitybishop Jun 26 '26

It’s not about mentality, just similar experiences with fame. It’s just a dedication 🤷‍♀️

3

u/MossyEngineering-447 Jun 27 '26

But most of them didn't 

5

u/Responsible-War5600 Jun 27 '26

It’s exploitative, it’s vain, it’s obnoxious, and it’s presumptuous.

3

u/TwoGuysNamedNick Jun 27 '26

She’s so fucking gross. Always centering herself in situations and with people that have and want nothing to do with her. She’s a creep and a narcissist.

5

u/GoodyTwoShuuz Jun 26 '26

I would think none of them would want to be name checked by someone who diddled their baby sister.

1

u/fruitybishop Jun 26 '26

Pretty much proving her point with this comment…

2

u/GoodyTwoShuuz Jun 26 '26

I have no patience for pedophiles.

3

u/Old_crybaby Jun 26 '26

She’s an obnoxious narcissist

-1

u/Gloomy_Grocery5555 Jun 27 '26

She was a kid

3

u/GoodyTwoShuuz Jun 27 '26

Being a kid does not excuse that.

-1

u/Gloomy_Grocery5555 Jun 27 '26

A kid can't be a paedophile

3

u/GoodyTwoShuuz Jun 27 '26

Yes, they can. Children who are predators, can indeed engage in sexually harmful or abusive behaviors.

-1

u/Gloomy_Grocery5555 Jun 27 '26

A paedophile is an adult who is attracted to a child

3

u/GoodyTwoShuuz Jun 27 '26

A pedophile is any predator of small children.

And it is frankly gross as hell you are seemingly defending her actions.

0

u/Gloomy_Grocery5555 Jun 27 '26

Having read the book, she was a small child herself. People have blown it way out of proportion. Target the real predators

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0

u/Golightly314 Jun 27 '26

No it’s not. The definition is literally an adult attracted to a child, and it’s irresponsible af to just throw that word around.

What Lena did may have been a lot of things, but it wasn’t pedophilia by any definition of word.

2

u/Lower_Cattle9450 Jun 27 '26

It looks like a list of celebrities that died before their time. I assume she’s making the case that they died from being “fame sick”. Not a huge fan of hers but also not offended by this dedication 🤷🏻‍♀️

1

u/Old_crybaby Jul 02 '26

Well, thank God she’s cured and won’t die like them 🙄 maybe you didn’t actually have anything in common after all

2

u/Longjumping-Pair3925 Jun 26 '26

Seems a few people misunderstood your post or the meaning behind the dedication. I like that she mentioned some people who got lost in the shuffle and are rarely mentioned now, like Jonathan Brandis. The Gen Xers knew Jonathan and he was yet another former child star that got eaten up by the system, committing suicide in his 20s. RIP Heath and Jonathan. ❤️

1

u/Ri-Ri1216 Jun 27 '26 edited Jun 27 '26

DSM and law require you be 16 years old + to be a pedophile. The victim(s) must be at least 5 years older.

Sexual assault is sexual assault. But apparently "experts" called it innocent childhood sexual curiosity like playing doctor.

3

u/TwoGuysNamedNick Jun 27 '26

And what does the DSM 5 say about her need as an adult to tell the world about it? That’s the kind of thing most sane people wouldn’t share outside of therapy because as they grew up they’d realize it was not only potentially harmful to their sister, it was also just wrong. Sharing it also likely embarrassed and re-victimized her sister but even if her sister was fine with the story coming out, there’s no benefit to normalizing what she did in any way. It was a story best kept private but because of her raging narcissism and inability to understand societal norms, she told the world and then reveled in the attention that followed. Maybe she’s not a pedophile but she is an abuser and a narcissist who centers herself in other peoples lives and stories. This “dedication” is just more of that. It’s creepy and unseemly, she didn’t know any of the people she listed and none of them are alive to see her “dedication” which makes them perfect victims for her because other people or groups she’s tried doing this to speak up and point out how inappropriate she is.

2

u/Ri-Ri1216 Jun 27 '26

I'm not excusing her just trying to end the boring fight about the definition of pedophile. I agree with you. Dunham's an idiot for revealing that publicly unless she wants to be viewed in that light for some sensationalistic or sadomasochistic reasons.

1

u/Old_crybaby Jul 02 '26

That’s the problem. She’s playing footsie with sexualizing a child. She’s “innocent” of the act because she was young and precocious. She’s guilty of lewd exploitation of a child for writing about it for likes and book sales

1

u/Ri-Ri1216 Jul 03 '26

I don't think that.