The newest twist on the Tiger Woods story is that an ambulance rushed someone — by some reports a middle-aged blonde haired woman — from the beset golfer’s home to the hospital. And it’s a twist that means this story will keep going and growing.
RadarOnline reports that the woman has now been released. The New York Daily News confirms the latest twist on the latest twist. But depending on the details that emerge about the latest twist, this could signal more problems for the golfer in the future. The New York Times has this:
One person was taken from the Florida residence of the golfer Tiger Woods to a hospital early Tuesday morning after emergency responders received a medical 911 call, local authorities said.
It was unclear who had been hospitalized, but it did not appear to be Mr. Woods. Local news reports described a middle-aged woman with blond hair being wheeled from an ambulance into the emergency room of Health Central Hospital in Ocoee, Fla., a short drive from Mr. Woods’s home in an upscale subdivision in Windermere.
David Hepker, division manager for fire administration of Orange County Fire Rescue, said he could not identify the patient and did not know what had prompted the call, nor did he know the condition of the person who had been taken to the hospital.
He said responders received the 911 call around 2:36 a.m. Eastern time on Tuesday.
It was the second time in recent weeks that authorities had been summoned to Mr. Woods’s home in the dead of night, and could add to the turmoil swirling around him. Mr. Woods crashed his sport-utility vehicle into a fire hydrant and a tree on a neighboring property around 2:30 a.m. on Nov. 27, an event that touched off a media frenzy and a flurry of claims by various women that they had affairs with Mr. Woods.
Note how the latest development fits into the previous on in terms of a news narrative. Here’s a news video on the latest developments:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1rMDh1oBIs&feature=player_embedded
The celebrity news website TMZ reports that it has confirmation that the call came from Wood’s house:
Here’s what we now confirm as the latest. A middle-aged, blond woman was taken to the hospital early this morning. We have now confirmed the call came from Tiger’s address. The spokesperson for Orange County Fire initially said the 911 call came from Tiger’s home but for some reason she later backed off that statement and said it might not be the same address. But, it is indeed Tiger’s address. We also know a younger blond woman followed the ambulance to the hospital. And, as we reported, Elin’s mom is in the U.S. to be with her daughter.
And:
But WKMG TV in Orlando is reporting someone was transported (see below) and a blonde woman in a black Escalade followed an ambulance from Deacon Circle to Health Central hospital — the same hospital that treated Tiger the night of his accident.
The Escalade’s vehicle tag is similar to the one that crashed — and, we know, Tiger has a second Escalade.
The nonpolitical celebrity blogs are following this closely. For instance, Gossip Cop:
Firefighters responded to an emergency call at 2:36 a.m. EST. And according to WESH 2 News, the NBC affiliate station in Orlando, the woman was taken to Health Central Hospital in Ocoee.
A radio log showed the woman initially refused to be taken to the hospital, but was later listed as “an advanced life support patient.”
This is the same hospital that Woods was transported to after his November 27 car crash.
Gossip Cop will follow these developments throughout the day, and will update you as soon as details emerge.
To see how all-over it the celebrity and gossip blogs are GO HERE.
The new and old media are now trying to find new tidbits on this story. So far there are allegations that Woods was admitted to the hospital the day after Thanksgiving as an OD, that he’s now linked to 10 women, that his wife moved out of his house and has bought a home in Sweden. There are also some allegations concerning things about Woods most people would rather not know. And yes — yew guessed it: Perez Hilton reports that naked pictures of the golfer may hit the web (just in time to beautifully illustrate your computer produced Christmas card).
The Washington Post’s Celebritolgy blog puts the Woods story on top:
Tiger Beat: On the same day Tiger Woods’s mother-in-law arrived from Sweden, a “middle-aged woman” was reportedly transported from Woods’s Orlando home to Health Central Hospital, the same hospital Woods himself was taken to on the Friday following Thanksgiving. No details have been released, but one report has the patient listed as requiring “advanced life support.” Local Orlando TV station WESH is reporting that Woods’s wife, Elin Nordegren, was seen leaving the hospital this morning. Meanwhile, more details about Woods’s state the night of his accident and alleged affairs continue to surface. See the Rumor Mill, below, for the latest in scuttle.
And here’s the Rumor Mill:
Rumor Mill: Tiger Woods admitted to hospital as OD on day after Thanksgiving, reports TMZ… Wife Elin Nordegren moves out… Playboy allegedly investigating X-rated Woods pix for authenticity… Mistress count up to 9, or is it 12?…
Why is this occurring?
Is there some big new and old media plot?
Are editors and writers rubbing their hands with delight saying “This is a great chance to take down Tiger Woods!”?
As most people who work in the media will attest: it doesn’t quite work that way.
What you have a case of a celebrity’s image (whether carefully constructed or just an image that the vast majority of people did not see, not knowing the celebrity’s private side) shattering. Since the media often builds up perpetuates an image, negative news will trigger a “he/she is hiding things from us and the public” gene in most journalists. Additionally, publicans, editors and reporters want to be next to uncover some new detail that will advance the story — so others cite, quote, attribute, or have to follow them. The question becomes: “This is hot story. Now, what can we do to advance it?”
In the past, this kind of story would be in the old newspaper gossip columns, or the tabloids. But since the 1980s, when the mainstream media felt it got badly scooped by the tabloids on the Gary Hart/Donna Rice scandal and had to follow suit, the news media is more apt to give these stories great play if they involve a major celebrity. Meanwhile, the tabloids and the mainstream media now also face competition from faster-to-get-out new media online websites. All three of these media components are competing for attention, readership/viewership and advertising revenues.
Just as in politics the unintentional narrative (there is no things to do checklist on this is): the media covers the rise of a celebrity; the media covers the celebrity as celebrity; the celebrity puts his or her foot in his or her mouth or, in the case of Woods, allegations involve other parts of the anatomy; the celebrity in crisis losing part of his/her market share, on-a-pedestal aura (a wild-eyed Tom Cruise jumping on a couch on national TV or harping on Scientology is jumping off a pedestal); the celebrity in decline; the celebrity makes a comeback (not likely in the case of OJ Simpson).
Reports all suggest a medical problem with the person rushed to the hospital. Now the questions will become why? What led up to it?
It’ll go on and on — and in the end the best thing for Woods might be to suspend his product endorsements and contracts, regroup, resolve his personal and marriage issues, play the kind of golf for which he is famous and become synonymous again with golf balls, then return return to a brighter limelight on his own terms — and carefully avoid unplanned spotlights unless he’s receiving an award in a darkened auditorium.
But for a while expect the story to keep going and going and going.
And, yes, the late night comedians are having a field day — even David Letterman.
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.