Jake

[opinionista]

No offense but I just don't see why Jake has to make a public statement about Heath passing away. I don't think he does. Even though both Heath and him are public personalities it is still a private matter. The nature of their friendship was private. Not even Michelle has to make such a statement. Heath's family already made one and that should be enough. IMO that is.

[Mikaela]

Yeah, I think Heath and Jake are connected in such a profound way now...  I just can't help but feel the real urge to hear from Jake.  It's almost like I'm sort of waiting for that as some kind of move towards closure.

Yes, I think all of us feel a bit like that, even if we don't think it's fair to Jake.
I suspect Jake knows that too - he and Heath together form one of the cultural iconic landmark images of our time....

Perhaps the knowledge that people may subconsciously be looking to him for some kind of closure, some profound statement to - somehow - make some sense of this, or convey some confort, or pay a tribute that becomes the one tribute that remains for the ages -   may make it even more difficult for him to handle his own grief. I'm sure he's just as distraught, just as disbelieving, just as shaken as are we all.  

Maggie Gyllenhaal must also be very deeply affected... she knew Heath well from before and then they just finished filming TDK together....

I'm sure both will say some words in due course, they will inevitably be asked to do so the first time they appear in public. So I hope they take all the time they need to grieve in private first.

[souxi]

No offense but I just don't see why Jake has to make a public statement about Heath passing away. I don't think he does. Even though both Heath and him are public personalities it is still a private matter. The nature of their friendship was private. Not even Michelle has to make such a statement. Heath's family already made one and that should be enough. IMO that is.

I agree with you. I don,t see why he should make any kind of statement. What could he possibly say? I think his wishes should be respected and he should be left alone to grieve for his friend. He must be in pieces. I should think the last thing he wants to do is face the press. Poor Jake. ((((((((((((Jake))))))))))).

[mvansand76]

No offense but I just don't see why Jake has to make a public statement about Heath passing away. I don't think he does. Even though both Heath and him are public personalities it is still a private matter. The nature of their friendship was private. Not even Michelle has to make such a statement. Heath's family already made one and that should be enough. IMO that is.

Nobody said he HAS to make a statement, we only said it would somehow be comforting to have him make a statement. I think we made quite clear that we don't expect him to make a statement, but that somehow, weirdly, we hope he will. It's not something rational, it's a feeling.

[serious crayons]

No offense but I just don't see why Jake has to make a public statement about Heath passing away. I don't think he does. Even though both Heath and him are public personalities it is still a private matter. The nature of their friendship was private. Not even Michelle has to make such a statement. Heath's family already made one and that should be enough. IMO that is.

He doesn't have to. But Jake is pretty high profile, a regular on talk shows, etc., so inevitably he's going to get asked about Heath. As Amanda says, the two are just so indelibly connected now. If he doesn't say anything at all, just goes on talk shows and jokes around, people may think something's amiss. So he might as well make a statement that he can compose carefully, on his own time.

However, I'm not pinning my hopes too high that it will make me feel a lot better. What can he say? Just stuff we already know, I think -- how much he respected Heath, what a nice guy and fine actor he was, etc.

Now Michelle I don't think should even be expected to say anything at all publicly.

[Brown Eyes]

Nobody said he HAS to make a statement, we only said it would somehow be comforting to have him make a statement. I think we made quite clear that we don't expect him to make a statement, but that somehow, weirdly, we hope he will. It's not something rational, it's a feeling.

Thanks Mel.  Yes, this is exactly what I mean.

It would be comforting to me to hear from Jake.  That's all I'm saying.  I don't know why... but I just feel that way.  I don't think he should be pressured or should have to make any statement while the grief is so fresh, shocking and raw.  But, eventually, I think it would be nice.

And, I also agree with what Katherine said... that it might actually be sort of awkward for him to continue with normal press routines without saying something.

I also agree, that I'm sure he inevitably will be asked in interviews about this whenever he does press for his upcoming movies.

[delalluvia]

No, no one is saying Jake must make a statement, but like the Royal family after Princess Diana's death, sometimes society's expectations of the behavior of public figures takes precedence.  Jake will make a statement, sooner or later, it's inescapable for him being who he is and his connection to the Ledgers. 

[SFEnnisSF]

He (Jake) and Heath together form one of the cultural iconic landmark images of our time....

[ednbarby]

I agree with you, Natali.

And you know what infuriates me (among other things) thinking about all this now?  That poor Jake probably would have liked to have gone to the funeral home and/or to Perth to pay his respects, but his fame and the media make that all but impossible for him.  Think about it - if he showed up at either place, it would become a media circus, and his appearance there would become the punchline of several assholes' jokes, just as apparently Heath's death has.  All because they're shameless homophobes and because the two of them happened to star together in a movie that not only depicted homosexuals *realisitically*, but that gained critical acclaim and was widely viewed because of that.

Again, it infuriates me.

And not only does Jake not have to make a statement, he must know he shouldn't, because this same bullshit will happen all over again.  It's not self-preservation - I'm sure he's thinking of the family.  But it really, really sucks.

[David]

Hey Barb,

     Jake can always go pay his respects to the family and gravesite after the hoopla dies down.

Dontcha just want to run over to Jake and hold him and say :"C'mere, S'alright"......