On the off chance that anyone reading this may be able to get in touch with Ryan or Redmond O'Neil or w/ Farrah Fawcet, here's what I'd want to say to any of them.
Think it over.
If ya'll are on the same page and decide it's worth it to go public with your very personal story, then go for it. Your celebrity can go a very long way toward helping some of these families who've not yet gotten caught in the WWASP net. Know that, as long as you remain silent, Ken Lay is capitalizing on your celebrity and paying you no royalties. I bet Princess Di rolls over in her grave whenever the Straightlings trott out that old 60 Minutes segment where they sort of tricked her into a photo op. I understand that she was pissed and did not approve of what she saw in there at all.
OTOH, if ya'll are not together on this, four square for each other against all others, you probably shouldn't open this can of worms. To the public, I think it would turn out as just another fucked up celebrity family story.
Not that the rest of us out in TV land aren't equally fucked up, if not worse. But people tend to be jealous and love to pillory people like you who they perceive as priviledged and better than they are. Either way, it can get ugly. The question is only whether or not, in your case, it's worth it.
BTW, I read that Ryan did the smart thing and stacked all that cheese in lucrative real estate investments. So he doesn't need the money or publicity or anything. I hope that's true and more power to ya' man!
Some mornings, it's just not worth chewing through the leather straps.
-- Emo Phillips
