(NaturalNews) Super Olympian swimmer Michael Phelps has been caught in photographs depicting him partying and smoking a bong. The media is going crazy over the issue, calling Phelps a "pot head" and suggesting that his tens of millions of dollars in celebrity endorsements will now vanish. Corporate America, of course, doesn't want to associate itself with a pot smoker. So much for all the big corporate sponsorship deals.
You can see the photos of Michael Phelps expertly lighting up a bong here:
http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/news/150832/14-times-Olympic-gold-medal-w...But I part ways with the
mainstream media over all this. I was far more outraged when I saw
Michael Phelps plugging McDonald's
restaurants than seeing him
smoking a bong. His bong smoking, after all, was a private affair (at least until the photo was snapped), while his endorsement of
junk food and processed foods was intentionally made public for promotional purposes.
Not that I endorse his pot smoking, either, but at least he wasn't intentionally doing it for the cameras. You'll
never see a picture of the Health Ranger smoking a bong, by the way, because I've never smoked a bong in my entire life -- something that many people find impossible to believe, especially given that I support the ending of the War on Drugs in
America and the legalization and regulation of medical marijuana.
But there's even more to this story:
News of the World reports that there was an attempted bribe (of sorts) offered to them by the agency representing Michael Phelps, known as
Octagon. There, spokesperson Clifford Bloxham reportedly offered
News of the World an "extraordinary deal" to yank the story, including making Phelps their columnist for three years, getting Phelps to host events, and even finding new sponsors to advertise with the online magazine and pay them
money!
In return for this special treatment, Bloxham reportedly asked
News of the World to kill the story, saying, "It's seeing if something potentially very negative for Michael could turn into something very positive for the News of the World."
The sleaze machine behind Phelps
This kind of sleazy deal-making is not going to portray Phelps in a positive light. Not only was the guy caught partying and smoking a bong, but now his agency is blatantly caught in a sleaze-slinging deal that attempted to censor the media in order to protect Phelps' dark secrets.
(This kind of thing goes on all the time, of course, with the mainstream media. Just imagine what kind of pull Big Pharma has over the press...)
This story continues below the photo. (Photo courtesy of News of the World, which deserves full credit for breaking this story (
http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk).
Is Phelps smoking crack? Or is it just pot?
I have previously published strong criticism of Phelps, calling him a "sellout" for serving as an ambassador of
McDonald's restaurants (http://www.naturalnews.com/023930.html). In that article, you can see photos of Phelps hawking McDonald's food for
children.
Nobody got outraged about that in the media, of course. To most people, pushing junk
food that compromises the
health of children is fine. But smoking a bong that harms no one else is an outrage! (This sort of tells you how skewed American values are these days, huh?)
Phelps has also taken money to endorse sugary breakfast cereals for children. In August of last year, I publicly offered to serve as Phelps' nutritionist to get him on a healthier diet and boost his performance for the 2012 Olympics (http://www.naturalnews.com/023931.html). Not surprisingly, I never heard a word from Phelps' agents. They seemed to be a whole lot busier scrambling up some million-dollar paid
endorsements for Phelps.
Well now the world has come to see in Phelps what I saw from the very beginning: That
Phelps is a false hero who serves as a terrible role model for children. Phelps is a freakishly good swimmer with lousy ethics and an astounding lack of morality. He takes money to push products that arguably harm the health of children, and he's apparently been partying hard, pouring drinks for all the girls, slamming down booze and smoking up some weed.
One source from the
News of the World article says about Phelps, "You could tell Michael had smoked before. He grabbed the bong and a lighter and knew exactly what to do. He looked just as
natural with a bong in his hands as he does swimming in the pool. He was the gold medal winner of bong hits."
Again, I don't have an issue with Phelps smoking a bong in a bar, but the rest of the world does, and now the rest of the world considers Phelps a total loser... for all the wrong reasons.
Now, it seems, Phelps will be taking a big hit, and I don't mean the bong kind. He'll be taking this hit in the pocketbook, potentially costing him tens of millions of dollars in paid endorsements.
And that, friends, makes Michael Phelps' toke the
most expensive bong hit in the history of the world!Summary: The world freaks out over Phelps privately smoking a bong, but they're fine with him publicly promoting junk foods to children. What's wrong with this picture? It is the public, I think, that's on
drugs here…
About the author: Mike Adams is a consumer health advocate and award-winning journalist with a mission to teach personal and planetary health to the public He is a prolific writer and has published thousands of articles, interviews, reports and consumer guides, impacting the lives of millions of readers around the world who are experiencing phenomenal health benefits from reading his articles. Adams is a trusted, independent journalist who receives no money or promotional fees whatsoever to write about other companies' products. In 2010, Adams launched NaturalNews.TV, a natural health video site featuring videos on holistic health and green living. He's also the CEO of a highly successful email newsletter software company that develops software used to send permission email campaigns to subscribers. Adams volunteers his time to serve as the executive director of the Consumer Wellness Center, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, and enjoys outdoor activities, nature photography, Pilates and martial arts training. Known as the 'Health Ranger,' Adams' personal health statistics and mission statements are located at www.HealthRanger.org
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Saturday, January 31, 2009
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