The German word “schadenfreude” is defined as deriving pleasure from the misfortune of others, and this week, following on the heels of Teresa and Joe Giudice’s indictments, a former “friend” of the Housewives of New Jersey showed all of us how deeply disturbing such a mindset can be. For three solid days, KimG has taken to Twitter, awakened by her crypt keepers, to spew some of the most vile and obnoxious sentiments regarding the matter. Evil delight is what comes to mind when you read her vitriol, with a heavy emphasis on evil.
There’s nothing to be gained by repeating them here. Most of us who follow reality shows and the news about the Giudices already know about her messages. To garner even more attention, she linked her gleeful missive to bloggers and other websites, including one run by her partner in crime, someone by the name of Tom Murro. I have no idea who Murro is, but it appears as if he fancies himself a journalist. He runs a website called “Celebrity Magnet”, which is full of pictures of him with all sorts of celebrities, big names and small, looking like he was running all over the place, photo-bombing people at various events. His bio, which I found at examiner.com, reads as follows – “Tom Murro was once just an ordinary guy from New Jersey, until the fateful day he met President Barack Obama, and discovered that he had the unlikely power to attract celebrities like a magnet. Using his magnetic powers only for good, he will share his celebrity experiences and photos right here…” See that, he’s using his magnetic powers only for good. I think he forgot about that.
We’ve seen a lot of bad blood between cast members on reality television, and a lot more grudge matches. Then there are times when even the worst enemies find a way to just shut up and let things play out without piling on more misery, and, perhaps, saving themselves from looking like even bigger fools. KimG and her bestie Tom haven’t gotten that message or perhaps they got a memo from Jill Zarin on how to trash people even when they’re no longer a part of your life and are going through rough times. It’s ironic, in a way, that these two find themselves in such a lofty position, one which entitles them to sit in judgment and wish the most awful things on other people, mocking and laughing at a situation that will, in time and in due course, have its’ own real and life-changing consequences. Apparently the houses of Granatell and Murro are made of glass, they’ve lived their lives free of any flaws or misdeeds and they’ve been busy, gathering stones for a very long time.
As Granatell and Murro seem to think that their words matter, I found an interview from 2011*, given by KimG to Murro, in which she talked about her departure from the New Jersey franchise. She talks about how life has dealt her some bad hands of her own, finding out that she had brain cancer and the death of her mother, things that make most of us more introspective and understanding of other people’s problems. Instead, it looks as if she’s done nothing but dwell on whatever she perceives to be insult and injury suffered at the hands of her former cast-mates. It’s a bad, sad and bitter place to live, and one almost feels sorry for her mostly self-inflicted misery.
One philosopher called schadenfreude the most evil sin of human feeling, noting that envy is human but savoring schadenfreude is devilish. Not so surprisingly, it often occurs when people favor one political party over another and find themselves reveling in the foibles of a politician they dislike or disagree with. Scientists have studied schadenfreude – how and why people let it take them over. Their findings revealed evidence that it’s a combination of things which allow such feelings to rear their ugly heads. Brain waves showed that the part of the brain that controls empathy (come to think of it, those were some of the same things used to describe psychopaths and serial killer on “Dexter”) might be awry. There are also signs that people who feel lesser than, with low self esteem can experience it. Another paper talked about how someone can be envious of their target of schadenfreude. It’s all above my head, but it sounds as if it’s a real form of mental illness and one that can and should be treated. Or you end up being KimG.
All of us who follow reality TV have an opinion on the Giudices’ legal woes. That’s normal and natural, and the genre invites it. Outside of a few comments on Twitter, among other social media sites, the vast majority of people are not hoping that Teresa and Joe “rot in jail”, as KimG wished on them. I’d save that sentiment for someone like Ariel Castro, perhaps, someone who’s crimes are so awful that they leave one speechless and defy all rationale. For this particularly depraved man, it’s also a wish that’s going to come true – without any interference or assistance from us.
I know that KimG and Murro won’t give a rat’s patoot about what I have to say. This is the response she had for tweeps who asked her to cut it out –
@Kimgranatell I’M AS RICH AS SHIT –YOU CAN ALL KISS MY ASS!! HAHA!
Obviously, these two operate from a place that also defies reason. I only have one wish for them – that they’d take a moment to stare into the nearest mirror and see how they look right now. It ain’t pretty.
*This is her entire interview: http://www.examiner.com/article/kim-granatell-moves-on-from-the-housewives
Empress
realhousewifeofaiken 
“I’M AS RICH AS SHIT –YOU CAN ALL KISS MY ASS!! HAHA!”
It would take weeks to find it amid all the wrinkles…
I was thinking about something like this post as an aside to the story itself but, you beat me to it and did a far better job than I would have. I would have just ripped her apart …. maybe 😉
mth, I wasn’t going to write one, figuring I’d be giving her more time and energy than she’s worth, but she just got on my nerves with her nastiness this week. She really could learn some lessons about humility and walking in someone else’s shoes.
Don’t think for a minute that I didn’t give some thought to ripping her a new one. 🙂
LOL Empress your blog just cracked me up.
And it made me sad. KimG “…. had brain cancer and the death of her mother, things that make most of us more introspective and understanding of other people’s problems.”.
What a waste of her life’s energy after dodging the bullet!
Meh.
MTH – please do write your blog. I’d love to hear your thoughts on the subject.
“What a waste of her life’s energy after dodging the bullet!” Yes.
ITA re: MTH’s POV – Maybe we can start a campaign or a sign a petition or something. 😉
My thoughts exactly. I too, have dodged bullets. Battled brain disease for ten years (3 craniotomies) and I lost my mom and dad at age 13. Kim G talks the talk, but then behaves so shamefully apparently without any self awareness. I’ve seen this in other survivors as well. People who escape death and survive bad situations, and yet are not humbled by it or learning anything since. I’ve seen crummy bad people go through horrible times and near death and they came out OK – but the same crummy bad people they were. Nothing changes. Kim is in no place to lecture us. She has not evolved. Hating someone as much as she hates Teresa is so unhealthy and wrong. A LOT of people say “life is too short… blah blah blah” and they don’t know what the hell they’re talking about. They’re just flapping their gums trying to sound profound. We are all works in progress. Some more than others…
What a waste, indeed. Even before this whole battle began, I remember the first time I saw Kim on the show. My first impression: what a lovely, classy lady. She appears quite wealthy, too. Wonder why she’s friends with Danielle? This was my first impression. If you look at Kim, really look at her, she does have a beautiful face. When she climbed up on that stripper pole, that’s when I began to wonder about her doing this show when she has a fortune and can find fun all over the planet. Why is she degrading herself on that pole for a tv show? Not debating the whole pole thing, just saying it looked a bit ridiculous for her to do this and she had to know better. Then she betrayed Danielle and made a scene, and kind of spiraled downward from there.
And for what? Attention? Camera time?
I think when people do this, hate obsessively, they are doing this as a distraction from some pain they feel in their lives. It’s easier to focus on an enemy than to focus on yourself if you are not happy with yourself. Just my theory.
She is a horrible human being. I’m signing that petition Mel!
This is how the “magnet” met Obama.
http://www.northjersey.com/arts_entertainment/103191554_Stars_in_his_eyes__and_in_his_sights.html?mobile=1&ic=1&iphone=1
LOL! That explains a lot. I suppose “magnet” applies under some definition, and if you tilt your head, cross your eyes and stand on one leg. 😉
He’s an idiot.
He claims the celebs magnetize their selves to him — meaning: “I just attract them”
uh.. NO! You stalk them Tom.
LOL!
He’s a celebrity stalker
I’m really glad that you decided to write this blog, Empress. I seem to recall while I was living in Fort Lauderdale KimG came to town with Michael Lohan in tow. KimG needs another reality check. It is immoral to profit or get delight from the misery of others. I’ve known coal miners with more class. What a horrid woman. I wouldn’t let her pump out my septic tank.
KimG and Lindsay’s Dad always seem like a perfect pairing to me, given that he’d show up for the opening of an envelope if it meant he could extend his expired 15 minutes.
“I wouldn’t let her pump out my septic tank.” Well now, hold on. Who better for the job than a s**t stirrer? 😀
But would you let her start a hose siphon ? (anyone who ever had a mouth full of gasoline will know what I mean by that question)
SMH, the words are swirling around in my brain how insipid some people? are, no self-awareness.
“Tom Murro was once just an ordinary guy from New Jersey, until the fateful day he met President Barack Obama, and discovered that he had the unlikely power to attract celebrities like a magnet. Using his magnetic powers only for good, he will share his celebrity experiences and photos right here…” …Seriously….who describes himself that way? To put it in the politest manner, What a tool! So he’s going to spend his life trying to “brush with greatness” and become famous himself? What a waste of a life.
Kim G.’s level of hatred and vitriol is way beyond my comprehension. I just got through over a decade of someone suing my husband and I over a boundary line. He’s a lot like Kim G and did everything in his power to make us miserable. Bad mouthed us to all our other neighbors, threatened to call the cops on us constantly and told us to “open our wallets” because he was going to make us spend all our money. I made a conscious effort not to fall into the trap of hatred and revenge. Although it was stressful and expensive, I didn’t want to live my life in schadenfreude. In the end, he spent triple what we did just because he had so much hatred. When we won, the look on his face was revenge enough for me.
The only person Kim’s hurting is herself, she’s just too self-absorbed to realize it. How sad that she’s using this platform to become “famous”. Again, another pathetic waste of a life. It’s a shame when we can’t learn from our experiences and move forward as better people.
Thanks for posting Empress. I agree she’s not really worthy of this much print but it’s a good way to remind myself to be grateful for where I am. I don’t drive a Bentley or carry a Birkin bag but my heart is not full of scorn and ridicule either. I’d rather practice living with serenity than wishing schadenfreude on others.
“I’d rather practice living with serenity than wishing schadenfreude on others.” I think most of us would agree with you. BTW, she and Murro haven’t stopped and keep posting articles and comments, digging themselves a deeper hole by the second.
Bless their cold, dark hearts.
Bless their cold, dark, soulless hearts.
This was such a great blog. You are a wonderful writer and you captured the essence of this sad situation. Kim g needs a therapist who can help her to get over her hate. I’ve never seen such an evil display like this in my life. I actually feel sorry for her children even though she made a point of saying she didn’t feel sorry for the giudice children. She needs help! Or an exorcism!
Ella, thanks for your comment. She wasn’t satisfied with just saying that she didn’t feel sorry for the 4 girls. She made the comment that they’d actually be better off without their parents. ITA – an exorcism is in order.
Yes I saw the comment calling the children brats. I think we are watching an incredulous display of mental illness combined with evil. Narcissism has also been described as having these qualities. Schadenfreude was just such a great description of this woman. You could be famous with this post and make this word popular in the USA. I watched the inside edition interview and she sounded incoherent yet her hate and ugliness clearly showed through. There is no doubt in my mind this is a totally disturbed woman who has a classic case of NPD.
A friend and I were talking about schadenfreude the other day in relation to someone and something else – then KimG started her nonsense, and, well, she just seemed like a perfect example of what how it looks and sounds.
As for fame, I appreciate the vote of confidence but if it means that I’ll have to dress nicer and fix my hair and makeup to mow the lawn and grab the mail, I’ll take a pass. Besides, it could seriously cut into my nap times. 😀
Another great blog, Empress. In the end, Kim G is just another troll. Nice to see her called on bad behavior.
I was reading an article this morning that made a good point. “”We have long been entertained by watching violence happen to other people,” …. “It isn’t that the Internet has turned us into monsters. It has produced this online Colosseum where we can go and throw people to the lions ourselves.”
Just because we can, doesn’t mean we should.
Hey ladebra, If you can find that article again, I’d love to read it. You can link it here or email it to me – dannyshiba@yahoo.com. Thank you.
Beautifully said!
Thank you Bobbi. 🙂