Jesse James Interview On Nightline – What?!
May 26, 2010
Jesse James spoke about his cheating and sex addiction, as well as childhood abuse, on Nightline
Did you catch the Jesse James interview on Nightline last night? If so, what did you think?
View a clip here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5dscSiJyh8
I’m still reeling from all the footage they showed of smiling, trusting Sandra Bullock at the awards shows thanking him for being so great, and telling him how hot he is. She must’ve felt like such a fool when that cheating scandal broke. But, hey, most of us gals have been in her shoes. Unfortunately, cheating men are at plague proportions in our society right now.
She made a decision. She married the bad boy. I’ve serious grappled with my own bad boy. Running away from him, running towards him. It’s been my longest uncommitted relationships, but more about that another time.
Prior to the show, my mother called. She said she didn’t believe the whole “sex addict” thing. Joy Behar was saying the same when the scandal broke. I had to disagree. I do believe that this is an addiction. After all, what is an addiction? It’s an uncontrollable compulsion that ruins your life. The addict also causes much pain to the people around him who love him.
And, an addiction is fueled by an underlying mental illness or a complete lack of self-esteem. These days I’m wondering if cheating is actually how Depression and Anxiety plays out in men. Women tend to isolate and eat or not eat. But men. They cheat. They get that high from the attention and they escape through the sex. I also think they get an adrenaline rush from the lying. It gives them a sense of power.
Therefore, it wasn’t a surprise to hear that Jesse James had an abusive childhood and that he thinks his behavior was his own attempt to sabotage himself. He admits that he didn’t think Sandra would stay with him and that it was too good to be true. I believe he’s telling the truth. Why or whether his intentions in doing the interview are pure is really not relevant. He did it. He told his side of the story.
Does his explanation excuse his behavior? Of course not. He was victimized as a child but as an adult he has the free will to make better decisions. Oprah was victimized as a child, too. She chose to do something positive with the experience. James knew right from wrong and a person has to take responsibility for his behavior. He did take responsibility. So did Tiger Woods. Unfortunately, these man can’t take back the pain they’ve caused.
It’s sad that there are so many men like this out there. It’s sad for them and it’s sad for the women that are looking to trust. I think they can be forgiven, but that doesn’t mean I’d want a relationship with them. And they illustrate a greater need for women to be self-protective and to remember that it takes a long time to really know someone. It takes a long time of observing behavior in different situations to really know a man’s character.
It comes back to the pressure that our society places on women to get married and have children. If you feel that you’re inadequate by being labeled a “spinster” or “barren” then you’ll make bad decisions. Is that what happened with Sandra Bullock? It might be. I mean she did seem to rush into the marriage and baby thing. She seemed to be pushing to build this perfect-happy-family thing for herself.
Somehow, that does seem to backfire on a lot of women.
