Stepha Henry is a 22-year-old college grad from Miami who has been missingsince May 29.
MSNBC was scheduled to do a story about her case last week and lined up interviews with a police spokeswoman and with Miami Herald reporter David Ovalle.
But, oops ... something waaaaaaayyyyyyy more important happened that bumped Stepha Henry right off the broadcast schedule --- Paris Goes to Jail.
Orvalle was not a happy camper:
I'm livid. I agreed to conduct a last-minute interview with MSNBC about the case of missing Stepha Henry, the 22-year-old college grad who went missing May 29 from Miami-Dade. I rushed to MSNBC's studio but a few minutes before the interview, I was told that it was off -- Paris Hilton coverage was more important.
So was Miami-Dade police lead spokeswoman Linda O'Brien:
"I am upset because MSNBC called me and asked me to go to their studio in Broward County, 30 miles away from my office. I was there for a total of 45 minutes, was already seated and had the mic ready for the interview. As I waiting to be interviewed, I was listening to the Paris Hilton coverage to include discussion to the effect if anybody had seen or knew the whereabouts of her Chihuahua.
"Then they tell me they have to cut the piece, cut my interview because they’re doing constant coverage of Paris Hilton. I’m appalled that a missing woman cannot get even 60 seconds of air time because the priorities of MSNBC was to have footage of the front gates of Paris Hilton’s house. They asked me to come to the interview and I’m going out of my way to do every interview to keep in the public eye that Stepha Henry, a bright beautiful woman, is missing and we need help in this case."
In the comments section of the above blog, Stepha Henry's cousin, Natalie, wrote in:
I am extremely upset to hear this. Stepha Henry happens to be my cousin. It is upsetting to hear that MSNBC would rather cover news about a spoiled rich girl rather than my missing cousin. Stepha is in need of the publicity in order to get her case solved.
What Natalie, the police spokeswoman and the Miami Herald reporter don't realize is that America is far more interested in a spoiled rich girl who is a celebrity for no reason anyone can fathom and who screamed for her mommy as she was being hauled off to jail than they are about a recent college graduate with a degree in criminal justice with her whole life ahead of her.
Updated: Changed title from girl to woman.
Update 2: To add this video from MSNBC by way of Huffington Post with yelling in the background.
And this video of Jay Leno: