To expect life to treat you good is as foolish as hoping the bull won’t charge you because you’re vegetarian – Comedian Roseanne Barr 

What price fame?

Not much if you are in Detroit, apparently. 

Alexander Morris plans to sue a local hospital for alleged misconduct. It may be an open and shut case: the hospital wants to remain open  but Alex wants to get enough damages to compel it to shut up shop.  

Alex knew he shouldn’t have gone to that particular hospital because he’d read the signs. There were two. One was near the Emergency area, where he’d headed, and it was gratuitous: “No matter where you go, there you are.”  

The other, on the way to the bathrooms,  was surreal: “Things are more like they are now than they ever were before.” 

Indeed, he was half-expecting Rod Serling to step out suddenly to intone: “You’re travelling through another dimension, a dimension not only of sight and sound but of mind….”

In real life, Alex Morris was the lead singer of the 1950s rhythm and blues band the Four Tops. It’s a famous group and even features in the city’s Motown Museum.  

Unfortunately, the hospital staff were pretty cynical. Nor did he look around 80 which is what he should have looked like if he’d been a founder member of the group.

In short, he wasn’t believed.

Nurse 1: “What’s your name and what’s the problem?”?

Morris (gasping): “I’m Alexander Morris, the lead singer of the Four Tops.”

Nurse 1: (rolls her eyes): Yes, and I’m Dolly Parton.”

Doctor 1: He could be nuts. Schizophrenia?  

Nurse 1: “You’re just jealous because the voices only talk to him.” 

In his suit, Morris claimed that he was placed under restraint with doctors even ordering him to undergo a psychiatric evaluation. 

Incidentally he’d gone to hospital after suffering chest pains and shortness of breath. It’s not easy to prove you’re a famous singer when you can’t quite breathe.  

Indeed, it’s quite easy for those problems to be exacerbated in the face of cynicism, scepticism or disbelief. 

Did I mention the singer is black? 

An outraged Morris has filed a lawsuit last Monday against Ascension Macomb-Oakland Hospital in Warren, Detroit, alleging racial discrimination and other misconduct during an April 2023 visit for chest pain and breathing problems.

Hospital staff “wrongfully assumed he was mentally ill when he revealed his identity as a celebrity figure,” the lawsuit says.

The Four Tops started in the 1950s and had hits such as I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch) and It’s The Same Old Song. The group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990.Morris is not an original member, but joined the group in 2019.

The lawsuit says a nurse finally believed Morris was in the Four Tops and the psychological exam was cancelled.

The hospital offered a US$25 gift card as an apology, but Morris, not unreasonably, refused to accept it.

Morris and the hospital will now have their fates decided by 12 people who weren’t smart enough to get out of jury duty. 

That is why a court of law in the United States is a place where a suit is pressed and one party may be taken to the cleaners. 

ENDS