Even reporting on this makes me sick: a shocking video of Heath Ledger snorting cocaine at a party has surfaced (read: Entertainment Tonight bought it for $200,000).

The video, set to air on ET tonight, has since been pulled, out of respect for Ledger’s family.

I’m sure ET was being respectful when they bought the footage in the first place.

The hullabaloo surrounding Legder’s death is spinning out of control. Drugs, of course, were the dealbreaker in his demise; that much we know. But unearthing an old video of him indulging in the drug of denial doesn’t reveal anything new or relevant to anybody. It does, however, prove the entire affair is just a CASH-IN FOR BOTTOM-FEEDING TABLOID NAZIS.

There’s no sympathy for the dead in the land of “top story” blogs and “exclusive photo” paps. Hell, I’m guilty as charged as well - I’m letting this bother me enough to blog about it.

Exploiting the death of Ledger through “final pictures,” “exclusive interviews” and “shocking videos” is disgusting. I follow suit in reporting this because, well, you want to read about it. It’s “news,” right?

Here’s an idea, bloggers and readers: go outside. Do something relevant. Get the f** away from the computer for a moment and stop obsessing over celebrities.

The latest scandal involving a talking head stepping over the line features Fox News host John Gibson, who mocked the recent death of Heath Ledger on his radio show.

Gibson, being the upstanding Christian he is, bashed Ledger early and often on his program, playing funeral music in the background while airing clips of the actor’s performance in Brokeback Mountain, poking fun at each one. For example, Ledger’s line in Brokeback Mountain (”I wish I could quit you”) was followed by Gibson’s snarky remark, “Well, he found out how to quit you.”

The talk show host even dealt low-blows towards Ledger’s death during unrelated news pieces, like when talking about the recent stock market drop and the Democratic debate in South Carolina.

Smooth moves, a**hole.

Hear the choice audio clips from the show here.