Amber Ryland will never forget those first few days after Brittany Murphy‘s death.
The former Radar Online reporter looks back at that time in the new HBO Max documentary What Happened, Brittany Murphy?.
It was December 2009, and the world had learned of Murphy’s sudden death a few days prior. Ryland was covering the news.
“The amount of reporters and paparazzi sort of dwindled off and we stayed,” she recalled in a sneak peek of the film. “We were told to stay, spent the night in my car. It was almost 24/7.”
Then, on Christmas Day, Ryland received a call from her boss, who she said instructed her to buy a bouquet of flowers and bring them to Murphy’s house. When she rang the doorbell, Murphy’s husband, Simon Monjack, answered.
“I said, ‘Merry Christmas. I’m just so sorry about Brittany,'” she remembered. “I said, ‘My card’s there if you want to talk but no pressure.'”