Edwards' disappearance attracted a great deal of media attention. Caitlin Moran, writing in "The Times", commented that Edwards became "a cause celebre among depressives, alcoholics, anorexics, and self-mutilators, because he was the first person in the public eye to talk openly about these subjects, not with swaggering bravado and a subtext of 'look how tortured and cool I am', but with humility, sense and, often, bleak humour". Moran dismissed the mainstream media's narrative, which was geared towards the idea that Edwards inspired copycat actions in fans.