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OK, how much is too much? When it comes to finding out about the personal lives of celebrities I think we have reached that overkill point. It has gotten to be that unless a person in the public eye wants to have any type of privacy they must become a recluse.
Sure you can present the argument that they chose to be celebrities and by doing so have given up their right to a normal existence. That by becoming a public figure their lives become public as well, but come on enough is enough. When I turn on the news I want to hear what is going on in the world, not what some actor, athlete, or musician did in his or her off time. If I am in that kind of a mood I will turn on Entertainment Tonight or Access Hollywood, not the evening news.
It has its place and I do enjoy hearing the scoop on some entertainers. Most anyone who is into film, sports, or music does, but within the proper venue and in moderation. When it becomes an obsession, like we are seeing more and more lately, it’s time to put on the brakes. The biggest problem seems to be that in these days of “reality” TV, if you can even call it that anymore, there is becoming a blurring of the line between what is legitimate news reporting and tabloid reporting.
Tell me, at this point in time do we really need anybody to point out that Michael Jackson has a problem or two? Does this really qualify as news? If not, then why am I seeing him every night on the evening news? We have all seen his bad judgment demonstrated over the last decade, but it doesn’t belong as the lead story on the news, especially with everything else that is going on in the world.
Every time this guy passes gas it’s front-page news, and he hasn’t even had a hit album in years. Don’t get me wrong, he is still one of the most talented people on the planet, but his current status in the pantheon of entertainers doesn’t warrant this type of coverage.
Granted he hasn’t exactly been helping his own cause much lately and I would never profess to be able to understand what the hell is going on in his head. Frankly, nowadays it’s got to be pretty frightening in there. In what is becoming a long line of bad choices, giving that interview to Martin Bashir was one of the dumbest things he has ever done. Michael, if you want to act bizarre the best advice would be, stay at home, ride the rides at Neverland, and avoid the press at all times. Don’t put your hand in the tank with the piranhas, unless you want to get bit.
The most ridiculous obsession of late would be all the wasted time spent speculating about when and if Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez will get married. WHO CARES? I’m sorry but these two are not Bogie and Bacall or Richard and Elizabeth. They’re certainly a cute couple. After all, according to People magazine he is this year’s “Sexiest Man Alive” and she is, well, the derriere of the decade. Given Jenny from the Block’s nuptial history and her age, I don’t see this as being her last trip down the aisle.
What is really getting to be irritating about this one is that once they announced their engagement the reporters didn’t seem to believe them and continue to prod them about when the wedding will be. It has become almost a punch line to a lame joke that they are continually being asked the same questions over and over again. So move on, they said they were getting married, and no way are they going to tell you parasites where or when.
For years I have always viewed the European press, and especially the British press, as the most invasive groups of weasels on the planet. They have long demonstrated a complete lack of concern for other people’s privacy and safety. Their over zealous tactics even contributed to the death of Princess Diana. If you ever see a tape of any celebrity while in Europe you know what I mean.
They swarm around like a mass of locust thrusting their cameras in the faces of whomever they are hunting down that day. I mean how many pictures do you need of Catherine Zeta-Jones and hubby Michael Douglas walking out of a courthouse?
What is becoming scary is that our press seems to be following suit and while they have not quite gotten there yet, it’s only a matter of time if it continues to go unchecked. While Europe as a whole can’t seem to decide on anything together, see the Euro Dollar and the current division about Iraq as examples, all we here in America need to do is pass a couple of privacy laws and hopefully that will keep the wolves from the door.
Until that day comes I guess the majority of celebrities will have to take a page out of the “Phil Spector How To Be A Recluse Handbook,” except I suggest leaving the guns out of equation.
The Shrub Speaks: “And I think unless the United Nations shows some backbone and courage, it will render the -- it could render the Security Council irrelevant. And that's a danger, in dealing with the new threats that the civilized world faces. We face terrorism, we face the idea of people having nukyular arms.” Washington, D.C., Feb. 18, 2003
-- He’s the President of the United States, when will he ever learn to pronounce the word nuclear?
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