Celebrity Gossip Whats The Attraction

Have you ever found yourself enthralled by what goes on in the personal lives of celebrities? Well, you arent alone. A huge percentage of people all over the world look forward to opening up their magazine of choice and reading about what the famous are up to. In what new ways has Tom Cruise embarrassed himself? Has Britney Spears given birth yet? Are Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie sleeping in separate beds? For some reason, many humans find these things to be interesting.Celebrity gossip is a huge business. The photographers can earn literally thousands of dollars just for taking a picture of a celebrity. The magazines scrape together every little bit of info the can to come up with the newest rumors. The magazines are released to grocery store checkouts across the nation, and are quickly snapped up by shoppers eager to hear the latest.

The Celebrity is really an interesting phenomenon. Society has idolized people who are hardly more good-looking or charismatic than the average person. And individuals have followed this trend, and begun to be interested by the celebrity gossip that is everywhere. But when put into perspective, few people can come up with the true reason they are interested by it. So, ask yourself why you really enjoy reading the gossip magazines. If you cant come up with any valid reason, perhaps its time to rethink your priorities.

Where to get gossip on Paris Hilton

Next time you turn on the television, will Paris Hilton be there? Is there any doubt?

Google consistently ranks Paris Hilton in the top ten search terms. Celebrity can be it’s own hype machine, putting the starlet’s face in front of the audience so often it simulates it’s own buzz. Instead of journalists asking event based questions, now the normal procedure is to ask what is happening with our celebrity media darlings? What is Paris Hilton wearing? What is Paris Hilton doing? What is paris Hilton thinking?

The metamorphosis of entertainment media into a name dropping, celebrity centered industry was many years in the making. It is by no means a new phenomenon. TV Guide carried CHiPs photo spreads and in-depth news on Eric Estrada and that other guy for years, until Eric Estrada got deported. Any male child past puberty in the early eighties can relate to the Farrah Fawcett poster sensation. You either had the poster, or you didn’t have tennis elbow, there was no middle ground.

What has changed with the advent of celebrity status of Paris Hilton’s caliber and exposure is the abundance of information and photos on the celebrity in question. Fans can Google the subject of their desire and read every minute detail of their idols’ lives, from birth to modern day. In an age of information overload, celebrity privacy is nearly non-existent.

The only way to retain any vestige of privacy would be to completely sequester the celebrity from public view, in a tower in a distant land perhaps. Only those worthy of Paris Hilton’s attentions and affections on camera would be allowed to climb the rope spun and woven from her own back hair and enter the private chambers of Paris Hilton for an extravagant evening of wishing there was some food around instead of just hooch.

In any situation involving celebrity super stars like Paris Hilton, it would surely be wise to consider the ramifications of the overexposure endless gossip can bring. Being Google’s top search can be a curse, as Google is designed for use by stalkers, crazy people and Texans. Although, due to literacy problems, Texans are less of a threat. But the rest of the wackos can sometimes read and formulate basic sentences, such as ”Wanna cyber?” and ”A/S/L?”

The real issue with celebrity gossip about people with the celebrity power of Paris Hilton is just that; Gossip. It’s rarely true, and when it is, it’s never as hot as you hoped. We are still waiting for the Paris Hilton Celebrity Prison Sex movie. Or was that just gossip?

Why we care so much about celebrities – Part 17

I call reading celebrity gossip “dessert reading” because it functions much like dessert and other kinds of comfort food. You eat it or read it, and you feel better. Right?

I have a degree in English and I am an avid reader of various genres but I do not consider myself above reading celebrity gossip. In fact I believe it can be an important and therapeutic vacation for the mind.

A friend of mine was picking up “Us” magazine so often at newsstands that her boyfriend insisted she breakdown and buy a subscription to the gossip magazine, in order to save money. This friend of mine is an intelligent educated individual with a respectable career and many intellectual and cultural interests. Despite popular belief, the reading of celebrity gossip (although admittedly not very intellectual) plays an important role in escaping from the chaos of everyday life. It seems our lives have become so crazy that we seek solace in reading about the lives of others that have even crazier lives than our own. If you feel like your life is spinning out of control, all you have to do is read an article on poor Lindsay Lohan and you rest easier knowing that at least someone’s life is worse off. If that is the case, if we are reading celebrity gossip to make ourselves feel better about our own lives, then reading celebrity gossip is not the problem in itself but the symptom of a greater problem. I would be so bold to suggest that the greater problem is a collective sense of being overwhelmed with personal and societal problems that in turn make us feel hopeless. When we feel hopeless we no longer are compelled to actively pursue solving important problems and addressing crucial issues because we feel that they cannot be fixed or changed anyway. By reading celebrity gossip one is able to escape from deep emotional and intellectual commitments such as work and relationships and thereby create a therapeutic effect that prevents one from becoming overwhelmed with the pressures of modern life. Do we really care where Paris Hilton went shopping or the details of Britney Spears’ custody battle? I believe the answer is yes, but only because we are either escaping our own lives or making ourselves feel better because somebody else’s life is more complicated and confusing than our own.

I do believe that there’s a strong boredom factor when it comes to treating celebrity gossip as well. Personally that’s the only time that I read celebrity gossip but once again that is just another form of distraction. Whether it is a distraction from the boredom in your life, or the over stimulation in your life, celebrity gossip can be a beneficial means to keeping your mind distracted and providing an escape to an otherwise overwhelming life.

Until we are better able to deal with all of our own personal problems and the larger societal problems, people will continue craving celebrity gossip and use it to ease their symptoms of hopelessness. For some people celebrity gossip acts just the same way and probably more effectively than Prozac, and if it is socially acceptable for people to take medication into their bodies as a way to ease the stirrings of their minds, why not take celebrity gossip in if it functions similarly for some? On the other hand, whether or not overzealous and excessive media coverage is harmful to celebrities, though important, is a discussion for another article.

Celebrity gossip: Paris Hilton & Britney Spears – Part 5

Paris Hilton and Britney Spears seem to be spending a lot of time together lately. Is this because they just happen to be in the same area of town? Or is it because they have a similar personality?

Some might argue that this is all just coincidence. Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar. But why then is the topic such a rage on Google? Breaking the top ten repeatedly, the phrase Britney Spears and Paris Hilton, or sometimes, Paris Hilton and Britney Spears appears all over Google. Alternatively, there are topics like Paris Hilton Britney Spears hot sexy photos videos news and topics like Britney Spears and Paris Hilton nude photos and pictures. The truth is, people using Google are dirty, dirty little boys and should be put to bed without dinner.

In fact, some might wonder if the two starlets are spending time together to deliberately stimulate the press into talking more about them. It certainly wouldn’t be the craziest thing they have ever done, and it has definitely been effective. People want to know what Paris Hilton and Britney Spears are doing together. Some Google search terms include hot sexy Britney Spears sex with Paris Hilton and Paris Hilton hot nude sexy Britney Spears video. Once again, if you use Google you will go blind. If you aren’t already blind.

And this strikes at the very heart of the popularity of the search term. It all follows a basic formula. The Googlers Google for hot sexy photos of whatever celebrity is in the news at the moment. Any two female celebrity personalities spending time together bear special interest and extensive scrutiny, just in case Paris Hilton and Britney Spears throw caution to the wind and have hot sexy freak time on national television.

Although exceedingly rare, the spontaneous get it on session between celebrities like Paris Hilton and Britney Spears is like the Hindenberg of hot sexy photos of celebrity hook ups; Hot, flaming, crazy explosion followed by devastation and loss of life. Imagine if Paris Hilton and Britney Spears were to succumb to the rare malady of gotta-git-it-onitis and some lucky photographer got it on video.

This is the Holy Grail of celebrity photos; Hot, sexy video of hot, sexy celebrities like Paris Hilton and Britney Spears doing the dirty deed. It is literally the fantasy of this lover’s tryst that motivates the Googling masses. Hoping, praying that one day the search for britney Spears hot sexy video Paris Hilton nude pics will return something besides Viagra ads, and that maybe, just maybe, they can see Paris Hilton having sex on video. With Britney Spears. That would indeed be hot,sexy video.

Celebrity gossip: Has the media gone too far? – Part 7

There’s this thing out there social scientists call a “para-social relationship.” It’s the kind of relationship where Bob knows a lot about Joe, but Joe doesn’t know squat about Bob.

Of course, “Joe” is some A-list celebrity whose face is plastered all over magazines and TV. And “Bob” is a late-teened or early-twentied girl who needs to realize that people.com is not the best source to find out world news.

Now, I’ve never been one to believe these Sociologists I hear the jury is still out on science but I think they may be on to something. More and more people seem to be obsessed with break-ups and baby bumps and Dr. Martens. And more and more media outlets are feeding that obsession.

It’s a vicious cycle, really. A few IQ-lacking people seek out the latest in entertainment news and celebrity gossip, which makes media organizations think it’s something people care about. So they produce a weeklong series on Anna Nicole Smith, or something equally ridiculous. The general populous notices this extensive coverage, and so they think it’s something important, something worth following. Under the guise of real news, more and more people watch it. When the number of viewers goes up, the news stations think it’s of serious interest to people, so they keep covering it. This repeats over and over again until pictures of emaciated children in Africa have been replaced with pictures of anorexic starlets in Hollywood.

And even though I’m a member of the media, and it’s the very industry I plan to someday sell my soul to, I really think they’re the ones to blame. The media moguls are more concerned about ratings than serving the general public. Ethics, morals and fundamental journalistic principles are pushed aside as stories are aired and published. The line between fiction and non-fiction becomes blurry, and stories are sensationalized and biased as writers, publishers and producers convince themselves that omitting facts is not the same as lying.

And people just eat it up.

But I do understand where these executives are coming from. Wouldn’t you do the same thing? Tabloids are flying off the shelf faster than Lindsay Lohan goes back to rehab (zing!) But seriously folks, the general public has proven time and time again they can’t be trusted to make decisions for themselves. When it comes to deciding what is important and worthwhile, their judgment is usually impaired

It’s bad enough “American Idol” is the highest rated show on television, but then to have someone like Sanjaya Malaker stay on for weeks?

It’s bad enough more votes are cast nowadays through cell phones than ballot boxes, but then to actually elect George W. Bush as president?

Twice?

It’s bad enough people flock to reality shows like Paris Hilton to court appearances, but then to religiously watch a reality television show with Tiffany “New York” Pollard?

Three times?

Come on people. As fun as it is to watch the “reality” that is Laguna Beach, you cannot replace real reality you know, like, real life with someone else’s reality. It’s time to stop living your life through celebrities. Sure you may not be as smart, good-looking or talented as they, and your life is probably a lot more boring, but it’s time to realize anything involving Britney Spears is NOT news.

So think about your para-social relationships. How much are you getting out of it? Is that person there for you when you need them? Is their shoulder available for crying if need be? Do they ever call, just to say hi?

If not, it may be time to break it off. They obviously don’t care about you at all.

Celebrity gossip: Richard Gere – Part 1

Richard Gere is a great actor and has done some excellent work to raise awareness about the situation facing the Tibetan Dharamsala-based government and the plight of Tibetan exiles. But what was he thinking when he bent Bollywood star, Shilpa Shetty, over backwards at an AIDS awareness event in New Delhi and proceeded to kiss … nuzzle … what appears to be her cheek and carotid artery?

He claims the maneuver was a parody of a scene in his movie “Shall We Dance”. A parody some 4,000 Indian truckers present in the audience would be sure to get right away of course.

Indian sensibilities are all over the map when it comes to displays of this sort. On the one hand you have a progressive urban class who are unlikely to care one way or the other. But the country is also home to religious extremists, who are likely to start burning things and even killing people if tempers run high enough.

The incident was greeted with loud complaints from Hindu hard-liners and a judge in Jaipur went so far as to issue an arrest warrant for Gere and Shetty for violating obscenity laws. What Gere should have been thinking before he took his puckered-up lunge is that being a local girl, Shetty will have to deal with any fall-out long after his return to the US.

These seemingly minor events can assume a symbolic importance that far exceeds their actual significance. Considering how far it has gone already, it’s reasonable to assume that it will be a while before Shetty is out of the shadow of the controversy.

Gere’s next mistake was apologizing a lot, and explaining himself a lot. Once the deed is done, no amount of apologizing alters underlying perceptions, and certainly not ingrained prejudices. Apologies may in fact lend unwarranted moral justification to the cranks behind the complaints, who are probably very gratified to know that the big American star began groveling after they resorted to rioting and effigy burning.

There was nothing wrong with the kiss in itself by any standard short of that imposed by the Taliban. Poor timing, a tad tacky maybe … that’s the extent of it. The problem, was what the public show of affection might be turned into in a country where the movie going public view their stars as the next thing to divine. Indian fans identify on a very personal level with their favorite stars, some of whom have actually played the roles of Indian gods and goddesses in their movies. In a land where deities proliferate, it isn’t much of a stretch to add a pantheon of movie stars also. Gere of all people, has got to have known all about this cultural sensitivity given his long standing interest in Buddhism.

Mainstream opinion in India didn’t give any appearance of going off the deep end on the issue. The Times of India described the judicial warrant issued by the Jaipur judge as an attempt to create “cheap publicity” and a former attorney general, Soli Sorabjee, claimed it was far fetched to try and characterize the kiss as “obscene”. Gere should have stuck to his guns. I mean the awkward clinch occurred while both parties were fully dressed and in a more or less vertical position. There are worse things going on.

If the easily shocked Hindu guardians-of-decency want public displays of sexuality to get hot and bothered about they should head over to Konark in Orissa state and check out some of the raunchy temple art with everything as they say … hangin’.

I hope Gere will walk away from this and not revisit it with yet more commentary. It doesn’t deserve it. Instead he should send Shilpa flowers, get on the phone and offer a final private apology to the only person who matters.

Celebrity gossip: Rumors of Gene Simmons sex tape – Part 2

I am surprised to hear that there is a rumored sex tape of the KISS money mogul and front man, Gene Simmons.

With him denying that it does not exist, nor is it him in this video, I suppose he could be telling the truth, as the way he loves money I would think he would buy the copyrights to this alleged sex tape and make millions of dollars on it as one thing I know he loves next to his girlfriend, Shannon Tweed, and children Nick and Sophie is the all mighty American Dollar.

While I might one day buy the A&E shows of his, Gene Simmons Family Jewels, I would not rush out to buy this alleged sex tape should it ever come out in the open via the Internet or through which ever media it appears. I, can honestly say as much as I admire him and his music now for over 25 years, I do not care to see his SCHMACKLE as it is called on his show in some raunchy romp he had in this alleged sex tape.

There is the rumor he states himself that he has slept with over 3,000 women and how or why would one want to put another notch in their bedpost keeping count of how many women he has slept with as this Rock God Supreme, I do not know. I suppose it was for his own ego, or for him to write about many years later when he may pen his memoirs should he ever actually sit down to spill his guts on his being in the rock and roll music business and the sexual exploits he has had with these alleged women. Though I imagine myself along with his fan base would rather read about his life on stage and off, then see it on some sex tape.

I am sure there are many fans out there whom would purchase this type of video, as many did with a few other female celebrities who’s infamous romps behind the closed doors surfaced and made them more popular and put on the map when before it was, “Paris who?”, and now they are forever in the spotlight. Gene Simmons has been in the spotlight for over a quarter of a century and I am sure he does not feel the need to expand his business horizons via a rumored sex tape, yet I must admit I was quite surprised when he decided to invest in bull semen from some farm out west and I want to question his business savvy.

I imagine if he wanted to market himself, he would continue doing what he has been for many years now as he seems to have good music business sense, and touring this year in 2008 and I hope while on tour, will forever keep his schmackle in his pants while he rocks and rolls all night and parties every day!

Should the papers be allowed to invade the privacy of celebrities – Part 2

Everyone should be entitled to a private life – even celebrities. I do not understand why some feel they are entitled to know everything about a celebrity’s life simply because they chose to be an actor or singer. Some may argue, “well, they knew what they were getting into” but my point is – should they have to “get into” this circus simply because they are a celebrity. They are not publicly elected officials where we may need to know whether their publicly stated convictions coincide with how they behave in “real life” but celebrities are just famous for the work they do on stage or film! So what!

Are our lives really so boring and unstimulated that we need to know the “dirt” on all the latest celebrity gossip? If so, shouldn’t we all maybe work a little harder at enhancing our own lives and resolving our own issues rather than focusing on a celebrity’s? Being a “public” person only means you WORK in the public – not LIVE in the public. Or so it should be! A lot of people work for the public such as teachers, policemen, crown corporation employees, etc. but we would not consider invading their privacy because we have been taught to show more respect. Celebrities only work requirement is to entertain their viewers. It is not their job to provide fodder for the gossip mill. Their private lives should remain private! It is not our business to know who is divorcing whom or who has a problem with drug and alcohol! Look around you. I’m sure you know plenty of people in your own circle of living where these same problems exist among friends and co-workers. Isn’t it better to spend our energy supporting and helping them? Shouldn’t they be our focus rather than celebrities?

On the internet, I’ve seen this growing obsession with Mary Kate Olsen and her alleged problem with eating disorders. I have seen young people write to her on message boards encouraging her and showing support. That in itself is well-intentioned but misguided. Children and teens should be taught that these celebrities have a huge entourage of friends, family and co-workers that are more than willing to help them. They also have huge sums of money with which to seek any help that is required. Get well wishes are better expressed to those we actually KNOW who are suffering. One young girl remarkably gave her full name, address and phone number to Mary-Kate Olsen on a message board asking her to call her if she needed to talk. How deluded are we when it comes to our (so-called) relationship with celebrities? It is reaching ridiculous proportions. By the way, I called the Internet Service Provider who owned the message board asking them to remove this personal information. I also then called the girl’s parents and asked them to have a talk with her daughter.

Let’s live and let live. We have all had embarrassing moments. We have all done stupid things in our lives which we deeply regret. Can you imagine if all of our faults and failings were publicized world-wide and critiqued? I think we might exercise a little self-control when it comes to our own curiosity about celebrities and demonstrate more compassion for those who have to walk this walk every day of their lives.

They entertain us through their movies, shows and songs. Let’s just appreciate it and leave it at that!

Commentary: Celebrity gossip magazines – Part 3

Ah yes! Celebrity gossip magazines. They have been around for decades. Today’s generation has the Star, the National Enquirer, the lobe, In Touch (isn’t that Dr. Charles Stanley’s program), Us Magazine, and Inside TV (Inside TV was a celebrity magazine back in the 60’s). They talk about either Britney Spears, Oprah, Dr. Phil, the stars of Desperate Housewives, or American Idol.

But when I was growing up in the 60’s and 70’s, there was TV Radio Mirror, Photoplay, TV & Movie Screen, Movieland and TV Time, Movie Stars, TV Picture Life, TV Star Parade, TV Radio Talk, TV Radio Show, Screen Stories, Screeland, and Motion Picture. Back then they were wrting about Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, Frank Sinatra and Mia Farrow, Eddie Fisher and Connie Stevens, the Lennon Sisters, Jackie Kennedy (and the rest of the Kennedys), the other stars of the Lawrence Welk Show, the stars of Peyton Place, the King Family, Charlie’s Angels, Sonny and Cher, and of course, Elvis and Priscilla. In fact back then, Jackie Kennedy, Elizabeth Taylor, and the Lennon Sisters were practically on every TV and movie magazine cover there is.

However, there’s a big difference, Whenever I pick up the Star or the National Enquirer, there’s another picture of somebody famous frolicking on the beach in either Hawaii, the Carribean, Mexico, or South Beach in a barely-there bikini; spending a fortune on clothing, jeweelry, shoes, hair and skin care, make-up, having plastic surgery, and buying and selling expensive mansions like there’s no tomorrow. I mean; just totally and completely flaunting their wealth.

But the celebrity magazines back them featured celebrities out on the town at either a party or a movie premiere; dressed up in tuxes and gowns, truly and deeply intimate stories from the celebrities themselves, and not flaunnting their wealth. And I do say a movie premiere, because that’s how they dressed up back then. Nowadays, they dress up like it’s a business-casual day at the office.

I used to buy the Star and the National Enquirer, but now, I hardly even look at it. Give me the old-time movie and TV magazines anytime. I should know. I started collecting them thirty years ago.

Celebrities: Why were completely sick of celebrity news – Part 13

Newest celebrity gossip…Lindsay Lohan a cocaine addict.

Why are people so interesting in the derailing lifestyles of some celebrities. Yes, they may be rich and live extroadanary lives…but please, who really cares about which new celebrity is entering rehab (for the fifth time) for their alcohol or drug addiction.

What fuels this need in people to know all this personal information about celebrities? Are lives of the ordinary so completely boring that they need to read these celebrity gossip magazines in order to have some fun?

The need for people to get their latest celebrity news has created an outpouring of gossip magazines. There are many celebrity gossip magazines available for curious minds. Actually, celebrity news is available everywhere! Everytime I sign on to my e-mail the latest celebrity gossip is out there and ready for reading.

It’s really gettig to be to much. Contrary to what people might think, celebrities are people, and some privacy is needed. Sometimes these magazines and television shows take celebrity gossip too far. Sometimes the latest celebrity news is relayed to us so much that we get fed up and feel like our head is going to explode if we hear anything more about that celebrity, but we can not escape it, because it is everywhere!

I really got fed up with celebrity coverage, when Anna Nicole Smith died. There was so much coverage about her death. It became sickening to me. The woman died, people are grieving, lay it to rest. No instead her face is posted on every celebrity gossip magazine, she’s on every celebrity tv show, and all over the Internet.

Enough is enough. I’m so sick of hearing about Brittany Spears, Lindsay Lohan, and Paris Hilton. It just becomes disgusting. How they are hounded and we, eager readers buy magazines and watch television and read online articles.

I would just like to go one day without hearing, reading or seeing who the latest celebrity is to enter rehab or who is sleeping with who. Honestly, who really gives a damn? Do people not have their own lives to worry about!

I am so sick of celebrity news because it is everywhere! I can not escape it. Do I have opinions on celebrities yes…but do I care about their personal lives NO. Am I sick and tired of hearing about them…YES!

As sick as I might be of celebrity news, it will always be around. So I chose to ignore it and move on.

I mean I would hate to have the world know everything about me, because I am a person that enjoys my privacy and like to keep parts of my life secret.

But then theres some people who don’t.

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