Ah, celebrities. We love them, we hate them, but one thing is for sure: we can’t get enough of them. With a new tabloid magazine born every five seconds, it’s becoming almost impossible to ignore celebrity gossip. This was never more evident to me than when one morning in my English lecture it was my prof who informed me that Ashton and Demi were getting married. Intriguing.
So when celebrity gossip becomes harder to escape than telemarketers at dinnertime, one can certainly conclude that the public is interested in it. Yet, the question is, “Why?” I decided that the answer to this question would require an expert, so I turned to PJ Tarasuk, entertainment editor for the Toronto-based magazines Fashion Magazine and Fashion18, for some guidance.
“Unfortunately, what’s happened is that celebrities become [our] heroes,” he said. “We have no role models, or storybooks to look up to. Paris Hilton has replaced Cinderella.” But, apparently, my relationship to Angelina Jolie goes beyond my wanting to be like her, into something more complex. Tarasuk explained that because many people feel that they can’t measure up to their favourite celebrities in of money, looks or fame, they have to find alternative means of superiority. “We love to know [celebrities] have hubris so we can become more like them,” he said. “They aren’t on idol/god level when we see their mistakes. It makes their lives more like ours.” I guess that can explain my half-hoping that the Brangelina child will turn out to be a mutant. (C’mon, the rest of us don’t stand a chance once it’s born!) Who wouldn’t feel better about herself knowing that Britney Spears drives on the freeway with her baby on her lap, or that Kate Moss lost her modeling contract with H&M because of drug use? And what could encourage budding pre-teen singers everywhere more than knowing they don’t actually have to know how to sing—because neither does Ashlee Simpson? Yet, as much as we love to see our favourite stars in a less-than-flattering light on page Six, they don’t reciprocate the feeling. From Chris Martin to Cameron Diaz and Justin Timberlake, celebs have often lashed out at the paparazzi for invading their personal space and private lives. Lindsay Lohan, however, has said what many people have suspected but no stars have dared to expose.
On her appearance on Tony Danza Show on Jan. 4, 2005, Lohan said, “You have to understand that when you come into this business you wanna be in the tabloids, you want to be written up, you want paparazzi to follow you and then, when they do, people freak out.”
Perhaps as much as celebrities hate to be photographed while out on their early morning Starbucks run, they may actually need the paparazzi more than they think they do—after all, tabloids provide their pet celebs with an almost effortless high profile.
And as to the question of whether people’s appetites for celebrity gossip will ever be satiated, Tarashuk said he had his doubts.
“I don’t think that gossip as an industry will change, but people don’t want to hear about Brad or Jessica forever,” Tarasuk said. “The industry will stay the same, but the players will change.”
So, with no end or solution in sight, my advice to the stars is simple: make sure to plan ahead. I mean, you wouldn’t want to be snapped walking into a gas station barefoot or anything embarrassing like that. But then again, it just might prove to fuel your popularity, given the delightful guilty pleasure gossip-lovers worldwide would derive from your moment of humiliation.
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