Death of a Celebrity – 2009-06-15

I sometimes get asked by fans, friends, and interviewers what my least favorite segment is that we cover on our program. While I love our show, and think our programming is informative, insightful, and entertaining, I never hesitate when answering this question. I prefer to leave the entertainment beat to the more than capable hands of our other anchors. The reason for this is simple: reporting on celebrity gossip makes me uncomfortable.

Remember when celebrities were glitzy representations of glamour, beauty, and intrigue? When people like Audrey Hepburn, Rita Hayworth, Fred Astaire, and Clark Gable lit up our screens and lifted our hearts? Well, that era has long since passed, and now our celebrities are no longer revered...they are reviled.

They say "no press is bad press", but it seems like the ONLY press these days regarding celebrities is bad press. Gossip rags and sites like perezhilton.com thrive on rumor-mongering and slanderous remarks. Our public figures are regularly scrutinized and criticized as if they were criminals. Why is it that our society delights so much in tearing down these people whose movies we go see, music we listen to, or sports games we pay to view?

It could be that in this age of entitlement, everyone feels they deserve what our public figures have, whether they have earned it or not. And let’s face it, in these days of reality shows and youtube, anyone CAN be propelled into the public eye-regardless of talent. When anyone can be special, than no one is allowed to be. But the horrible things that make the front pages of these snark-filled tomes...about people the writers have likely never met...it saddens me. It also makes me want to focus on writing and producing, and never step foot in front of a camera again. No one is a saint. These poor men and women do not deserve to be vilified simply for being human and making a poor decision or two in their lives. Celebrity should be the REWARD of sharing your talent, beauty, or hard work with the public. It should NOT be the price.

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