There's no business like show business

I feel sorry for celebrities...I really do.

First of all, they get chased around by paparazzi, who follow them to the mall to see what kind of clothes they are buying ... to the grocery store to see what kind of food they buy ... to the bathroom to see whether or not they wear shoes in there ... and on their vacations to see what kind of sunscreen they wear. Exciting stuff, huh ?

And it isn't all fun and games either when it comes to the paparazzi ... or "stalkarazzi" as they have been come to be known. In some cases, they actually run through stop lights to try to catch up to their chosen victim of the day, just so they don't lose their subject among the traffic. Not only is this scary to the celebrity, but also to the innocent bystander who only thinks that some idiot just blew a stop light and almost hit them. What possibly could be so important that they would risk bodily harm to themselves and to others? Money. It is all about money. When it comes to the almighty dollar, nothing has boundaries. These crazy photographers actually think they are above the law when it comes to their "job."

What is it with our obsession with celebrities anyway? They are all people just like us after all, even if they do get a bigger paycheck than most of us average folk. Is it because they are beautiful and rich? Or is it because they are famous? Or is it a combination of all of those things? I don't know. But as long as people are interested in them, there will be money in it...and as long as there is money in it, there will be paparazzi.

I feel sorry for the celebrities because they have no privacy. I am sure if someone were following me around 24/7, then I would be able to go file a police report on them. The gossip magazines are forever speculating about every aspect of a celebrity's life...whether or not they are pregnant...whether they are happily married .... whether they are cheating on their spouse, etc. How is it possible to even have any sort of private life if you are always in the spotlight?

I think it is entirely possible that some celebrity relationships fail because of all the attention they get from the media. The fact that Joe Blow and Jane Doe are dating won't make the daily news, but if you are Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, you better be sure that you are going to be plastered on every gossip magazine and pictured on every tv show from here to Timbuktu. And not only do they get all kinds of attention from the media, but they also become the target of gossip talks, and can be subjected to a lot of hurtful rumors. It is hard enough having a regular relationship without all the media fuss and frenzy and paparazzi following your every move.

I am glad I am not a celebrity. It is nobody's business but my own who I date, what I eat and where I go to pee. I don't read the gossip magazines, because, frankly, I am not that interested. I don't care who is dating who. I don't know them personally. I am not friends with them. Sure, sometimes I listen to gossip, and will even look stuff up online ... if I am bored enough. But it is not an obsession or anything. I don't NEED to know that stuff. It is hard to ignore it though, because celebrity news makes the national news. Sometimes, I think people care more about what Britney Spears is going to name her baby than they care about the homeless or the war in Iraq. And that just goes to show you how celebrity-obsessed people are.