Fame at a Price People Aren't Willing to Pay

A recent commentary did a nice job in asking the rhetorical question of why pseudo-celebrities (such as reality television stars) sign the privacy of their lives away for money and express outrage when their lives are mysteriously under public scrutiny. The article references the buzz around alleged affairs by the two adult stars of Jon & Kate Plus 8 as an example of the reality-show variety, but also mentions Brooke Shields as an example of "professional" celebrity which inexplicably appeals for a firewall to be placed upon her private life.

The author points out hypocrisy on the part of these (pseudo) celebrities, with Kate Gosselin of “Jon & Kate” appealing for privacy at a publicity appearance in Michigan, and Brooke Shields complaining about access to her life when she bared her soul and her mental health issues on an episode of Oprah. I think there's some merit here. Celebrity life comes with some privileges along with some baggage. As a celebrity, you're paid remarkably well and you're given a platform to espouse your views (e.g. anti-war, gay rights, defense of marriage, animal rights, pro-life) when chances are you have no more credibility or knowledge of these topics than the neighbors who live with me. You're given the sympathy and support of millions of fans when hardship hits your life while others make do with a small circle of family of friends. While I think people should take, let's say, Sean Penn's foreign policy musings, with a grain of salt given his lack of credentials, I don't begrudge him his right to use his platform. As a celebrity who has earned his celebrity though his craft, he has that right.

But that right comes with the baggage that comes along with it. There are two sides to that "fame" coin. This applies all the more to the reality television pseudo-celebrities who have stumbled into fame largely as a result of a television network brainstorming sessions on how we can make everyday people entertaining. It's safe to say that these folks never had any grand ambitions to become celebrities. Most of these people had "normal" lives before celebrity and they made a conscious choice to trade that in for a lucrative television contract. If you really dislike it, just walk away. The American public has a very short memory and you will be forgotten and subsequently left alone. 

As for me, I could never quite see the appeal of reality television. How real is a life lived in front of cameras and a crew? Plus, I have plenty of everyday drama and comedy in my own life that I'm emotionally vested in - I don't need to tune in to see child tantrums, random conversations and humorous visits to the supermarket. Most of those experiences aren't Emmy-worthy and they don't come with a soundtrack, but they're just right for me.