In Hollywood, it’s simple.
Drive drunk and make anti-Semitic remarks and keep your movie’s distribution deal with Disney. Jump on Oprah’s couch and lose your 14-year movie contract with Paramount Pictures.
The latter, of course, actually happened to beleaguered superstar Tom Cruise Wednesday. Viacom, the parent company of Paramount Pictures, decided not to renew its contract with Cruise/Wagner Productions, halting finances that would have gone into future Cruise movie projects and specials.
Paramount Pictures chair Sumner Redstone blamed Cruise’s “controversial” behavior for his company’s actions. I like to call it the Scientology effect.
Recall that Cruise has done some questionable things in the past year or so. First there was the couch-jumping incident on Oprah Winfrey’s talk show in May 2005, in which Cruise ranted and raved (like a lunatic) about his love for his new girlfriend, the painfully innocent Katie Holmes. He has single-handedly fashioned the 21st century term for going bonkers: “Jumping the Couch.”
Then there was his battle royale with Matt Lauer on the “Today” show over use of anti-depressants. The “religion” of Scientology bans these drugs and apparently says sufferers can get over their afflictions using “vitamins.” Who knows the history of psychiatry better than anyone? Tom Cruise, of course.
Then there were some other freaky incidents having to do with the birth of Cruise and Holmes’ daughter, Suri. He bought a sonogram machine to do at-home ultrasounds, which, according to experts, isn’t exactly the safest procedure for an untrained person to be doing.
Then he told GQ magazine in April 2006 that he would eat the baby’s placenta. He later reneged on that statement, but there was no other reason for him to say that to a member of the media other than that he is nuts.
There’s a whole Web site devoted to this idea — www.tomcruiseisnuts.com. The site offers Cruise’s thoughts on such topics such as “women,” about which he said, “(Women) smell good. They look pretty. I love women. I do.” Nice use of adjectives there, Tom.
Recently there has been evidence to show that Cruise is no longer the sex symbol and box office go-getter he used to be. While his latest film made in the area of $400 million, at least one recent survey showed women are more than a little turned off by Cruise’s erratic behavior.
A poll by USA Today showed that half of respondents had a “negative” view of Cruise, and another by Marketing Evaluations, Inc. showed the “negative perception” of Cruise had risen 100 percent since mid-2005. If you’re a motion picture company looking to sell movie tickets, those numbers mean quite a lot.
And it’s not that his belief in Scientology has necessarily turned people off to him. Scientology is a “religion” created entirely by the late science fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard. It has targeted celebrities in order to fund its programs, and quite a few well-known personalities belong to it. Consider that John Travolta, Jenna Elfman (of “Dharma and Greg” fame) and even soul singer Isaac Hayes are Hubbardites. Yet that fact doesn’t seem to contribute to public bad tidings toward them. While their religion is kind of crazy, they’re generally not. But Cruise has crossed the line between being a regular Scientologist to being a proselytizing whacko.
And Americans generally don’t like big-time movie stars with opinions, much less a crazy streak. Rosie O’Donnell learned that the hard way when she ambushed actor Tom Selleck about his views on gun control on her former talk show. Her star’s only just returning now with her upcoming hosting gig on “The View.”
So Tom, for the sake of your as-yet-unseen baby daughter, please keep the crazy talk to a minimum. Babies can’t live on auditing and e-meters alone.
Wednesday, August 30, 2006
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
Local's tirade parodied on YouTube.com
Digital video sharing Web site YouTube.com’s slogan is “Broadcast Yourself.”
For many users that means acting goofy and then uploading the video for millions of online viewers to see. That includes parodies of perhaps the most famous contestant on FOX reality show “Trading Spouses,” Ponchatoula’s Marguerite Perrin.
If you don’t know (or remember), Perrin is a self-proclaimed “God Warrior” who was made to live with a family in Massachusetts which was into new age religion. Suffice it to say, Perrin had what the show called “a meltdown of Biblical proportions” upon her Ponchatoula homecoming, yelling and telling everyone who doesn’t believe in Jesus Christ to “get outta (her) house!”
Those words are the title of a short video clip by kallen28, which shows a brunette young woman doing her best Perrin impression — lungs, angst and all.
There’s a similar video from film432 (this time it takes aim at they way Perrin ripped up the “Trading Spouses” prize money).
I counted at least six parodies, but OmenBoy4’s takes the cake. His “Dark Sided Beginnings” is a strange mix of “Star Wars” and “The Omen” with shaky camera work, atmospheric shots and a creepy vibe. The filmmakers say it is their tribute to Perrin. This would have been extremely effective if it hadn’t been put together by 13-year-olds, who also star in the film.
But it comes off as hilarious, which is, of course, the next best thing.
And Perrin’s foray on the Internet doesn’t stop there. In my relentless search for Internet weirdness, I stumbled onto www.margueriteperrin.com.
In an apparent effort to stretch her 15 minutes of fame, Perrin has turned to lampooning even herself. She’s selling downloads and CDs of a single called “Marguerite (Why Can’t You Be Sweet),” which is a pseudo rap song. The rapper sings, “Marguerite, Marguerite, why can’t you be sweet with that gap in your teeth” over clips of Perrin screaming such gems as, “I want my God, my family and a bucket of fried chicken.”
The single’s cover is framed by Perrin’s mouth, the body part that helped her make a name for herself. There are links to clips of her appearances on “The Tonight Show” with Jay Leno and even a link to a YouTube.com parody.
In some of the most bizarre pictures I’ve ever seen, Perrin poses with celebrities such as “Hercules’” Kevin Sorbo and VH1 reality show regulars Flavor Flav, Christopher Knight and Adrianne Curry. And if you look closely enough through her photo album from the 2005 Billboard Music Awards, you’ll find gossip blogger Perez Hilton in the background.
Unfortunately, Perrin’s site has a bulletin board and commenting features. This gives many malicious people a chance to voice their negative opinion of Perrin, putting her in an almost constant state of having to defend herself. And apparently the site had been attacked and replaced with pornography at some point in the past.
While it’s good that she’s learned to laugh at herself, the site makes Perrin seem almost like a cartoon character.
The site is touted as the “Official God Warrior” Web site, so maybe she’s a superhero.
A bobblehead doll of Perrin sold on eBay for $870, which was bought by Leno and presented during her appearance on “The Tonight Show.” She’s already got an action figure.
Here’s an idea for a great YouTube clip – Marguerite Perrin running around Ponchatoula in a God Warrior superhero costume, fighting crime and stopping criminals with her Banshee-like shreik. It could almost be Oscar-worthy with a $50,000 budget (that’s the amount of money the Perrin family received from “Trading Spouses.”)
Only on the Internet.
For many users that means acting goofy and then uploading the video for millions of online viewers to see. That includes parodies of perhaps the most famous contestant on FOX reality show “Trading Spouses,” Ponchatoula’s Marguerite Perrin.
If you don’t know (or remember), Perrin is a self-proclaimed “God Warrior” who was made to live with a family in Massachusetts which was into new age religion. Suffice it to say, Perrin had what the show called “a meltdown of Biblical proportions” upon her Ponchatoula homecoming, yelling and telling everyone who doesn’t believe in Jesus Christ to “get outta (her) house!”
Those words are the title of a short video clip by kallen28, which shows a brunette young woman doing her best Perrin impression — lungs, angst and all.
There’s a similar video from film432 (this time it takes aim at they way Perrin ripped up the “Trading Spouses” prize money).
I counted at least six parodies, but OmenBoy4’s takes the cake. His “Dark Sided Beginnings” is a strange mix of “Star Wars” and “The Omen” with shaky camera work, atmospheric shots and a creepy vibe. The filmmakers say it is their tribute to Perrin. This would have been extremely effective if it hadn’t been put together by 13-year-olds, who also star in the film.
But it comes off as hilarious, which is, of course, the next best thing.
And Perrin’s foray on the Internet doesn’t stop there. In my relentless search for Internet weirdness, I stumbled onto www.margueriteperrin.com.
In an apparent effort to stretch her 15 minutes of fame, Perrin has turned to lampooning even herself. She’s selling downloads and CDs of a single called “Marguerite (Why Can’t You Be Sweet),” which is a pseudo rap song. The rapper sings, “Marguerite, Marguerite, why can’t you be sweet with that gap in your teeth” over clips of Perrin screaming such gems as, “I want my God, my family and a bucket of fried chicken.”
The single’s cover is framed by Perrin’s mouth, the body part that helped her make a name for herself. There are links to clips of her appearances on “The Tonight Show” with Jay Leno and even a link to a YouTube.com parody.
In some of the most bizarre pictures I’ve ever seen, Perrin poses with celebrities such as “Hercules’” Kevin Sorbo and VH1 reality show regulars Flavor Flav, Christopher Knight and Adrianne Curry. And if you look closely enough through her photo album from the 2005 Billboard Music Awards, you’ll find gossip blogger Perez Hilton in the background.
Unfortunately, Perrin’s site has a bulletin board and commenting features. This gives many malicious people a chance to voice their negative opinion of Perrin, putting her in an almost constant state of having to defend herself. And apparently the site had been attacked and replaced with pornography at some point in the past.
While it’s good that she’s learned to laugh at herself, the site makes Perrin seem almost like a cartoon character.
The site is touted as the “Official God Warrior” Web site, so maybe she’s a superhero.
A bobblehead doll of Perrin sold on eBay for $870, which was bought by Leno and presented during her appearance on “The Tonight Show.” She’s already got an action figure.
Here’s an idea for a great YouTube clip – Marguerite Perrin running around Ponchatoula in a God Warrior superhero costume, fighting crime and stopping criminals with her Banshee-like shreik. It could almost be Oscar-worthy with a $50,000 budget (that’s the amount of money the Perrin family received from “Trading Spouses.”)
Only on the Internet.
Wednesday, August 16, 2006
Track record not good for reality TV marriages
When singer Jessica Simpson made her famous remarks about tuna (shouldn’t Chicken of the Sea actually be chicken?), I knew her marriage to fellow singer Nick Lachey would probably crumble.
The couple’s MTV reality show, “Newlyweds,” lasted three seasons in 2004 and 2005. Like with most reality shows, the producers manipulated the footage to characterize Simpson as a ditzy anti-homemaker and Lachey as a down-to-earth, laundry-doing normal guy.
Whether those images are correct doesn’t really matter now. MTV, Simpson and Lachey made their money, and the pair became almost exponentially more famous. But that success came at the cost of their marriage.
I shouldn’t have had an opinion on the prospects of a lasting union between these two, but when their relationship was on display for hours on end on a popular cable channel, it’s hard not to care. Maybe Lachey just saw the warped view of his wife the rest of America was seeing.
And when the split became public, the couple’s cry for privacy was almost a slap in the face to their fans, who couldn’t understand why they could watch the first year of marriage yet be cut off from the divorce drama.
Even Lachey himself admitted the damage the show did to his relationship in an interview in Rolling Stone.
“Jessica and I began playing these parts even when we were by ourselves. It became a really blurred line. There was a question about what truly was our reality,” he said. “When you are on a reality show, your life ceases to be reality. It becomes TV.”
Over the weekend I ashamedly watched another marriage-on-display, that of “Brady Bunch” alumnus Christopher Knight and tenuously famous Adrianne Curry, winner of the first “America’s Next Top Model.” Their show is called “My Fair Brady.”
Curry met Knight on the set of another VH1 reality show, “The Surreal Life.” Her career, her relationship, really her entire life at this point, are all tied to reality television. When Curry finally realizes that real “reality” is not TV “reality,” she might go a little more crazy than she already is.
The track record for reality marriages is not good.
Within the past month, two couples featured in MTV shows have called it quits. Model Carmen Electra and rock musician Dave Navarro broadcasted their weird 2004 nuptials on a gothic-themed show called “Til Death Do Us Part.”
I guess that whole “til death” thing was only until the glow of reality show celebrity started wearing off. Then again, Electra did marry basketball bad boy Dennis Rodman in 1998, so her sense of “reality” was already questionable.
Then there’s Blink 182 drummer Travis Barker and beauty queen Shanna Moakler, whose marriage ended in divorce after two years. The two had starred in “Meet the Barkers” on MTV. The really sad part here is that the couple’s children had been paraded on television as well. But at ages 2 and 8 months, at least the kids will be able to see their parents in a loving relationship, even if it has been edited and set to music.
It’s interesting that possibly the strongest marriage to be shown on reality TV was actually set up on reality TV — that of “Bachelorette” Trista Rehn and Ryan Sutter. They were married in 2003 and appear to be going strong.
And here’s one to watch: Britney Spears and Kevin Federline. The pair qualify as a “reality” couple through “Chaotic,” the UPN show that documented much of their early relationship and some of their engagement. Cameras have certainly not helped the couple gain any more respect, but will cameras destroy their relationship? Only time will tell.
The couple’s MTV reality show, “Newlyweds,” lasted three seasons in 2004 and 2005. Like with most reality shows, the producers manipulated the footage to characterize Simpson as a ditzy anti-homemaker and Lachey as a down-to-earth, laundry-doing normal guy.
Whether those images are correct doesn’t really matter now. MTV, Simpson and Lachey made their money, and the pair became almost exponentially more famous. But that success came at the cost of their marriage.
I shouldn’t have had an opinion on the prospects of a lasting union between these two, but when their relationship was on display for hours on end on a popular cable channel, it’s hard not to care. Maybe Lachey just saw the warped view of his wife the rest of America was seeing.
And when the split became public, the couple’s cry for privacy was almost a slap in the face to their fans, who couldn’t understand why they could watch the first year of marriage yet be cut off from the divorce drama.
Even Lachey himself admitted the damage the show did to his relationship in an interview in Rolling Stone.
“Jessica and I began playing these parts even when we were by ourselves. It became a really blurred line. There was a question about what truly was our reality,” he said. “When you are on a reality show, your life ceases to be reality. It becomes TV.”
Over the weekend I ashamedly watched another marriage-on-display, that of “Brady Bunch” alumnus Christopher Knight and tenuously famous Adrianne Curry, winner of the first “America’s Next Top Model.” Their show is called “My Fair Brady.”
Curry met Knight on the set of another VH1 reality show, “The Surreal Life.” Her career, her relationship, really her entire life at this point, are all tied to reality television. When Curry finally realizes that real “reality” is not TV “reality,” she might go a little more crazy than she already is.
The track record for reality marriages is not good.
Within the past month, two couples featured in MTV shows have called it quits. Model Carmen Electra and rock musician Dave Navarro broadcasted their weird 2004 nuptials on a gothic-themed show called “Til Death Do Us Part.”
I guess that whole “til death” thing was only until the glow of reality show celebrity started wearing off. Then again, Electra did marry basketball bad boy Dennis Rodman in 1998, so her sense of “reality” was already questionable.
Then there’s Blink 182 drummer Travis Barker and beauty queen Shanna Moakler, whose marriage ended in divorce after two years. The two had starred in “Meet the Barkers” on MTV. The really sad part here is that the couple’s children had been paraded on television as well. But at ages 2 and 8 months, at least the kids will be able to see their parents in a loving relationship, even if it has been edited and set to music.
It’s interesting that possibly the strongest marriage to be shown on reality TV was actually set up on reality TV — that of “Bachelorette” Trista Rehn and Ryan Sutter. They were married in 2003 and appear to be going strong.
And here’s one to watch: Britney Spears and Kevin Federline. The pair qualify as a “reality” couple through “Chaotic,” the UPN show that documented much of their early relationship and some of their engagement. Cameras have certainly not helped the couple gain any more respect, but will cameras destroy their relationship? Only time will tell.
Wednesday, August 09, 2006
Outrage over Mel Gibson's tirade misplaced
News flash: Mel Gibson is an anti-Semite.
That was the big story coming out of Hollywood last week. Cable news channels seemed like broken records discussing the many facets of “Melgate,” and blogs used their best Internet real estate on drunken pictures of the “Lethal Weapon” star.
If you run a Google search on Gibson and hadn’t heard anything about his drunken driving arrest in California on Aug. 4, you probably wouldn’t learn very much about the crime itself. Many columnists are dead set on nailing Gibson, director of “The Passion of the Christ,” as a Christian hypocrite, and apparently, public enemy No. 1.
Gibson had been speeding down the Pacific Coast Highway and blew a 0.12 on the breathalyzer. Initial reports said he was arrested without incident, but he allegedly launched into a tirade that included anti-Semitic remarks, such as, “F*** Jews... the Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world.”
The arresting officer was Jewish and told the Associated Press that he wasn’t particularly offended by Gibson’s remarks. He chalked it up to a drunken man acting stupid.
Meanwhile, there is outrage in Hollywood, much of which is controlled by Jewish producers and directors. Barbara Walters said she would never see another Gibson film. Rob Schneider of “Deuce Bigalow” fame took out an ad in Variety to state that he would never work with Gibson (not that Mel would be interested in the next installment of “The Animal” anytime soon).
Disney, which is promoting Gibson’s upcoming epic “Apocalypto” is running scared. ABC said it halted plans for a Gibson-produced miniseries on the Holocaust.
But they’re not outraged that Gibson was speeding excessively with an open container of tequila by his side. They’re not outraged that he was endangering the lives of the general public. They’re not outraged that he was breaking one of our country’s most important laws.
It’s sad that more air time and attention is given to what a drunken man said than to what he did.
Don’t get me wrong. I definitely think what he said was, in his words, “despicable.” But when the murder of six Jewish women at the Jewish Federation office in Seattle got second billing, for a time, to Gibson’s story on the Anti-Defamation League’s Web site, there’s certainly a disconnect.
The fact remains that disliking, or even hating, a group of people is not against the law. This “thought crime,” as columnist Zev Chafets put it, won’t do much for Gibson, who relies on public perception to keep his movie projects greenlighted. But if it were a non-celebrity, the nature of his remarks wouldn’t even be an issue.
I find it “despicable” that the important issue of drunken driving is being overshadowed by Gibson’s remarks. In Louisiana in 2004, 38 percent of all 904 fatal crashes were alcohol-related. A friend of mine lost her father to a drunken driver earlier this year, and I’m sure every one of my readers has a similar story.
Gibson is now in a position to do some real good by advocating for groups such as Mothers Against Drunk Driving.
He has had his troubles with alcohol in the past, and I think if he can clean up and continue to be vocal about his ordeal, he will help others who may be in the same situation. He has apparently gone into rehab, and hopefully he will not be given preferential treatment when he is brought up on his charges.
I suppose with the war between Israel and Lebanon still raging, Americans are especially sensitive about hateful remarks against our allies. But I have to believe that the threat of motorists dying is much more important than an actor’s drunken, un-acted-upon tirade.
That was the big story coming out of Hollywood last week. Cable news channels seemed like broken records discussing the many facets of “Melgate,” and blogs used their best Internet real estate on drunken pictures of the “Lethal Weapon” star.
If you run a Google search on Gibson and hadn’t heard anything about his drunken driving arrest in California on Aug. 4, you probably wouldn’t learn very much about the crime itself. Many columnists are dead set on nailing Gibson, director of “The Passion of the Christ,” as a Christian hypocrite, and apparently, public enemy No. 1.
Gibson had been speeding down the Pacific Coast Highway and blew a 0.12 on the breathalyzer. Initial reports said he was arrested without incident, but he allegedly launched into a tirade that included anti-Semitic remarks, such as, “F*** Jews... the Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world.”
The arresting officer was Jewish and told the Associated Press that he wasn’t particularly offended by Gibson’s remarks. He chalked it up to a drunken man acting stupid.
Meanwhile, there is outrage in Hollywood, much of which is controlled by Jewish producers and directors. Barbara Walters said she would never see another Gibson film. Rob Schneider of “Deuce Bigalow” fame took out an ad in Variety to state that he would never work with Gibson (not that Mel would be interested in the next installment of “The Animal” anytime soon).
Disney, which is promoting Gibson’s upcoming epic “Apocalypto” is running scared. ABC said it halted plans for a Gibson-produced miniseries on the Holocaust.
But they’re not outraged that Gibson was speeding excessively with an open container of tequila by his side. They’re not outraged that he was endangering the lives of the general public. They’re not outraged that he was breaking one of our country’s most important laws.
It’s sad that more air time and attention is given to what a drunken man said than to what he did.
Don’t get me wrong. I definitely think what he said was, in his words, “despicable.” But when the murder of six Jewish women at the Jewish Federation office in Seattle got second billing, for a time, to Gibson’s story on the Anti-Defamation League’s Web site, there’s certainly a disconnect.
The fact remains that disliking, or even hating, a group of people is not against the law. This “thought crime,” as columnist Zev Chafets put it, won’t do much for Gibson, who relies on public perception to keep his movie projects greenlighted. But if it were a non-celebrity, the nature of his remarks wouldn’t even be an issue.
I find it “despicable” that the important issue of drunken driving is being overshadowed by Gibson’s remarks. In Louisiana in 2004, 38 percent of all 904 fatal crashes were alcohol-related. A friend of mine lost her father to a drunken driver earlier this year, and I’m sure every one of my readers has a similar story.
Gibson is now in a position to do some real good by advocating for groups such as Mothers Against Drunk Driving.
He has had his troubles with alcohol in the past, and I think if he can clean up and continue to be vocal about his ordeal, he will help others who may be in the same situation. He has apparently gone into rehab, and hopefully he will not be given preferential treatment when he is brought up on his charges.
I suppose with the war between Israel and Lebanon still raging, Americans are especially sensitive about hateful remarks against our allies. But I have to believe that the threat of motorists dying is much more important than an actor’s drunken, un-acted-upon tirade.
Monday, August 07, 2006
News on the Hammond Mall
This is for an anonymous commenter on the last post from Daily Star Managing Editor Lil Mirando:
"The mall's new owners -- Palace Properties -- are going to announce their plans to upgrade Hammond Square Mall in September. They have already announced that the new Hammond mall will be twice as big as it is now. We'll know more in September. They already have their plans in place, but they are not ready to announce it to the public yet."
A quick note: All off-topic posts from now on will be deleted. If I need to respond to any questions raised in an off-topic post, I will do so in a new post. Also, any comments about Daily Star news coverage or letters to the editor will be forwarded to the appropriate people by email and then deleted. Remember that if you want a specific response to something, please identify yourself and leave contact information. We can't reply to "anonymous."
"The mall's new owners -- Palace Properties -- are going to announce their plans to upgrade Hammond Square Mall in September. They have already announced that the new Hammond mall will be twice as big as it is now. We'll know more in September. They already have their plans in place, but they are not ready to announce it to the public yet."
A quick note: All off-topic posts from now on will be deleted. If I need to respond to any questions raised in an off-topic post, I will do so in a new post. Also, any comments about Daily Star news coverage or letters to the editor will be forwarded to the appropriate people by email and then deleted. Remember that if you want a specific response to something, please identify yourself and leave contact information. We can't reply to "anonymous."
Tuesday, August 01, 2006
Gossip columnists, bloggers coerce Bass out of closet
Even if you've never heard of boy band *NSync, you've by now heard of the group's former bass singer, Lance Bass.
Bass, a native of Laurel, Miss., revealed Thursday to People magazine that he is gay. It wasn't a big surprise to gossip blogger Perez Hilton, who has made it his personal mission to "out" Bass.
Over the last few months, Hilton has hammered out stories about Bass and his boyfriend, "Amazing Race" season four winner Reichen Lemkuhl. Apparently Bass and Lemkuhl, who is openly gay, were spotted at different events wearing each other's shirts.
That, in gossip blogger-land, is apparently convincing evidence.
More stories followed about clubgoers seeing the couple in a gay bar in Provincetown, Mass.
Pretty soon the mainstream media picked up on the brewing speculation. For many longtime *NSync fans and celebrity watchers, Bass' revelation was a "well, duh" moment. But, as with most stories coming out of Hollywood, Bass had his reasons to come forward. (Remember when Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey announced their breakup the night before Thanksgiving just to spite celebrity journalists?)
Bass knew his story was about to move beyond the pages of perezhilton.com in a big way.
He told People: "The main reason I wanted to speak my mind was that (the rumors) were really starting to affect my daily life. Now it feels like it's on my terms. I'm at peace with my family, my friends, myself and God, so there's really nothing else I worry about."
But Hilton's mission, and that of gay and lesbian newspaper the Washington Blade, doesn't stop with Bass. They're out to "out" others, such Star Wars' Hayden Christensen, "Brokeback Mountain's" Jake Gyllenhaal, "American Idol" runner-up Clay Aiken, singer Ricky Martin and even actor Matthew McConaughey.
"I know there is some controversy about outing people, but I also believe the only way we're gonna have change is with visibility," Hilton told entertainment television show Access Hollywood. "And if I have to drag some people screaming out of the closet, then I will."
Hilton says celebrities who live an "openly closeted" lifestyle and deny their homosexuality publicly perpetuate the idea that an actor or singer cannot be successful and gay at the same time. And that, whether out of shame or a simple business decision, makes it more acceptable for the public to be intolerant toward gays.
While that is a noble sentiment, it's a course of action at least one gay and lesbian rights association disagrees with.
Damon Romine, entertainment and media director of the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, has stated that coming out is a personal decision and not something that should be speculated upon by the media.
If Bass truly wanted to be left alone, he should not have shown up at the clubs or engaged in what one columnist Chris Rovzar called "man sharing."
It's a terrible way to live, but it's both a celebrity's blessing and curse.
U.S. free speech laws make it difficult to prove defamation in the case of both public officials and celebrities. Being "public" is part of how they make a living. If Bass were a low-key college student, surely the outcome would be different.
And frankly, I love reading about my favorite celebrities. Without speculation, gossip would almost cease to be.
Yet I have to question Hilton's motivations. He says his crusade is to further gay rights, and that is great. But I seriously doubt that the outing of a few high-profile celebrities will single-handedly stop hate crimes and discrimination against gays. His energy and zeal would be better put to use speaking out against these things and making political statements.
After all, what good are celebrities to a cause if they refuse publicly to identify with it?
We've got Brad Pitt advocating for environmentally-sound rebuilding in New Orleans, Angelina Jolie advocating for orphans in Third World countries and Perez Hilton advocating for Tom Cruise to come out of the closet.
Which one would make more of a difference in the world?
Bass, a native of Laurel, Miss., revealed Thursday to People magazine that he is gay. It wasn't a big surprise to gossip blogger Perez Hilton, who has made it his personal mission to "out" Bass.
Over the last few months, Hilton has hammered out stories about Bass and his boyfriend, "Amazing Race" season four winner Reichen Lemkuhl. Apparently Bass and Lemkuhl, who is openly gay, were spotted at different events wearing each other's shirts.
That, in gossip blogger-land, is apparently convincing evidence.
More stories followed about clubgoers seeing the couple in a gay bar in Provincetown, Mass.
Pretty soon the mainstream media picked up on the brewing speculation. For many longtime *NSync fans and celebrity watchers, Bass' revelation was a "well, duh" moment. But, as with most stories coming out of Hollywood, Bass had his reasons to come forward. (Remember when Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey announced their breakup the night before Thanksgiving just to spite celebrity journalists?)
Bass knew his story was about to move beyond the pages of perezhilton.com in a big way.
He told People: "The main reason I wanted to speak my mind was that (the rumors) were really starting to affect my daily life. Now it feels like it's on my terms. I'm at peace with my family, my friends, myself and God, so there's really nothing else I worry about."
But Hilton's mission, and that of gay and lesbian newspaper the Washington Blade, doesn't stop with Bass. They're out to "out" others, such Star Wars' Hayden Christensen, "Brokeback Mountain's" Jake Gyllenhaal, "American Idol" runner-up Clay Aiken, singer Ricky Martin and even actor Matthew McConaughey.
"I know there is some controversy about outing people, but I also believe the only way we're gonna have change is with visibility," Hilton told entertainment television show Access Hollywood. "And if I have to drag some people screaming out of the closet, then I will."
Hilton says celebrities who live an "openly closeted" lifestyle and deny their homosexuality publicly perpetuate the idea that an actor or singer cannot be successful and gay at the same time. And that, whether out of shame or a simple business decision, makes it more acceptable for the public to be intolerant toward gays.
While that is a noble sentiment, it's a course of action at least one gay and lesbian rights association disagrees with.
Damon Romine, entertainment and media director of the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, has stated that coming out is a personal decision and not something that should be speculated upon by the media.
If Bass truly wanted to be left alone, he should not have shown up at the clubs or engaged in what one columnist Chris Rovzar called "man sharing."
It's a terrible way to live, but it's both a celebrity's blessing and curse.
U.S. free speech laws make it difficult to prove defamation in the case of both public officials and celebrities. Being "public" is part of how they make a living. If Bass were a low-key college student, surely the outcome would be different.
And frankly, I love reading about my favorite celebrities. Without speculation, gossip would almost cease to be.
Yet I have to question Hilton's motivations. He says his crusade is to further gay rights, and that is great. But I seriously doubt that the outing of a few high-profile celebrities will single-handedly stop hate crimes and discrimination against gays. His energy and zeal would be better put to use speaking out against these things and making political statements.
After all, what good are celebrities to a cause if they refuse publicly to identify with it?
We've got Brad Pitt advocating for environmentally-sound rebuilding in New Orleans, Angelina Jolie advocating for orphans in Third World countries and Perez Hilton advocating for Tom Cruise to come out of the closet.
Which one would make more of a difference in the world?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)