As much as I try to stay away from blogging about Hollywood and the lifestyle, it is sometimes necessary in order to really prove a point. I was reading about the recent accidental and tragic death of actress Natasha Richardson; when I read where it says that she refused a cautionary trip to the hospital because for one, she thought she was okay, and two, because she didn't want to deal with the press and paparazzi that would inevitably get ahold to the story. She wanted to maintain her privacy. A fall while skiing is usually no big deal, but when you're famous, everything is front page news and up for scrutiny in tabloids and papers and Internet gossip all around the country and even the world.
Princess Diana was hounded by photogs and media 24/7, and was eventually chased down by moped-riding paparaazzi in her chauffered Mercedes which ultimately led to her untimely death. We all remember the whole media Circus (no pun intended) surrounding Britney Spears for that whole 3 years or so while she was going through a rough patch in her life. She was constantly videotaped and photographed and always in an unflattering way. We were watching the downward spiral of someone's life from the comfort of our own homes like it was a bad movie or something. It was really sad and horrifying to see the lengths that the paparazzi would go to just to get some quick cash off of this poor lady's misfortunes. It was like a sick game; it's like they were thinking "let's wait and see what she'll do next, if she'll finally break tomorrow, maybe we can push her over the edge again and video another freak out to post up on TMZ and sell photos of it." It really disturbing to say the least.
They didn't care she was hurting, broken, and needed help. They were watching tragedy unfold in front of them while helping to spread the news of it around the world, and all they cared about was their payoff from it. They didn't see Ms. Spears as a human or an equal to them...they saw her as a potential moneymaker for them and because of that they felt it was alright that she be exploited for the gain of others. We watched it as source of entertainment, interesting news, Hollywood gossip, etc., but to Spears, it was her actual real life nightmare. She was living through all of that.
And of course it's not just Britney that has fallen prey to the merciless media and paparazzi, it's a part of Hollywood life for most celebrities. They take all these extra precautions to do things in secret and maintain privacy during family events like births of children, weddings, funerals,etc. They get chased down the road while their driving their vehicles, they get followed and stalked by photogs while they go out for coffee or for a jog, they sometimes get heckled and taunted on the street by these people, they are constantly under the lens of a camera. Who deserves to live life like a fish in a glass bowl? Is that the price they have to pay for following their dreams? They can't live like a real person. It makes you wonder, why do we envy them? They probably wish they were not a celebrity as much or more as some typical person might wish they were famous.
Sadly, it seems that paparazzi and the media have no limits or rules they have to adhere to concerning celebrities' privacy. It's like their free game. And when a celebrity does decide to try to fight back or stand up for themselves, the courts don't back them enough and sometimes they can even find themselves landing in trouble because of it. Freedom of the press is what always gets cited. That's not fair. 'Freedom' doesn't mean you can take away the rights of another and their freedom of movement and to live life. Celebrities' personal lives are not public property as some suggest. They are regular people just like everyone else who just happen to have more money than the average person and have a lot more people know their face. If I was on a TV show or something they would be calling me a star. They put their pants on one leg at a time just like you do and they deserve the same privacy and respect as your average joe nobody.
And As I think more and more about Ms. Richardson' s death, I can't help but wonder, did the papparazzi claim yet another life?
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