Sunday, January 20, 2013

Everyone else has an opinion, so here are mine.

There are two celebrities that seem to be getting a whole lot of hate over these past two weeks. And since everyone else has an opinion on them, I am going to give mine too. I realize I am only adding to our celebrity obsession by openly writing about this, but I've had these thoughts in my head all week and I just had to share them.

First up, Taylor Swift....
The girl breaks up with Harry Styles and we all know about it in seconds. Then the camera catches her making a bit of a stank face at the Golden Globes and suddenly she's the most hated artist in America. Let's chill out for a second. This is the girl who used to wear sundresses and cowboy boots and write songs about the teardrops on her guitar. But she's not really that girl anymore. At some point, she had to grow up. She's 23 now. She's going to do things we don't all agree with. The problem is that she is in the public eye, giving us the opportunity to rip those choices apart. I am totally, 100% in agreement that the girl needs to slow down. I personally think she has become obsessed with fame, and part of that fame means holding hands with another A lister. Do I think she's doing it for the songs? Sort of. But that's not really my business. I like her songs, so I guess that doesn't bother me to much. What upsets me more, I guess, is how much people just seem to HATE her. I don't get that. What, exactly, did she do to you? Because unless she personally insulted you, I really don't understand how you can be so mean about it. Taylor, keep doing your thang. Except, you know, maybe stay away from famous guys for a while. But if you don't that's your call, not mine,and I'm not going to hate you for it. And as far as that "look" at the Golden Globes goes, everyone should back off. The camera can catch us at any time. She's not going to write a song about Adele but she might write a song about how cruel we can be, picking apart celebrities for every single move they make.

And now...Manti Te'o
This one hits a little too close to home for many reasons. 1. My family are Notre Dame fanatics, and they love Manti. 2. I have dated online before and it is how I met my boyfriend. Except, you know, I've hung out with him in person...numerous times. BUT. I can see how people can fall in love online. I really can. When Derrick and I first started talking I picked apart his online profile, trying to figure out if he was the kind of guy I wanted to hang around. We talked online and via text for a solid week before we met. No phone calls. Just texts and emails. And although my story is much, much different than dear Manti, I kind of get it.

Another example from my own life are all my "American Idol friends". Some of my very best friends are from a little website called melindasbackups.com . We gathered there as Melinda fans, and we became friends. Now again, it's different, because I have met all of them, most of them I have met several times. But for the first six months or so that I was on the website, I didn't. I just talked to them online- via email, on message boards, and in chat rooms. They could have been fooling me that whole time and I would have had no idea. Luckily they weren't, and they are good, REAL people, but I became friends with them online way before I did in person.

That being said...I can see how this all happened. I don't think Manti was in on the hoax. I really don't. I think he fell for someone, very hard, online. He fell so hard that he didn't think twice about the no skype/no face to face meetings. I know that sounds crazy, I really do, but I also know that it happens all the time. I feel horrible for Manti. Most of the world is poking fun at him, and while I have laughed at a joke or two, I also cringe. Because if Manti were one of my friends, and this was happening to my friend, I wouldn't be angry at them or tear them apart. I would stand by them. So I can't be mad at Manti. Not that he and I are bff's, but I just can't. I feel horrible for him, actually. I imagine he is probably not sleeping well at night and that his days are anxiety filled. Some say he deserved it, that he lied. I don't agree.

I think we should all take the stance that my previously mentioned boyfriend took when he heard the news. "I'm just glad she didn't actually die". True. Maybe that's what we should be focusing on.  

While I'm on this rant, I also have to say that it perturbs me a little bit that Manti is getting most of the hate for this, instead of the dude who was pretending to be his girlfriend  There are Teo jokes everywhere you turn, and no one seems to be saying much about the other players in this little game. Just found that interesting...

I'm #teammanti here, folks. And I kind of want all the media hype to go away. Don't we have bigger problems in this world than figuring out a fake girlfriend situation? I'll admit when I first heard it I was shocked and a little intrigued, but now it's to the point where I'm ready to give it a rest.

The lesson in Manti's story? Don't trust people so easily. People will lie, for no good reason other than to get a sick pleasure out of it. If you get into an online relationship, and they don't want to skype or meet you, run. There's something wrong with that picture.

Just some Sunday night thoughts. Have a lovely week everybody!

5 comments:

Anonymous said... Add Reply

Couldn't agree with you more. Did a good job of stating the obvious.

Anonymous said... Add Reply

This country's obsession with celebrities is so far out of hand, it's not even funny. It would be one thing if you were fascinated by a celebrity because their talent inspired or intrigued you. But these days, people seem to LOVE to see other people fall, and it's sick! It's almost as if the talent takes a backseat to the gossip about a person!
Celebrities are people too! They just happen to be people with extraordinary talents, who have been gracious enough to share said talents with the rest of us. Granted, they make money for it, but they wouldn't make so much if we as consumers weren't willing to pay.
And the fact that they're wealthy doesn't give everyone the right to pick apart their private lives and make a mockery of them.
If we as individuals would use our online presences to speak positive words and try to lift others up, instead of bringing people down, we'd have a better world all around.

S said... Add Reply

Agreed COMPLETELY. If people would only take the time they spent dissecting celebrities' lives and focus on their own instead, or on helping others ... what a difference there could be.

(Also ... <3 for the Backups!)

Shari said... Add Reply

^Oops - that was me! :)

Anonymous said... Add Reply

Nailed it. That's the thing that makes me most iffy about wanting to be in entertainment journalism. I really hate the sensationalism. I was so annoyed when I saw an E! article with the headline "Look! Taylor Swift's a Sourpuss After Adele Wins." How stupid is that? As for Manti Te'o, can't help but feel bad for the guy. I can understand a little bit about the media wanting to dig deeper since it was part of his Heisman campaign but they've been prying too much, and yes, the coverage has been awfully one-sided. Kind of cool that you put this blog up since I'm currently drafting something up about criticizing celebrities, athletes, public figures, and entertainment. It's so pointless because they're doing all the hard work while we're just here in all our normalcy!