When most people dream of celebrities, the usual depiction is of the scantily clad, sensuous bombshell romping around on a tropical beach and all the activities that evolve from that.
Entertainment journalists, on the other hand, dream of celebrities on trial. Not that we don’t have libidos. It’s just that scandals are far more interesting than our own fantasies. For some reason the stars aligned this month (pun intended) to produce a plethora of celebrity trials and arrests.
Non-famous people love to watch stars fall from grace, and rightly so. Famous people should not be above the law, and when they are caught doing something illegal it restores faith in the justice sysytem.
Martha Stewart, especially, has come under fire in the court of public opinion. The Associated Press reported the K-Mart empress pleaded not guilty to charges of lying to the government about unloading stock based on an alleged inside tip.
However, the AP also said finding 12 people who have never heard of her nor have any preconceived notions are proving difficult. Even if she is aquitted, her media and retail empire will suffer.
Louisiana has had its share of celebrity convictions and court appearances in the first few weeks of 2004.
Rapper Mystikal, of “Shake Ya Ass” fame, was sentenced to six years in jail for sexual battery.
According to reports from the AP and New Orleans newspaper The Times-Picayune, C-Murder, Louisiana native and brother of rap star Master P, was convicted in September of second-degree murder in the fatal shooting of a teenager inside a nightclub in suburban New Orleans. C-Murder’s arrest is another in the long line of rappers having problems with the law.
On the other hand, there are those celebrity actions that incite public outcry, but have no consequences. Take Steve “Crocodile Hunter” Irwin for example, images of the entertainer dangling his month old son in front of a crocodile likened him to Michael Jackson, who did a similar stunt last year by dangling his baby over a balcony and is in trouble again for alleged child molestation.
These celebrities that people idolize and emulate rarely suffer in terms of image and public opinion when they commit crimes, such as perennial comeback kid, R. Kelly. Perhaps we expect them to screw up, so when they do it is no big surprise.
Sadly, the entertainment world has become even more about publicity of any kind rather than talent. Britney Spears’ record sales are up after her 55-hour wedding — not because of her “talent.”
Although convictions and court dates make great news, it is also an indication of the lack of regard these celebrities have for the laws of this country and their ignorance of their own potential to positively influence their fans.