HOLLYWOOD, Calif. — We are living in a sick world, but I think we all know that already.
The sun is just beginning to set here in Southern California, and I’m feeling compelled to unleash my anger. A few hours ago, I reported on the Los Angeles Times breaking the news that Britney Spears had been released from the psychiatric ward at the UCLA Medical Center. And now, as I’m about to catch my breath for the day, I am finding article after article already detailing the whereabouts of the singer. I’m in the business, but I’m also very disgusted.
Is this news? Is the next step for Britney, hours after she was released, bigger than the war in Darfur? Closer to home, 54 people have been reported dead already since yesterday evening due to tornadoes and storms in the southern part of our country. It is the deadliest tornado outbreak in the U.S. in more than 20 years. Does anyone care?
Did anyone read the declaration by Britney’s mom, Lynne Spears, yesterday as part of the restraining order against Sam Lutfi, the singer’s friend and sometimes manager? I did. You couldn’t possibly read it and not come away with a sick feeling in your stomach after doing so. How much of it is true, I don’t know. Is Lutfi part of the problem? Perhaps, but even if he is, he is not the only person to blame for the singer’s downfall.
I read these headlines and I can only shake my head in bewilderment: “How It Went Down,” “First Photo Post-Psych Word,” “Britney on the Move!” Here we are, hours later, and there is already countless reports, photos, videos and television coverage, all reporting on Britney’s whereabouts and her every move. It’s overkill. I can recognize the need to report on her hospital release, but I can’t comprehend the failure to respect the life of another human. Have you ever stopped to wonder what it would be like to have cameras and reporters detailing every step you took? Think about it. I don’t care if you’re a celebrity or an average Joe, being under such a constant microscope would challenge anyone. Legally, we have a name for this in all other walks of life outside of celebrity, it’s called stalking. For whatever reason, in Hollywood, the law stares in another direction.
Who’s to blame here? Is it Britney herself? Yeah, sure, she invites much of the attention herself at times. There are many around Hollywood who are well known for placing a phone call before heading outside, making sure the cameras will be positioned just right on them. But there’s another side too, the stars you don’t read about as much. That’s because they don’t call attention to themselves. They place an importance on their privacy and they manage to live in relative obscurity. It can be done. Robert Redford is just one example. Yeah sure, Redford lived in a different era, free of countless tabloids and Web sites devoted to pop culture. But even in his heyday, he managed to maintain his privacy. And there are A-list stars today who still manage to do the same.
People love to throw out the theory that when you become a celebrity, you have to take the good with the bad. After all, you knew what you were getting into when you signed up for the gig. But you know, there’s also a fine line with everything in life, and the media companies devoted to celebrity coverage are crossing it far too often these days. Britney is obviously in dire need of help. I don’t believe she is stable enough mentally right now to do it alone. She’s in need of someone with the right intentions. I think that’s the part that amazes me the most looking in from the outside. She hasn’t been able to find that support from her family, at least not yet, but it’s remarkable to think that between her record label and all the other business interests surrounding her, nobody has been able to step in and steer her down the right path.
I know what many of you are thinking, if someone is on drugs or not in the right frame of mind, it’s impossible to get through to them. That’s true. I’ve seen it firsthand in my own life with people that I’ve met who haven’t been able to kick particular habits. But we are also talking about a unique individual, one who means millions of dollars to the bottom lines of the people surrounding her. How is it possible that nobody has been able to step in and help her? Are they simply seeing dollar signs and think her career is over, so why bother?
There has always been a fascination with celebrity. There always will be. But what bothers me is that somewhere along the line society started to find more and more joy in seeing their heroes fall from the pedestal. A few years ago, I asked Shar Jackson about the public’s fascination with pop culture. As you know, Jackson was front and center in the tabloids when her ex-boyfriend, Kevin Federline, left her while she was pregnant to be with Britney. Jackson told me, “You know, it’s crazy that you ask that, because I think about that every single day. I don’t know if it’s just that we’re bored with our own lives, so it’s more exciting to read about somebody else’s. I think it’s unfortunate though. We only want to read about negative stuff. That I do not understand. I can’t figure it out why it’s like that. But, unfortunately it is, and people love to hear about other people’s heartache and that they’re struggling. Maybe it makes us feel better about ourselves and make us go, ‘Well, actually my day really wasn’t all that bad, because this person’s day was horrific.’ “
I’m willing to bet that Jackson’s point is well taken and that there’s a large portion of society sitting back with a large bag of popcorn right now, loving every minute of Britney’s fall. I know, I know, she had it all and she blew it. Listen, I’m not saying she’s innocent here. She’s made her share of mistakes, obviously. But we’re living in a different world now. And no one in history, not Elvis, not Marilyn Monroe, no one has faced the level of media pressure that Spears has in her lifetime.
And what’s happening in Spears’ life right now is nirvana to the celebrity media industry. “An editor’s dream is to have a real life soap opera unraveling in front of you, and Britney Spears provides that every week,” OK! magazine’s U.S. editor Sarah Ivens recently told the Associated Press.
According to Ivens, OK! has a 10-person team in Los Angeles devoted to covering Britney. Yes, you read that right.
Sadly, there is no end in sight. Advertising spending is booming right now for celebrity publications from Star to Us Weekly. A fact even more startling when you consider that spending on traditional media is steadily declining. It’s a numbers game, really. As long readership is up and advertisers are on board, the demand will remain.
So this is the world we live in. And this is why, within minutes of her release, the paparazzi is hot on Britney’s trail. The reality is, we created this world. We buy the magazines, we tune into the shows and we pound the Web on a daily basis.
Anyone can recognize that the best thing for Britney Spears right now is to be left alone. But unfortunately, we live in a society where the almighty dollar is more important than the life of any one individual.
