Often when they get caught in a scandal or some less than flattering compromising position, the first phrase I hear them say is, "I'm not a role model." I counter that by saying that everyone is a role model, whether they choose to be or not. Celebrities especially should realize that if they value having an audience for what they do in their chosen field, they should not be surprised when some in that audience become interested in their "real-world" activities. Celebrities are only human, and it is unfortunate that their mistakes become amplified in the mass media glare. But it's not unusual for fans who like their cinematic or sports heroes to expect them to live up to certain ideals, or at least not do anything to negate those ideals.
Yet, as much as celebrities complain about the press drawing attention to their off-screen, off-stage, and off-field foibles, they also practically beg for the media and the public to pay attention to their commentary about other issues. They readily use their fame for positive and (often unintentionally) negative gain -- to raise money and attention for chosen charities, and to further political or social causes.
Celebrities are still citizens and have a right to express their ideas and opinions. They often act, however, as if their fame earns them some expertise on certain issues or some authority on certain topics.
Here's what the anonymous Mad Blogger has to say. (Remember, he has a certain way with words that I don't always approve, but beneath his sometimes crude choice of verbiage, he sparks some interesting thoughts for debate. As always, his opinions do not necessarily reflect mine or my blog, the City of Kik. I only share them to spur discussion):
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Actors Talk Too Much
by The Mad Blogger
Do you remember the "good old days" when you would go to a movie, and you would see an actor do the job? The actor may do it well or do it poorly, but you really wouldn't see or hear from that actor until they starred in the next movie?
Those days are long gone. Nowadays, perhaps because of multi-tasking, or maybe because of the economy, these actors have taken on a second job. For now, it is no longer trendy to be "just" an actor. Now, an actor must do more to be more.
Take Tom Cruise, for example. At one time, teenage girls (and some of you guys, not that there's anything wrong with that) would get all moist and creamy whenever he would fly a jet plane or deliberate in a courtroom or accomplish an impossible mission.
Then, Mr. Cruise decided that "cruising" as an actor would no longer suffice for him. And so, he decided to become the poster boy for a religion and marry Katie Holmes. Now, I'm not a follower of his religion, but if you want to worship the idea that little green people are our ancestors, go Marvin the Martian to the 25th Level for all I care. But, when you are spewing your fanatic belief on TV, on the radio, on the Internet, when documentary and testimonial after documentary and testimonial are made to honor your "greatness," then, you might want to take a step back, try a little decaf, and, oh, I don't know, maybe realize that you are an actor and that you should, oh, I don't know, act?
Getting back to the nuptials between Mr. Cruise and Ms. Holmes, I don't know about you, but I always envisioned professing my love for my wife by going on a talk show, jumping on a couch, and exclaiming, "I LOVE HER!" To me, that is the epitome of reality and normalcy. Then again, perhaps if I believed little green people were my ancestors, that would actually make sense. Perhaps, when these little green people lived on Mars hundreds of thousands of years ago, it was considered rude if you did NOT jump on the couch of your host.
Next, take Pamela Anderson. For those of you who know me, you know I love Pamela Anderson because she has nice yammy cakes and she is smoking hot. Yes, I watched her in Baywatch, and when I would tape her, I would play her runs across the beach in super slow motion to see her jiggly wigglies be a bit more jiggly and a mite more wiggly. My bedroom became a pictorial shrine to her beauty. Why my mother was OK with me pasting half-naked posters of Ms. Anderson on my wall, I do not know, but Pamela was there, in all her glory.
However, apparently, Ms. Anderson felt that being uber-jiggly and ultra-wiggly was not enough. Although she was a blond bombshell, and her biggest claim to fame would become the Tommy Lee video, she decided that was not enough. And so, she decided to attack women who would commit the heinous crime of wearing fur.
Why? Maybe because she decided to shave her natural beaver, she did not want other women to sport beaver coats. Perhaps, she spent too much time in the sun during those Baywatch days, and suffered from delayed heat exhaustion. Who knows, but whatever the reason, Ms. Anderson believed that it was now her mission to seek out and destroy all those miscreants who donned fur coats.
Next up, we have Johnny Depp. People Magazine's Sexiest Man Alive Johnny Depp. Pirates of the Caribbean 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 (How many of these movies are they making anyway?) Johnny Depp. Multi-millionaire Johnny Depp. Who made his money making movies in America. Then, for some unknown reason, Mr. Depp decided to buy a villa in France.
Now, France is the bane of the United States. France will always hate us because we bailed them out when Hitler paid them a visit some 65 years ago, and their response was to grab the KY and bend over. As a result, because we had the stones to fight back and they didn't, they despise us. Always have. Always will.
And so, prolonged exposure to France, including living in the country, will cause one to put down America. And that is exactly what Mr. Depp did. Said that America was part of this evil empire of capitalism and that we exert our authority and overstep our bounds. Now, I'm no rocket scientist, but if (a) you make your money from a country, then (b) you bash it? I guess this subscribes to the same premise as little green people once walking around New York, ala The Green Gazoo from The Flintstones, but to me, that seems illogical. Then again, I think tofurkey does not taste the same as turkey, so what do I know?
Anyway, when these comments were published, Mr. Depp backpedaled faster than a person with rear-view mirrors. And yet, still, he lives in the south of France, and still, he wears too much eye makeup. I guess that is sexy in France, but it's also sexy there for people not to shower, for women not to shave their armpits, and for men to wear marble sacks instead of bathing suits. What can I say? I'm a different breed of cat.
The point here is that actors should realize how fortunate they are to not only have jobs, but to also make millions of dollars from these jobs. They should save their voices for those jobs. For all other matters, they should keep their mouths shut.
Silence is golden. This motto has never been more appropriate than when it relates to the political and environmental opinions of actors.
If you'd like to respond to The Mad Blogger, you can do so by e-mailing me at krrmw@yahoo.com.
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Feel free to send comments, hatemail, love notes, and whatever you wish, directly to the Mad Blogger, not to me, especially if you choose to defend the honor of Cruise, Anderson, Depp, and France. But I do welcome anything interesting you might have to say about celebrities' separation of their jobs and their extracurricular craziness.
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