I often tell people this story to help justify my decision not to buy the latest edition of the hottest tabloid magazines on the shelves - even though I so desperately want to see pictures of Jen's engagement ring, Drew's baby or Suri throwing a strop in the park. I learnt a little while ago that what some celebrities go through in order for us to get our 'celebrity fix' just isn't worth it.
I admit it, I'm a celebrity junkie.
I love all things celebrity and in particular, anything coming out of the US - although I draw the line at reality TV. I can't think of anything more boring than watching a bunch of Z-listers lying around a house with cameras in every corner or watching said Z-listers eating witchetty grubs on a not-so-deserted island. It's not entertaining to me in the slightest.
As we've already established earlier in my blog, I'm a huge fan of US drama series and devour them as soon as they hit our screens. If they meet with the Lins stamp of approval, I will spend my hard-earned money on the box sets once the DVDs are released. As I said... a fan!
I remember being addicted to Santa Barbara when I was much younger - the only soap opera I've ever watched. Kelly Capwell was my idol and I wanted to be just like her. I wrote off to NBC and asked for signed photographs of the cast and I was ecstatic when I got a few replies! Nothing ever arrived from my idol though *sniff* I have no idea where those are today, I wish I still had them.
When I moved to the UK, I had a weekly ritual - Tuesday was HEAT magazine day and Thursday was OK! magazine day. Glamour magazine and New Look were monthly editions and I knew exactly when they would hit the shelves. I couldn't get enough of the celebrity gossip, the pictures of who had been spotted with whom, who was making up and breaking up and who was getting their star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame. I remember pouring over all the details of Brad and Jen's wedding, even modelling my own wedding ring on Jen's - yes... true story! (Although I couldn't afford 20 diamonds, so had to settle for 3 instead).
When my friend and I went to California in 2006, I was like an Energiser Bunny. LA, Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Rodeo Drive, Universal Studios... I don't think I've ever been so excited for a holiday before. And going to Orange County, where The OC was filmed? At that point, I don't think either of us could imagine something ever being more exciting! (Unless, of course, I'd bumped into Britney or my BFF Jen Aniston... then I'd have fainted.) And ironically, we didn't see a single celebrity. New York, on the other hand, is teaming with them. I'll never forget sitting next to Joseph Gordon-Levitt in the Comedy Cellar in Greenwich Village and my cousin being nearly apoplectic telling me to keep it on the 'down-low' because he could see my excitement was at boiling point having just spotted my first 'real' celebrity! And I could never forget our chance discovery of a red carpet, our long wait and subsequent spotting of Anthony Hopkins, Edward Norton, Selma Hayek and P Diddy among others at the premiere of Red Dragon. For a celebrity junkie, this is just about as good as it gets!
A few years ago now, I watched a documentary called 'Stalking Britney' and it was about the Paparazzi business, particularly in LA, but in the US in general. It was heart-breaking. Remember these photos? Most people, myself included, believed the tabloids when they told the story of a broken Britney, who had fallen from grace and gone mental on her ex's car. The entire world saw these photos and read the inaccurate portrayal of the situation. This incident was captured in the documentary and it was so blown out of proportion by the tabloids to make the paps a few million, that the actual footage pales in comparison to the tabloid stories printed within an hour of this incident happening. The clip in the documentary shows Britney scared and cowering away from Paparazzi cameras, which are literally being shoved in her face through the car window. You can hear her asking, and eventually pleading, for them to leave her alone. Which they don't. Cue a very traumatised, scared and angry girl, getting out of the car and bashing an umbrella into the pap's car out of sheer frustration, then getting back into her own car and driving away. That's it. Finished in less than 90 seconds. And I can't say that I blame her. At one point in the documentary, she is being interviewed in a hotel and the camera pans to the street where there are hundreds of paps lying in wait. The interviewer asks what would happen if they were to leave the building and Britney answered something along the lines of 'We can't. We couldn't just leave'. And so it carried on. A paparazzo actually hid in a dustbin just to be able to get the first shot of Ashley Olsen's new haircut as she left the salon! They're relentless. It showed other celebrities being accosted in the street, not being able to walk down the road because there are cameras shoved in their faces. At one point, it showed Britney pulling up at a store to go shopping and not being able to get out of the car because of the masses of paps bashing against the door, trying to open it to be able to get a photo of her. She was terrified and visibly upset. Another shot in the documentary showed about 10 cars lined up outside her property, just lying in wait until she left her house so they could follow her. I could go on and on. It was awful and definitely one of the most disturbing documentaries I've ever seen.
At some point towards the end, Dave walked into the lounge. He watched it for a little while with me and then got up to go to the kitchen. He said to me in passing 'You see? This is what goes into getting the pictures that appear in your celebrity magazines'. And that was it. Lightbulb moment. From that day on, I have never ever spent a single penny on a tabloid magazine. I refuse to line the pockets of people who make a living out of traumatising someone in the public eye, just so that they can get their perfect shot and million dollar pay cheque. I know that my boycott won't make a blind bit of difference, but I feel good for having made the decision.
And this is why I like Twitter. I need something to get my celebrity fix and so I follow the celebrities I want to follow - yes, Britney is one of them - and I am safe in the knowledge that they are communicating with their fans in the way that they want to, not by way of having photos of their unmade-up faces first thing in the morning or sweaty backs after a yoga class plastered all over the latest newsstand release. Some people don't buy into the whole idea of celebrity, but the fact of the matter is that it's a money-spinner and almost certainly always will be. I just don't agree with the tactics they employ to obtain their coveted shot.
A tweet from Kelly Osbourne yesterday summed it up for me really. She said 'Just so you know, this is B-S'.
Celebs setting the record straight in their own words and speaking out without the need for a session on Oprah's couch. I love it.
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