Being a fan of a certain musician, actor or athlete meant following everything they did. I would look up to these people, support everything they did and aspire to be like them. When I was little, I had a huge crush on Aaron Carter. I thought he was the best pop star out there. Then, he disappeared for a few years. When he came back, I had heard that he was partying and drinking a lot. Now that I'm older, I realize he wasn't doing anything different than a lot of people his age but I remember being let down by him. This happens a lot with celebrities. So, should we hold regular people to a higher standard because they are famous?
Over and over again, I see talented people rise to fame and as soon as we know about their personal life, we criticize them for the mistakes they make. We make them seem like terrible people and just like that, they fall from grace. But when doing this we should ask ourselves an important question—would we judge our friends this harshly?
For me, the answer is no. If my friends or family members were in a fight, got drunk or said something mean to someone, I wouldn't end my relationship with them. I would question why they did something so out of character, but I would acknowledge they aren't the only ones who make mistakes. I would hope they would act with better judgement in the future but I wouldn't stop believing in them.
This is how we should react when a celebrity has a bad moment in the public eye, but we don't. Instead, we say they are a bad influence on our youth. We say the fame has gone to their head and they have "changed." While some celebrities do change when they become famous, the majority of them are just normal people. They make mistakes just like everyone else, and they shouldn't be judged for them. The only difference between us and the people we look up to is that every move they make is being watched more carefully. This puts them in a difficult situation, and it can be hard for them to live their life.
Celebrities shouldn't be held to a higher standard, but they are. They have lots of people looking up to them so they need to be careful. This means they have to watch about what they say and do. Of course they can make mistakes, but they also need to be aware that they are being watched closely. We need to make sure we don't look at them as anything more than normal people. We need to accept that people make mistakes because it is a part of everyone's life.
