Just this past week, two of my favorite singers, Demi Lovato and Taylor Swift have announced that they are breaking up with their boyfriends. Needless to say, since both of them are famous, chart topping singers, the end of their relationships have become top news stories. However, after watching a report on “Good Morning America” about what went wrong with Taylor Swift and Calvin Harris, I couldn’t help but wonder: why do we care so much about what goes in on the life of celebrities?
The answer with all of celebrity news is that we are all fans of celebrities. We buy their music, watch their television shows and movies, follow them on social media and for some, be a part of fandoms with other people who are devoted to that same celebrity. Every one of us can honestly say that we have a celebrity that we love, and get excited when they release a new movie or an album. Therefore, through their work and social media posts, we feel like we know that person. So when a life changing event, whether it’s a good event or a bad one, we empathize with them and feel for them.
But does it really have to be a top story?
No, it shouldn’t be the top story. Celebrities are human, just like we are. Imagine going through something intense, such as a breakup or a death with a thousand cameras flashing at you in the background, all with the intention of publishing that photo onto a magazine in the grocery story. Therefore, they deserve their privacy and they shouldn’t have to have all of aspects of their private lives dissected for the public eye, just because they had a hit single or album.
While many of us will continue to buy “People” magazine or watch “E!” News to get your latest celebrity news, I encourage you to take a moment to realize that celebrity news isn’t (and shouldn’t be) the top news. While it’s important for some to keep up with every Kardashian and Jenner, remember that it’s not truly news, and there’s more to the news day than just who Harry Styles is dating.
The celebrity culture nowadays is similiar to how kings and queens are treated. We put celebrities on pedestals, and for many, can’t live without their daily diet of celeb news. However, just like kings and queens shouldn’t be idolized, neither should celebrities. And, we as the consumer, feed into that as we continue to buy a copy of a tabloid to learn about what really happened between Justin and Selena, or tune into E! News to learn about what the latest happenings of the Royal Family.
So at the end of the day, sure it’s okay to talk about the latest celebrity news. However, does it need to be extently covered or does we need to know exactly what went on with every relationship? No.
