A celebrity is simply a well-known person. A celebrity is not necessarily a philanthropist, a role model or, unfortunately, even a good person. Boo hoo. It’s a sad reality, but it’s life. To assign such duties to celebrities merely exemplifies the rising public obsession with celebrities. Why is that we even expect people like Taylor Momsen to be role models? She’s an actress, best known for playing Jenny Humphrey on “Gossip Girl.” This is the show “Gossip Girl” that we’re talking about, not “Sesame Street,” “Hannah Montana” or “Barney.” I personally find it implausible that teenage girls see the stars of “Gossip Girl” as role models. We’re talking about a show full of catty girls who stab each other in the back, have sex with their friends’ boyfriends and use drugs. Taylor Momsen could be a role model, but she’s not, and it’s not her responsibility to be one. Her sole responsibility is to be an actress. As I’m sure everyone knows by now, Taylor Momsen addressed the crisis in Haiti by stating, “To be honest, I don’t f—ing care. I didn’t get into this to be a role model. So I’m sorry if I’m influencing your kids in a way that you don’t like, but I can’t be responsible for their actions. I don’t care.” I believe that she has a legitimate point and, to tell you the truth, I even applaud her. She got into the acting business to act, to earn money and to entertain the masses. That is what an actress does. And while it is definitely true that actors and actresses often have enough fame and fortune to really make a difference in this world, the ones that try only do so because they want to. These celebrities also happen to be philanthropists, and I applaud these people for what they do. That being said, I do not condemn those celebrities that do not undertake such noble and admirable acts. Don’t get me wrong. I do not approve of Tiger Woods cheating on his wife or of Kanye West being a disrespectful jerk. But I do not criticize Taylor Momsen for telling the truth. She didn’t lie, claim to be sympathetic or make some carefully edited statement in which she falsely promises to do her best to help the refugees in Haiti. While her words were not pretty, they were sincere. And in a world where there are too many adulterous and backstabbing celebrities, true honesty, however unpleasant, is a breath of fresh air. While I disagree with the opinions concerning Taylor Momsen stated in “Live Up To Your Celebrity” by Christiana Nguyen ’12, I do agree with her opinion that America’s values and morals are deteriorating. As Cammy Brandfield-Harvey ’11 mentioned in her article “Who Wants to be a Celebrity?,” the shameful behavior of celebrities is too often applauded and recognized. What has spawned our misplaced obsession with the lives of people we have never even met? Take Tiger Woods for example. When it first surfaced that he was cheating on his wife, dozens of articles were published with titles like “Source: Elin Nordegren Plans Split from Tiger Woods,” “ Elin to Spend Holidays in Sweden Without Tiger” and “What Would a Divorce Cost Tiger?” These articles all speculate, have “sources” from “close” friends and are accompanied by pictures of Tiger’s wife and children that were taken without consent. While Tiger’s behavior is inexcusable, it’s also none of our business. This matter should have been settled with Tiger, his wife, his family and his friends. Those are the people who deserve the apology. Our meaningless obsession with the celebrity figure makes a prominent appearance when the wronged wives of adulterers can’t get a minute of privacy or escape the buzzard-esque paparazzi, even while on vacation in Sweden. Is it fair for Tiger’s wife to be punished both for her husband’s misdeeds and her marriage to a celebrity? Does Tiger even deserve all of this media attention? He became a golf star and celebrity because he loved the sport and was good at it. He does not deserve to be skewered by the public for his every misstep. I’m not defending Woods or his misdeeds. All I’m saying is that he is a human being, and being a celebrity shouldn’t mean that he and his family are subjected to intense media attention during this immensely tough time. But, then again, the paparazzi aren’t the only ones to blame. Those people live to earn money, serve the American people and feed America’s hunger for scandal. They don’t care who they’re hurting. They just want the dirt on their favorite celebrities. In the end, the true culprits are the millions who starve for this dirt, the ones who feed and nurture our obsession with celebrity. Amanda Zhu is a Junior from West Hartford, CT.
