What is it about celebrity news that interests so many of us? We all have that seemingly obsessed friend who wants to know every last move of every celebrity. But, I don’t know about you but I’ve been pretty surprised by some people who show a clear interest in the lives of celebrities. To say I was floored when my seventy five year old father wanted to chat about Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton is an understatement! But if I have learned anything from that query, it is that people, all kinds of people, from all different walks of life, are curious about celebrity news. That got me thinking . . . why do so many of us care about celebrity news? I came up with many answers, and as you can imagine they vary greatly from distraction to genuine interest to connection. But before we talk further about “the why” let’s talk about what celebrity news is? I have a strict definition of it. To me, celebrity news is just that—news about people we think are famous, not rumors about people we think are famous. According to Webster, news is “A report of recent events; previously unknown information.” I would add to this definition that there needs to be truth to the information, real PROOF to back up that report of recent events. To me, that’s where the dividing line between gossip and news begins to be drawn. Now, don’t get me wrong, certain kinds of gossip I love. As long as it’s not mean, made up or has the potential to hurt someone, to me, gossip is just fine. Fun talk about hair styles, clothing or vacations? Bring it on! But gossip about divorce or defamation or death? That’s not okay. I truly enjoy discussing celebrity news and lawsuits but as PROOF we do it with razor focus on truth and facts. That’s what makes the way we deliver celebrity news different from any other celebrity news source out there today.
So let’s look more closely at why so many people are so interested in celebrity news Why do we care about A-Listers, sitcom stars, pro athletes, musicians, singers, models and, of course, the ever-growing social media celebrities-those whose fame came and is maintained on Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat, Facebook, and/or websites and blogs? As stated above, there are many reasons why we care about celebrity news. The main reason, is pretty simple: it’s fun! When we read about the money, fame, good looks, and great clothes that go along with celebrity life, we allow ourselves to dream, to imagine what it would be like to walk out of a hot LA restaurant dressed to kill with a gorgeous man or woman on our arm with lights flashing, paparazzi calling our name. Most times, we don’t think about the lack of privacy celebs suffer or the pain they experience when their most private failures become public—rich fodder for everyone to comment on or tweet about whether the information is true or not. This interest in the fairy tale life is big part of what keeps us coming back time and again for celebrity news.
But, what about that negative stuff? The lawsuits? The downfalls? Studies show that we care about them too—maybe even more than the fairy tale. When we see our favorite celebs, the ones whose lives seem so perfect on the outside, experience the end of a marriage, a loss of a loved due to another’s negligence or an emotional breakdown, we begin to truly realize that celebs are human too. Perhaps they aren’t so different from us after all. This is good news because it means when we start thinking these things we are beginning to tap into our feelings of empathy. And that is when the truth in celebrity news becomes most important. True celebrity news—not gossip, not rumor. And that is also when further connection occurs from us to the celebrity and from their situation to those that may be present in our own lives. It’s when we may realize we can learn from these seemingly perfect, fun filled lives. We may not all be able to afford to resolve our custody matters via a private judge like Brad and Angelina but we can take from that decision how important it is to protect our children in that type of situation –however we can, no matter how bad the facts. And we an do this real life application with each piece of celebrity news. Now certainly we are not likely to be robbed in a private apartment in Paris like Kim Kardashian but the sad truth is that we are all at risk of being a victim of a crime. And, what if we are afraid of an ex who is bothering us, saying threatening words, showing up at our workplace? Do we do nothing or do we respond like Bethenny Frankel and seek a restraining order?
The truth is the more we investigate celebrity news and the lives of celebrities, the more we realize that celebrities are people too. They want to love and be loved, they want to work hard and be recognized for their hard work, they want strong solid families filled with truth and honesty. Most don’t want to be gossiped about or the subject of rumor-filled conversations about looks and money.
It is important that the information that gets out there is correct. Purveyors of celebrity news owe it to the fans (as well as to the celebs). It is simply not fair to ask fans to connect with a story, support a loved celebrity, and perhaps even learn something they can apply to their own lives from a celebrity’s experience, if one is loose with the truth. True celebrity news must focus on fact not sensationalist rumor because if it doesn’t than it’s not news at all. (If it’s fake news one is seeking, there is whole genre of news that covers that.) When it’s real people, real lives that we’re talking about, journalists need to certain to speak the truth, to investigate stories, to research facts. Yes, it is hard today with social media and the ever-increasing need for more celebrity news, faster. I understand that but that’s not a reason to spew untruths. At PROOF with Jill Stanley, we don’t spread rumors, we don’t gossip and we don’t tell lies. We deliver celebrity news you can rely on as accurate.