Comment Box: Defining Celebrity; A Good Read
What is your criteria for defining someone as a celebrity and thus deemed worthy for your column? Is this an ethereal thing or are there hard and fast rules? -- Submitted during last week's Celebritology Live chat
Angelina Jolie, Gilbert Arenas, William Hung, Ashley Alexandra Dupre -- all celebrities, of a sort -- famous, infamous, skeevy, it doesn't take much these days to gain a foothold in the news-scape or score a Barbara Walters/Diane Sawyer/Matt Lauer interview. But, since you asked about MY criteria and what I deem worthy for MY column, here's a short checklist:
1. Is somehow, even tangentially, related to the entertainment business. So, Tom Brady (and his penchant for dating supermodels) is in and Michael Vick (and his doggie day care) are out. Same goes for politicians and other three-piece suit types, unless they find themselves sucked into the Hollywood tractor beam. So, no Eliot Spitzer here (no matter how much we talk about it in the weekly chat), but plenty of Obama, as far as he's a celeb fave in this year's presidential election cycle. (In the interest of balance and conservative search engine crawlers, I'd like to add the following: Sylvester Stallone John McCain chuckle).
2. Once a celeb, always a celeb. Look no further than this morning's Mix (below) for proof. Some nutty guy on the red carpet? Shrug. Cast Gary Busey as that whackadoodle and, hello, we've got a keeper! The same goes for you and your new baby, Soliel Moon Frye. And, Lindsay Lohan, if you're reading this may come as some comfort: careers may evaporate, but your star power will shine through even the murkiest of Hollywood descents. Just ask former gal pal Tara Reid.
3. Is Britney Spears.
Good Read: Confessions of a Celebrity Blogger (Huffingtonpost.com)
I'm reminded daily of the dichotomy (See Mariah, I can use it, too!) between Celebritology and the majority of celeb-centric blogs. I sift through much chaff to bring you only the finest in star-focused news. And there's something I've been keeping from you. Well, a lot of somethings. Confession time: Sometimes I don't include items that may overtaking the rest of the Internet because they're just too crude, cruel or ridiculously untrue to brand with the washingtonpost.com stamp of approval.
That's why I was fascinated with Charlotte Hilton Anderson's piece about the life of a ghost blogger for a popular -- yet unnamed -- celebrity blog. Anderson recounts her slow awakening to the expectation that she fabricate items. In response to one item that triggered a public denial from Michelle Williams, Anderson says her employer mused that Williams "got tons of free publicity out of it, so she probably secretly liked it."
Read Anderson's peek behind the curtains here.
Comment of the Week
"In the future, no one shaves their legs! Celine Dion is huge here." -- Methinks comments on the March 12 Morning Mix
| March 18, 2008; 10:56 AM ET
Categories: Comment Box
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