Let me be serious for a second. This isn't just an opinion...god knows I have TONS of them, good and bad. This goes a little deeper and its somewhat close to my heart for various reasons, be it as a writer, blogger, whatever...
But:
As a blogger and fellow human being, I find it a personal responsibility to write this post concerning the dangers of reading Perez Hilton and other celebrity gossip websites/rags. I also believe it completely necessary to say that I used to faithfully read Perez's blog and, at the same time, was inevitably busted reading my best friend's US Weekly every, single weekend while visiting him at his apartment. Information cocaine.
Yes, guilty.
Those days are over. Well, actually, those days have been over for awhile now. I stopped reading Perez Hilton over 8 months ago. Happy as ever, too. I literally will not go to his site, no matter the gravity of the "story" nor would I follow him on Twitter. Never. Here's my reasoning:
There's a lot going on in this world. So much that an endless realm of knowledge, worldly experience, and simple observation could be a full-time job for those interested in learning more. In varying professional facets, people are actually paid to observe the world, its intricacies, its common denominator, and subsequently the findings, results and revelations that you probably would never learn about otherwise. The possibility for enlightenment is absolutely endless. Even a newspaper relevant to your own city or hometown is an opportunity to learn about both the world and your own surroundings. Yet the newspaper is a dying breed. It's completely unfortunate. Read them. Even if it's not your local paper. Read dynamically. Headlines, Culture, OpEds, Reviews...learn everything outside of your bubble. It's much more interesting than Lady GaGa's CD. Trust me.
I've said a million times that my personal, forever-inspiring motto is "knowledge is power" because it's so very true. So very true. For me, there's no room for naiveté. I want to be-in-the-know, I want to grow from my findings, from your findings, I want people to tell me things--good, bad, ugly, and beautiful. It's all relative. When I move back to NYC, I'll have subscriptions to The New Yorker and the NY Times. I'll also continue my subscription to the Trib, The Huffington Post, and LA Times. And you gotta love that The Onion is free.99. Thank you, Onion peeps, for the free laugh. I'll also keep current my magazine subscriptions to Time (as well as GQ and Details...I gotta keep on top of moisturizers, fashion, and colognes, duhhh). These outlets provide insight, applicable to my interests but crucial in providing perspective and awareness of events outside of my own existence. Yes, the fact that I need to buy more paper towels is important, but so are the Tehran protests and North Korea's continuous disregard of Earth's other inhabitants.
Sorry, I escaped my point. The soapbox has been dismantled and used for kindling.
Perez Hilton and celebrity-related rags--this is where you stop. Magazines and such that report on the life and times of all that is celebrite are completely obnoxious. Invasive.
Perhaps just plain wrong.
Why do we buy into it? Who cares about who breaks up, who's fat, who's skinny, who's in a spat, oagle their bodies, their dogs, their baby bumps, their riches, their restaurant of choice...who cares?
I don't. And you shouldn't. Think about it:
What is it that makes you care? Boredom? I get that. It's a light read. You're waiting to get your teeth cleaned and have nothing else to look at. The pictures are glossy. Voyeurism is taboo. I get all of that. But, remember, there's a bigger picture you have to be aware of. Yourself. Your interests. Is it reflective? Reflect for a half second about the notion of having a vested interest in someone else's private life. An interest in a life that is so completely unrelated to yours, there's no common thread. No reason other than having a window into that world, peeking through the blinds while feeling both ashamed and intrigued? Is that the reason. Is that fair? Would you like someone to snap your picture mid-forkful of spinach salad? Of course not, you'd resemble a cow. Unless, by chance, you had a well-publicized eating disorder...and if that's the case, would you like a side-profile picture of you at the beach for the world to gawk at? Ridicule. Lessen the seriousness of the disease and instead heighten how freakishly horrible you look? Skinny bitch. Eat a hamburger! Ha Ha! Not funny. Do yourself a favor and turn the table: would you ever want a stranger (the world) to see you at your potential worst? Comment on your life? When you're down, when you're in trouble, when you're sick, when its something as stupid as a bad hair day or as serious as family or a relationship?
Probably not.
I certainly wouldn't. I refuse to pay money for it either. I refuse anyone who exploits such things to make money off my readership. Celeb-magazines, Perez, the paparazzi, the celebrity themselves...none of them are getting a dime of my dinero. Not for that. And they shouldn't get yours, either. Think about it.
Now, Perez. I have no words for this man. He profits (greatly) from you by writing nasty, ugly, hateful commentary, by posting paparazzi pictures, even posting leaked photos of sex scandals, i.e. Rihanna, Dustin Lance Black, etc. He outs closeted gay men and even straight men. Why? He ridicules celebrity children...those both in and not-in the spotlight. He writes as an advocate for gay rights, yet uses hate speech like faggot and employs a "my way or highway" discussion/resolution mentality. His opinion is drenched in materialism, ego, disrespect, and cynicism.
What's worst is that he doesn't even really do anything besides posting pictures. Are we that ADD? Perez is completely incapable of writing. Just shock-value headlines and quips. Immature drawings.
This is what you tune in for? Remember recess? Remember after school? It's your basic school yard scenario, cliche as ever: Perez is the bully and you're either the one getting ridiculed or perhaps you're one of the kids standing around, doing nothing about it. Sad. Grow up.
Considering such, why would anyone find his blog to be enjoyable? Do you really want to be a part of something so ugly? It's like looking at a car accident...yes, we all have a wandering, morbid curiosity. We like to look at stuff we know we shouldn't be. But, put it into perspective people. Perez Hilton writes about trivial, vain, unaffecting celebrity scandal. Isn't this person super ugly in this picture? Look at Britney's vagina! I love Rihanna, but here are some leaked photos of her nude! How do those headlines make you feel about yourself? Upset? Sad? Mad, even?
Let's stray from the emotional response and look at it objectively: it's information you don't need to know in order to remain current, to remain informed. Perez Hilton does not decide pop culture, nor is he an influence. His site is based upon rumor, hearsay, private emotion and struggle. His website is based on everything that is not your business, nor is it applicable to any facet of your life other than your need to feel better about yourself by reading/seeing the misfortunes of others. In other words, his website is shame-inducing guilty pleasure. If you can agree with that, you're on your first step to recovery.
Reevaluate yourself and your energies.
Use your energy to read something else...even if it has to be via the internets. Read CNN.com the next time you're online and bored. They have plenty of non-deep, pop culture-based articles that will satisfy your need for voyeurism, if that's the fill you're looking for. CNN talks about celebrities often, but from a less disrespectful, non-invasive perspective. Try the entertainment section of any credible news source.
Give it a try.
Stop reading Perez Hilton. I can't say it enough or more emphatically. Stop giving him money (every site visit is ad money in his pocket). Stop employing him to unapologetically represent everything that is so very wrong with this country. Don't be a part of that. Please.
Like I said, if anything, read CNN or MSNBC or a newspaper or ANYTHING that doesn't employ the paparazzi. Those people can get real jobs.
Celeb-obsession really needs to end. The glamour of defamation really needs to end. It really, really does. Let it start with you.
No more Perez. Unfollow Perez Hilton's Twitter, cancel your subscription to US, People, Star, The National Enquirer, whatever your poison may be.
Just stop.
