Bye-Bye to a Decade of Celebrity Scandal

I wish I could refrain from inking some of these names one more time, but I’ll do it as a final parting gesture

Farewell to 2010 and to some of the decade's scandalous celebrity news which, in my humble opinion, got too much airtime. 

Looking back on the past 10 years of celebrity coverage, Hollywood reports certainly highlighted a twisted trend in the entertainment industry — rehab, court-ordered or voluntary, is seemingly Tinsel Town’s latest legacy. An untamable teen singer, the party house on the east shore, teenage pregnancy, dating lessons, raising too many kids on television, the death of an embattled music legend, politicians and athletes failing their families and supporters, violent vocal rampages and less than shining Sheen behavior are only a few of this decade’s newsmakers. 

I wish I could refrain from inking some of these bad boys and girls’ names one more time, but I’ll do it as a final parting gesture to illustrate the bad examples some have set and hope that if I mention their monikers in the future they are followed by a bit of respectable news.

At the top of my good-riddance list of 2010 is Miley Cyrus. She finally turned 18 this year and as I had mentioned before, will be completely off my radar from now on. How could a child (before and after she became an adult) be the center of so much controversy and negative press? Though the Teen Pop Queen’s parents missed the mark balancing leniency and discipline, some finger-pointing also needs to go in the fame industry’s direction — especially Cyrus’ entourage. Some of the leeches surrounding the Hannah Montana superstar should take a hard look at the person they’ve shaped while cashing their checks; tattoos, bongs, stripper poles, sheets, lap dances, and the famous youth’s childhood culminating with her parent’s public divorce. Talk about an unscripted reality show! Please, let’s not have The Cyrus Family Crash and Burn Show surface … ever!

When January 2011 rolls around, I certainly hope the name Lindsay Lohan will not be preceded by the words jail, rehab, drugs, DUI, alcohol, assault, etc. Again, blaming her parents has been done. Now, the people who have fed families and paid mortgages based on her ill-fated fame should take a hard look at themselves and add to their ‘job’ description something that includes not being a yes person to everything this misguided starlet thinks she may want to do to.

Clearly the Jersey Shore has not frozen over during the Snowpocalypse of 2010. The origins of the names Snooki and The Situation are unknown to me, but if they’re not heard of again in the next decade they won’t be missed much. GTL would then stand for Goodbye Total Losers. The contribution this lame show has made to our youth’s cultural upbringing are tans, bump-its, and atrocious behavior similar to what must be fashioned after brothel-style residents.

It certainly seems Charlie Sheen was born with the Midas touch – his hit show Two and Half Men is a goldmine for those involved with it. His personal life and public behavior, on the other hand, certainly don’t live up to the Golden Rule. Why does a brat like him get away with such irresponsible social conduct?  One redeeming point worth noting is that his 16 year-old co-star, Angus T. Jones, who has practically grown up next to Sheen, doesn’t seem to be affected by this buffoon’s ability to assume a character role — let’s hope the teenager doesn’t look up to Sheen for his strength of character in the real world.

John Edwards, Jessie James and Tiger Woods are names that will forever live in infamy and are the result of the decade of decadence’s scandal-riddled headlines. The degree of their transgressions is so low they’re only worth lumping together in a single paragraph. However, Woods is the one surname  I must emphasize because though not surprisingly bad karma, or whatever you’d like to call the depths of the hole the golfer is in, was brought upon him by his base actions fueled by fame and entitlement. Not many imagined this athlete’s demise would be so swift and stark after his admission of multiple adulterous incidents earlier this year.

Though all of the above mentioned do good things for others in great quantities (at least I hope so) this doesn’t make the headlines as often as it should, and is practically overshadowed by the negative impact their behavior has on our society. Unfortunately, it’s only when these famous people fall that we find out who they really are and their shocking episodes trickle down to the mass media and into our living rooms.

As Yvette Nicole Brown told me during a visit to the Paramount Studios’ set of the TV sitcom “Community,” “We have a responsibility we can’t ignore. We are role models whether we like it or not, especially those of us who have roles that involve children. Actors have a responsibility to make sure young ones don’t get the wrong messages from the actors' behavior off camera as well.”

Ladies and gents, this new year raise your glasses to the next decade, the Teen years, and toast to healthier Hollywood behavior, wholesome headlines and leading men and women leading by example. 

Comments