Evelyn Pentikis wonders what the hell makes Lindsay Lohan so newsworthy?
There’s a ton of news around right now about Lindsay Lohan and her alleged sobriety, since her Today Show interview with Matt Lauer this week. I can’t help but ask myself what it is about Ms. Lohan that makes her newsworthy?
Watch Lindsay Lohan’s Today Show interview here, on Entertainment Weekly.
No matter the way I look at it, through a mother eyes or a lawyer’s eyes, Lindsay Lohan is the same: an outrageously bad role model for young people. I don’t feel in the least bad about saying this because as a celebrity she is a public figure and as such opens herself up to the opinions of the general population, of which I am a member.
What makes Ms. Lohan so despicable to me? Because she could have had it all—money, fame, success—and she threw it all away; on drugs, alcohol and just plain bad choices and even worse behavior. I don’t blame her entirely, though. I spread the blame to her celebrity-whoring parents and to society for making it easy and entertaining for her to mess up her life.
She told Matt Lauer that she surrounded herself with the wrong people and this led to her problems and you know, she wasn’t all that mature back then. Well, that’s part of it Ms. Lohan—but you’re missing something—I think it started a long time ago, when you entered Hollywood as a child actor and your parents took a back seat to rearing you. Without parents grounded in integrity and strong values, there was no way you were going to resist the lure of a good time or a fast car. Or for that matter, have any idea that a Court of Law is serious venue and not some hot nightclub. Newsflash: a Judge really doesn’t really care what you’re wearing to a Court Appearance as long as you show up on time with a remorseful attitude and appreciate that you are in big trouble.
So, what is it about Ms. Lohan that makes her newsworthy? I doubt it’s her talent. Could it be her low cut tight dresses, (now) platinum hair and plumped up face? But, I’m curious guys, is she really that good looking? I think the real reason she’s newsworthy is because Americans love to watch her announce on national TV that she’s ready to “prove [she’s] accountable” and then take bets on how soon it’ll take her to fail.
And that is what makes me very sad.
Photo: AP/Al Seib
@leia: So then when Chris Brown, Newt Gingrich or other male celebrities are in the news for doing bad things. Is that misandry.
Jeez, Leia: Really is it misogyny now every single time a woman is looked down on for really bad behaviour.
It’s misogyny….If Lindsay Lohan falls, then everyone can look down at her because it proves the worst beliefs that people have about women: that they are histrionic, incompetent, frail, volatile, and full of lies….
No one wants to hear about smart women, like Supreme Court Justice, Elena Kagan, or about Cynthia Nixon, the Broadway star of “Wit”, or about NYT columnist, Maureen Dowd….it’s easier and more fun to throw tomatoes at Lindsay who is going up in flames….
There’s something very undignified, emotionally immature and malicious about this post that I find quite sad and distasteful in its narrow mindedness. It is easy to formulate emotive sentences that form the basis of a biased and above all judgemental article about a person in the public eye that you do not know. The fact that Lindsey Lohan is famous does not mean that she is automatically fair game for personal attack, this says more about the person writing the article than the subject. A broader more thought filled focused piece could have been written had the writer taken the… Read more »
First, I think this line sums up what the author is saying: I think the real reason she’s newsworthy is because American’s love to watch her announce on national TV that she’s ready to “prove [she’s] accountable” and then take bets on how soon it’ll take her to fail. I think Evelyn is making a comment more about society loving to watch people fail and become trainwrecks… It makes us look at ourselves, like, WHY do we like her? WHY do we care? WHY is she newsworthy? Because we’re voyeuristic sadists, and we’re a society thriving on schadenfreude … She’s… Read more »
Couldn’t have said it better Joanna. Since I don’t know Ms. Lohan personally, I can only comment on how she presents herself to the world and how the world responds to her. When my children ask me who the girl is on the TV the truthful answer would be, “she’s an actor who messed up a lot” and I don’t think this kind of person should be given media time – that’s where ‘she’s paid no real consequences’ comes into play. Why can’t the media focus on young actors who contribute to the betterment of society by some positive action… Read more »
As for her attractiveness:
She is certainly not the most gorgeous woman in Hollywood, but she has an image of being a ‘bad girl,’ which many men find compelling. And deep down, in many men’s minds, to put it bluntly, “she’s crazy enough that she might even have sex with someone like me.”
I might even see a parallel to Chris Brown here. He really isn’t the the most most gorgeous man in show business. He’s pretty hot, sure. So is Lindsay. But when it comes down to it: Whatever, Rihanna, I don’t know what you did wrong, but I can show him how a REAL woman treats her man. And he’s just crazy enough that he might let someone like me (a non-celeb) do it.
I wonder how many people really see her as a role model. The people that claim to emulate her would probably be out-of-control anyway and are just using her as an example of what they expect to get away with.
I’m sick of hearing about the role model thing, myself. Why do actresses, singers, and other celebs have to be role models? They’re there to act, sing, whatever else. Your daily life should be far more impacted by the people in it than by random famous people with millions of dollars.
The average person tries to form a realtionship with them and thus dives into the personal lives of celebrities.
Sometimes Celebrities feed into this by putting their personal lives on display.
Hear hear, I remember ages back people going crazy because Justin Bieber said something vaguely insensitive about gay rights (he said that he supported gay people’s right to their choice). If he were an elected representative that would be newsworthy, as it is he’s a young kid who’s paid to sing songs.
There’s an old saying among the rich and famous: “The only thing worse than being talked about is NOT being talked about.” I’m guessing that’s part of what’s going on here. Also, our society loves to raise up heroes, bring then down, then snicker when they struggle in the gutter. In the past, maybe Lohan’s problems were shocking to the public, but now they’re almost comforting, somehow. These stories tell us that there are people even worse off than we are, and being good-looking, rich, and famous doesn’t make you a better person. In fact, there’s a little part of… Read more »