I’m so excited. I just got back from my European Vacation, and now I’m planning my trip to LA to attend the A Minor Consideration First Ever Guiding Star Gala.
AMC is very near and dear to my heart. These guys were there for me during all my stuff going on, and now, I want to pay it back.
They’re holding a big event on August 30th, at the famed Hollywood Lucky Strike Bowl. A bunch of other Former Child Stars are going to be there, and there will be a silent auction, as well as a whole bunch of memorabilia up on eBay. We’re trying to raise money so we can be more effective when it comes to helping out other former and current child stars. AMC has done to so much already to help change laws and make the industry a safer place for kids, but it’s not cheap to change legislation.
If you can make it out to the big event in LA, please come along, enjoy an evening bowling and socializing with your favourite childhood actors. If you can’t be in LA, keep an eye out for details of the auctions. There’s going to be a bunch of amazing stuff put up. Click on the poster above, and it will take you to the AMC Gala Page where you can buy tickets to the event.
Australia doesn’t have a lot of Celebreality shows. There was the three seasons of Celebrity Apprentice, one so far of I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here, and now they’ve announced Celebrity Big Brother, which only had one version way back in 2002. The US and the UK have a massive amount of Celebrity reality shows. I’m not sure if it’s because they have more celebrities to make these shows with, or if audiences are just more receptive in other markets.
Celebrity Apprentice Australia
Anyone who follows me knows how much I love celebreality. Sure, sometimes none of us know who the “celebrity” is, and whether they really qualify to be on a celebrity version of a show, but sometimes, those wild cards end up being the most interesting contender. People complain about these shows not having bigger celebrities, but lets be real, you’re never going to get an A lister, or probably even a B lister to go on one of these shows. Honestly, I think they’re far more interesting with lesser known, or past their prime celebrities. Famous people have a brand to protect. The up and comers, or those who have fallen from grace, don’t give a shit. They’re willing to get down and dirty. They’re going to let their real personality shine. They’re not going to attempt to maintain a persona for weeks on end, trying to make sure they don’t damage their reputation.
I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here.
That said, there seems to be a huge difference in how the US and the UK cast these shows, and how their talent acts on them. The Americans always cast big, loud, brash characters, with the intent of putting a group of people together who they know will not get along. The entertainment is supposed to come from everyone yelling and scratching each others eyes out. Most of the US talent know what the network wants, and will immediately throw a diva fit, or start crying, or spend weeks antagonizing each other. Sure, it’s drama, but frankly, it bores the shit out of me. I’m sure it also bores other people, which is why the US versions of shows only last a couple of seasons, or are sporadically programmed.
The UK versions prefer to throw a bunch of people together who will be all nice and polite to begin with, until the close confines start to wear thin. Along with the challenges being set to them, they will start to become unhinged. The slow unravel is much more interesting to watch, and creates more water cooler conversations as you work out who is going to form alliances, and who will lose it next. I also find it refreshing that the UK celebs freely admit they’re going on the show to earn money, and raise their profiles. In other countries people all yabber on about how they’re on there to raise money for charity, or make up some other selfless reason to go on there. Sure, it’s great to raise money for charity, but don’t deny you’re also getting paid a wad of cash, and it’s great personal publicity.
Just like the Aussie version of these shows always have a token foreigner or two, the UK version also has a token US celebrity. Lately though, the UK version of Celebrity Big Brother has been having more and more US cast members, to the point they’re doing an actual UK vs US version. Earlier this year, they had a version with five Americans on there, including Perez Hilton.
Celebrity Big Brother UK. Do you know who all these people are?Seriously, who draws dicks on pictures?
Now, while we all know who Perez Hilton is, I’m not sure a guy who got famous for a blog where he posts pictures of actual celebrities with dicks drawn on their faces really qualifies. Yes, he’s become as famous as the people he writes about, but the guy is an absolute fucktard, and doesn’t need more oxygen. I guess the people in the UK either didn’t get who he was, or they knew exactly who he was, and that’s why they cast him. He was the epitome of the US reality star. He was worse than when Heidi and Spencer Pratt went on IACGMOOH. The whole time he just set out to create drama. He didn’t possess an inside voice, and spent half the time in there screaming about how it was “The Perez Show”, while dancing around in his undies. I didn’t like Perez before he went on there, and I absolutely hate him with a passion now. He was someone who went on TV to raise his profile, and ended up just destroying his brand. I wonder if he watched the show back afterwards and realized what a douchebag he was. Probably not. He’s probably still blaming it all on editing. He seems to thrive on people hating him though, so he probably thinks it was a win for him.
On the other hand, when it was announced Katie Hopkins was on the show, she was met with boos as she walked in. I only knew Katie as the woman who had some very nasty views on people, and thought she would be the queen bitch of the show, and that I would hate her. After the first couple of episodes, I actually started to really like her. Yes, she’s opinionated. Yes, she can be a bitch. Yes, she doesn’t like ginger babies, and yes, she’s a snob. Yet, I found her to be a very genuine person during her time on there, and I loved that she was the one person who took no shit from Perez. Now, when you’re one of the most hated women in Britain, and you look good compared to Perez, that should be a life lesson. I’m not the only one who thought Katie was much better than Perez. I found this online poll. She would have fared better if she had backed off a bit instead of always fighting with him, but c’est la vie. I’m sure everyone else was screaming on the inside.
The fact these two were kept on there after Jeremy Jackson, the former child star best known as Hobie from Baywatch, and then Reg Holdsworth were evicted in the first week for bad behaviour, made many people watching at home ask if the whole show was manipulated. Perez claimed he was getting paid more than anyone else, and at one point also claimed it was in his contract he would make it to at least the final 3 episodes. Perez should have been evicted plenty of times, but because of the massive ratings, it appeared as if Big Brother was giving him immunity to keep him on the show for longer. Yes, at first it made for good ratings, but it pissed off a lot of the audience. Deceptive contacts are not good for shows. (It’s like when David Hasselhoff appeared on the Aussie version of Celebrity Apprentice, and claimed he had to leave for family reasons after the third episode. Then it came out he was only ever going to be in three episodes. Viewers were saying “Not happy Jan”.)
Katie Hopkins ended up making it to the end with Katie Price, who ultimately won the show. Pricey was a late intruder, and missed the initial fights. She was also hopped up on pain meds, and was totally laid back during her time. Some people found her very boring, but I thought it was nice to see someone not screaming. She was very much like late comer Freddie Flintoff who won IACGMOOH in Australia.
While it made for good entertainment initially, it started to get boring very quickly as a viewer, and I certainly can’t imagine how torturous it was for the rest of the poor celebrities living in that house. We as viewers could simply hit mute, or turn the telly off altogether when it got too loud. The rest of the people on the show had to live with it, 24/7. It’s no wonder that people walked out. I’m not sure I could have dealt with it. It’s a good thing they had cameras rolling non stop, or Celebrity Big Brother could have turned in Celebrity Cluedo real quick. Perez certainly loved to tell the producers people were threatening him. Of course, anytime he threatened someone, he was “just talking smack.”
Ideally, the best way to be on these shows is as the host. You get to see all the drama, meet all the celebs, but you get to go home to peace and quiet every night. Best of both worlds. Chris Brown and Julia Morris were fabulous on IACGMOOH, and who doesn’t love Ant & Dec? I’m currently girl crushing on Emma Willis. She has the most perfect pixie cut I’ve ever seen.
It’s got to be tough casting these shows. You’ve got to find the right balance of eye candy, real celebrities, and of course, drama. You’ve got to be careful not to alienate your audience by having total drama queens like Perez, who have turned many people off CBB altogether. I’m guessing after this season’s bullshit, they’ll have a hard time getting people to agree to go on the next season. (or it will be very expensive to get them) They should probably go back to only having a couple of foreigners, not half the cast. Or throw a token Aussie in the middle of the two. I bet there’s a bunch of expat Aussie celebs living in the UK who’d jump at being on there. How many Neighbours and Home & Away people live there now? Surely one of them would do it.
I think that Australia does a pretty good job of casting these shows. While there’s a bunch of couch surfers who whine about there being no “big names” on there, the last few versions of Aussie celebreality shows have been pretty good. Having been out of country for so long, I don’t always know who some of the people are, but I get to know them, and love or hate them because of their time on there. There always seems to be a good mix of old and new talent, and they do a nice job of picking people who will be laid back at the beginning, and let the drama unfold naturally. Sometimes they’re a little too laid back, but it’s certainly better than the constant screaming that the US versions have.
It’s still a few months off, but I can’t wait to see who the Aussie’s pick for both Celebrity Big Brother and I’m a Celebrity. It’s a nice way for this expat to stay in touch with people back home, without trying to watch an actual long term drama. I can binge watch a whole series in a few days. I like hearing the accents, and seeing the interactions. It’s especially cool to watch people you know personally go on these shows. I think it would be awesome if they did an Aussie version of The Surreal Life as well. Of course, I’m still pushing for for any of these show to do an all Former Child Star version. (Of course, you’d be looking at an almost entire US cast there.)
Just remember celebs, if you decide to do one of these shows, don’t do a Perez. It might be ratings gold, but nobody likes an asshole.
So discuss. Who do you want to see on the next versions of these shows? Who would you hate to see on there? Is there another reality show you’d like to see a celebrity version of, or do you hate reality TV altogether?
If you haven’t seen the Monica Lewinsky Ted Talk yet, watch it here.
Most people just think of Monica as that intern that sucked a president’s dick. You don’t think of her as a person. As a real life, living breathing person, with feelings. Here, she makes you realize that not only is she a person, but a little bit of what she went through.
It brought me to tears.
She is absolutely right in her speech. “Public shaming as a blood sport has to stop.” People are so busy vilifying people online, but they’re not attempting to find a useful solution to situations. Even as recently as last week, with the John Laws drama. People called for him to be sacked, people called for him to be cast aside, but nobody looked at the bigger issue. Yes, Laws is a dinosaur, but honestly, even as a victim, there are times when I have no idea what to say to people. I have people share with me their abuse ALL the time, but sometimes, it’s in a situation you don’t expect, and it can throw you off guard. When you’re not expecting it, sometimes words fail you. Which is why I suggested sensitivity training. It’s probably something that ALL journalists and media people should do, because you just never know what someone will share with them. If it’s going to be live on air, they need to be prepared for it.
I think what really struck me about her interview is that I know what she went through. Certainly not on the scale she did. But, when I first went public about what happened to me, it was insane how I was attacked online. I had emails, tweets and blog comments telling me all kinds of awful things. The media dissected me. Talk shows discussed whether I was telling the truth, or if it was all a ploy to sell a scuba show. I woke up one morning to a morning show with a screen cut in four, as a bunch of people discussed my abuse. (Or lack of)
Maybe it’s hard for people to have empathy until they’ve been in such a situation. I know that I’ve certainly changed my habits over the last 5 years. I like to think I was always willing to give people the benefit of the doubt, but now, I really feel for people who have been the object of a lynch mob in the new media.
I hope you never have to go through what some people do. You can help by thinking before you tweet, text, comment or youtube your opinion. Remember, the person you’re dealing with, is a real live person, with feelings, just like you.
It’s been interesting watching people react to all the celebrity pedophiles in court lately. An article came out yesterday that showed a stark difference between two cases.
Max Clifford, the celebrity publicist who was found guilty of eight counts of abuse has been dropped like a hot potato by his clients. Even before he was found guilty, people distanced themselves from him. When the verdict came down, plenty more dumped him. The Guardian reports:
The X Factor boss Simon Cowell and Dragons’ Den star Theo Paphitis have severed ties with Max Clifford over the celebrity publicist’s convictions for sexually assaulting teenage girls.
During the trial, Clifford told journalists the trial had cost his PR agency about £1m in lost business. He conceded this month that a conviction would mean “at least a couple of clients will no longer be clients because [they are assisted] by me hands-on” – one of these is Cowell.
The company, which he founded at the beginning of the 1970s and has an all-female staff of eight, moved from its Mayfair headquarters to a more modest office in Weybridge, Surrey, last month in a sign that Clifford was dealing with the financial burden of an expensive criminal trial.
Now in contrast to that is the case against Robert Hughes.
Some of the world’s biggest stars are standing by Australian power agent Robyn Gardiner in the aftermath of the conviction of her husband, Robert Hughes, for child sex abuse. With Hughes awaiting sentencing on 10 counts of sexual and indecent assault of young girls, Sydney Confidential understands that Gardiner’s Sydney-based agency RGM, founded as Robyn Gardiner Management in 1982, has not lost a single client.
Granted, his wife Robyn isn’t the one being charged, but it’s been shown she knew about the abuse. She then went on the stand and lied about another woman, the mother of one of the victims, claiming she had tried to have a lesbian relationship with her. She got evidence mixed up, as it came out, because she had been reading all the evidence the lawyer had, including witness statements and also the newspaper everyday, which she’s not supposed to do, as a witness. She assisted in trying to get a pedophile found innocent. People seem to forget that all their commissions paid to her helped to pay his defense lawyers…. So by keeping her as your agent, you assisted in his defense, and when he appeals, your commission check will also help to pay for that.
Much respect to those stars in England who have chosen to step up and do the right thing. My hats off to you. To those in Australia who choose to stay where you’re at, please understand when I don’t watch anything you’re in. I won’t contribute to his defense fund.
I’ve not had the privilege of meeting Charlotte Dawson in person, but we’ve communicated over social media, and I love her because she has been supportive of me and my journey over the last 3+ years. She has sent me messages off line, giving me a much needed boost when I was feeling low. I admire the fact that she’s so open, and that she’s not afraid to tell people who she really is. I think she’s beautiful and ballsy. That’s a rare combination.
It’s hard to find real people in the entertainment business. Everyone is always just a carefully crafted image. The audience knows this, and are always begging to see the real side of stars. That’s why people love Celebrity Reality shows, because you finally get to see some real personality shine through. It’s also why so many celebs don’t do reality. Because their REAL personality is carefully hidden, lest it hurt “their brand”.
People like Charlotte let others know it’s OK to be vulnerable. That we all have emotions. That we all have bad days. She shows that celebs have feelings too, and if you constantly tell us we’re worthless, that it affects us too, just like anybody else. I thinks she’s tremendously courageous for tweeting out when she needs help. I love that she posts random photos on instagram. I love that she lets us see the real her, and not just the carefully crafted glamour shots of her.
So reading that her management company is telling her they can’t represent her because she’s damaging her brand by being too real just saddens me. It tells me her company, and that of the people using her services are just completely out of touch with reality. We don’t want carefully crafted fake personalities. We want real people like Charlotte. We want people that we can relate to. People who show us that they’re human.
This is going to sound like a stab at Lindsay, and it’s not meant to be, because I really still hope the girl can turn her life around. However, I just don’t see how that’s going to happen when people keep rewarding her for bad behaviour.
Fresh off her court appearance, and being sentenced to 90 days of “locked-in” rehab, there’s news she’s flying out to Brazil to earn 6 figures for a few appearances. There’s also speculation she’s going to Australia for a similar sum of cash. Now – power to the girl that she can still make money, and hopefully she’s actually using some of it to pay her bills. We keep hearing there’s a lot of them.
However, at the same time, I think we’re just teaching Lindsay that the more she fucks up, the more money she can make. They’re keeping her in the headlines, and keeping her front page news. She’s never going to start looking after herself if she can still make money, jail time and all.
It’s not just Lindsay either. The US has a bad habit of rewarding bad behaviour. Look at Paris Hilton or Kim Kardashian. Both made sex tapes and were rewarded with reality shows. People on shows like Celebrity Apprentice know that bad behaviour equals better ratings. There’s shows like Celebrity Rehab and The Surreal Life for stars that have gone bad.
Even worse though, is that if a celebrity tries to do good, they’re banished. Corey Feldman tried to speak out about the abuse he and Haim suffered, and he was immediately tossed into the oblivion bin. Turn to God and you’re put in the crazy basket. Decide to actually stop drinking, and you’re declared boring and you’ll die a slow “whatever happened to that person” death….
It’s OK to donate money to charity, or do a couple of events, as long as it’s all red carpet glamour. But if you actually decide to get serious and devote a good chunk of your life to a cause, prepare yourself to be thrown out of the working circle. There’s no faster kiss of death than being considered an activist.
I wish we would reward people for thinking about something other than themselves. Those who donate time and money, or who put their personal reputations on the line for a cause shouldn’t become Persona Non Grata. Instead, those who continually flout laws, hurt others, or who act as if no matter what they do, they’ll still have money to pay their bills, (but don’t) should stop being rewarded.
I’m worried about what we’re teaching the next generation.
Make yourself famous at any cost. Stay famous, no matter what it takes. Don’t worry about breaking laws – you’ll never actually do time, and you’ll still be raking in the big bucks.
Take a personal stand, try to do right by some other people, and be told you’ll never work in the industry again….
Why is there such a double standard for Celebrities?
I’m so glad I’m not a celebrity anymore. Sure, there may be some perks to being famous. You get to cut the line at clubs, people buy your drinks. You might get to go on cool vacations. But the reality is, most of those things aren’t that much fun, because you’ve always got to wonder who is watching you, or whose going to pick a fight with you in the club and sue you next.
Kayne napping in First Class
I mean, you may be in First Class on the plane and think you can get some sleep, but who knows who is going to snap a pic of you while you’re drooling and then stick it up on the internet?
Then there’s this:
I mean seriously? Mila Kunis is smoking hot. She was just voted Esquire Magazine’s Sexiest Woman Alive. I personally think she’s on of the most beautiful women ever. Even in her trackpants and workout wear. But apparently the Editor of Teen Vogue is unimpressed with Kunis getting around being comfortable. She is tired of seeing her in gym gear. How does she think she stays that hot? She works out. If they only place the stalkerazzi manages to get pics of her is when she’s out on a run, then yes, you’re going to see pics of her in her sweats.
What made me really upset when I read it was that it was the editor of TEEN VOGUE who was pushing that Kunis should be dressing better. Do all celebrities have to go out in full make-up and 6″ heels like a Kardashian, even to get their morning coffee? I mean, what are they teaching teenagers? That they have to be glamorous ALL the time? Maybe she’s dressing down because she hopes if she’s not all glammed up, then nobody will notice her. She’s hoping to just blend into the crowd. Or maybe she just didn’t feel like spending an hour doing her hair and make-up just so she could grab a latte. Of course, even if she did dress up, if she wore the same shirt, or pants, or shoes she wore last week, somebody would jump on her for that.
Then if we’re not berating a celebrity for their fashion choices, we’re picking on their weight. If you’ve eaten a burrito for lunch, some pap will take a pic and claim that you’re pregnant. If the celebrity sees it, feels like shit, works out and eats less so they don’t get pregnancy rumours, then the magazines will talk about them being skeletor and how they’ve gotten too skinny.
Remember Nicole Ritchie? She was a normal sized person when she did the first season of The Simple Life. Next to Paris Hilton, who had bones sticking out, she looked bigger. But I wouldn’t say she was fat. But a lot of people did. She lost the weight. Then lost more. Then magazines complained she had an eating disorder. Well Duh. If everyone in the world is calling you a fat ass, it’s probably going to give you some kind of complex. Thankfully Nicole found a balance and these days she looks healthy.
I’m so glad that nobody here cares who I am. When the dog wakes me up in the morning and wants to go outside to pee, I don’t have time to fix my hair and makeup. I normally don’t even have time to brush my teeth. So when I roll outta my trailer, I’m all kinds of unkempt. If I feel like hanging in my PJ’s till I have to get dressed for work, I do. Nobody at my RV park cares.
I can’t imagine the pressure of having to be glam all the time. I’m so glad I can go out and eat lunch and not worry. I can go out and have a drink with my friends without ending up in the paper. I can go swimming at the beach and not end up on some Worst Bikini Body list.
Why do we have to be so mean to famous people? Are we jealous because we perceive they have a more fabulous life, so we have to nit pick over stupid stuff? Or are people just generally unhappy and so they have to make themselves feel better by picking on someone else?
I wish people would remember that Famous people have feelings too. They also see the gossip magazines. They watch Fashion Police. They get told when they’re on a worst dressed list, or when people point out their cellulite, or when they’re on a Stars Without Makeup feature.
Can you imagine if everytime you left the house, someone was just waiting to see what bad thing they could say about you? Megan Fox is right when she says that being famous is like being bullied by millions of people. Sure, it’s easy to say just to ignore it, but it’s kinda hard. When your face is on the TV and magazine covers, how are you supposed to leave the house and not see it? Or even stay at home and not see it? Famous people watch TV too….
We also need to think of the trickle down effect. If we keep finding flaws in beautiful famous people, then what hope do regular people have? I see someone who I think is absolutely gorgeous, and I’m told by some editor that they’re flawed because they have a single dimple of cellulite, and I look in a mirror, and I think shit, I better not leave the house. My arse is full of it. What about my hair? Is it the right shade? Is it the right length? Are my friggen eyelashes full enough?
I think we all need to just start accepting people for who they are. Maybe if we can accept our own bodies, we can accept a celebs body. Or maybe it’s the other way around. I’m not sure anymore.
I’ve often wondered whether someone could manipulate the media to become famous. I mean, Socialites have done it for years. People hang out at clubs or places where they could be seen in the social pages. But normally they were rich to begin with. Paris Hilton was a socialite, but she was rich. She hung out in the right circles. Same with Kim Kardashian. She was rich, her dad was famous. She hung out with the right crowd. Remember when she used to hang out with Hilton?
But can paparazzi and the media take a normal person and make them famous? Could Perez Hilton and TMZ manipulate their resources to make someone famous? Could they take ordinary people and make them famous? Lots of families are getting famous by getting a reality show, but can you make people famous without it? Just how much power do bloggers and celebrity gossip sites have? Can they create a celebrity just by showing their faces all the time?
Should be an interesting experiment. For years the media has manipulated us and told us what we’re supposed to find attractive. Some years it’s skinny, now we’re going back to curvy. The networks seem to pick a target and make sure that we all fall in love with them, even if they’re not a great actor… It’s not just Hollywood. There’s people in every country who is seems have been chosen to be the next big thing. I’ve always thought Executives do it just to see if they can.
I won’t be applying to be part of the TMZ show, but I do think it will be an interesting social experiment to watch.
Do you think the paparazzi alone can make someone famous? Do you think they should?
about another woman, the mother of one of the victims, claiming she had tried to have a lesbian relationship with her. She got evidence mixed up, as it came out, because she had been reading all the evidence the lawyer had, including witness statements and also the newspaper everyday, which she’s not supposed to do, as a witness. She assisted in trying to get a pedophile found innocent. People seem to forget that all their commissions paid to her helped to pay his defense lawyers…. So by keeping her as your agent, you assisted in his defense, and when he appeals, your commission check will also help to pay for that.
