They can demand a retraction or correction, but won't necessarily get one. They can sue for libel but that's expensive and chancy. They can use an interview to try and scotch the most ludicrous stories and inventions, but people might still believe them anyway.
It's all a bit like trying to hold back floodwaters with a bucket. So much is being written about you on such a colossal scale, it's impossible to react to more than a tiny percentage. The rest you just have to do your best to ignore.
Knowing that so much hostile and trumped-up nonsense is being aimed at you day after day must be a very surreal and unnerving experience.
What feeds this unwanted deluge of commentary is the general assumption that the writers are simply exercising freedom of speech and can therefore say what they like as long as it's legal. And also the assumption that celebs are "fair game" and being subject to venomous criticism goes with the territory.
Then again, some celebs actually welcome everything that's written about them, however derogatory. They just revel in all the attention as it shows that they're famous and controversial and they've caused millions of people to focus on them.
Personally I'm glad absolutely nothing is being written about me and I can enjoy the cosy cocoon of total anonymity.
It does seem to be getting worse. Not my worry!
ReplyDeleteBijoux: I'm glad I'm not on the receiving end of all this gratuitous tripe.
DeleteI would be more concerned about the death threats thrown in their direction rather than gossip.
ReplyDeleteXO
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www: Death threats are serious, but I think in most cases they're just meant to frighten and are never actually carried out.
DeleteYeah free speech is hard to control. Some celebrities sorta bring it on themselves I think, others maybe not. Like you, I'll stick to my boring life in my little world.
ReplyDeleteSandy: They certainly bring it on themselves if they say blatantly inflammatory remarks.
DeleteI am glad that I am not a celeb. Even had I been, I don't think that anyone would have anything to write about me.
ReplyDeleteRamana: Even the most blameless lives can be turned into something unpleasant by malicious minds.
DeleteI like my privacy too much to be a celeb.
ReplyDeleteMary: Me too. It must be like living in a goldfish bowl.
DeleteIt used to be said that no publicity is bad publicity, but that's not really true anymore, or is it?
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Ms Scarlet: Nowadays a bit of bad publicity repeated by thousands of people can finish off your career quite quickly.
DeleteI don't know though - look at Matt Hancock, and Anna Sorokin.
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Ms Scarlet: Yes, Anna Sorokin has dined out very nicely on her notorious back-story. And Matt Hancock's dismal record during the pandemic doesn't seem to have done him any harm.
DeleteWe had it on a small scale when in France when some bright spark spread it about that Leo was a drug dealer....that being the only means that they could think of that we had a large house! It was quite unpleasant, so I think celebrities have to have a thick skin to survive what is sometimes thrown at them.
ReplyDeleteFly: That must have been quite an alarming experience. We also have a large house but it certainly wasn't financed by drug-dealing!
DeleteI have never cared much about any celebrity, not in the sense that I would wish harm to befall any, but just that their daily activities are of no interest. It is always amazing that the media feel it's necessary to fawn endlessly over everything a celebrity does. While it's unfortunate about some of the stories which may be false, it might be the "cost" of fame which doesn't make it right in the least.
ReplyDeleteBeatrice: The British media are obsessed with celebrity gossip, presumably because of demand from their readers. I notice that the New York Times, Boston Globe and Mail and other American papers concentrate on real news and not this celebrity tittle-tattle.
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