It’s becoming problematic. The obsession and total preoccupation we have with celebrities is problematic, as evidenced by the number of young girls who, while watching the Grammys, stated that they would allow Chris Brown to beat them. I’ve always been concerned with how forgiving we become of a person just because they have special talent or are in the public eye. We ten to accept things from celebrities that we wouldn’t accept, even from family members. I wonder if it will ever come to affect our interpersonal relationships. Could our willingness to accept and forgive (and in some cases hope for) Chris Brown’s physical abuse, R. Kelly’s alleged sexual abuse or even Whitney Houston’s drug abuse ever degenerate into accepting those things in our personal lives?


Where did it go wrong? When did we forget that celebrity does not free a person to do whatever the hell they want?

Chris Brown performed at this year’s Grammys. I wasn’t watching the show, I don’t know what his performance was like but I did follow some of the Twitter conversations and it was disturbing to say the very least. while some women spoke of his performance, some wondered if it was time to lift the ban on him, and some wanted to be in his life so bad that they were willing to endure physical abuse. The women tweeting about allowing Chris Brown to beat them clearly have no understanding of the horrors of domestic violence. They don’t understand that the scars left by domestic violence can’t be cured by a kiss from Chris Brown. Beyond the willingness to be beat by Chris Brown, the news lately has been filled with an obsession with celebrities that makes me wonder when we have time to focus on our personal lives.

There have been studies that show a complete fixation with celebrities can affect our mental health. Is this what we see happening? Are we so invested in celebrities and their personal lives that we are unable to separate them from their art? Are we so wrapped up in their lives that we can’t differentiate between loving their talent and loving them?