Who Are You?

I wrote a piece about this a while back on my Tumblr, but the thought resurfaced today as I was reading an article about what Brad Pitt had said in an interview.  I find the idea of ‘fake’ celebrity really annoying, really frustrating and I don’t know why. I guess, I think that people should just be who they want to be, rather than pretend that they’re something they’re not. Kristen Stewart recently said that she had never created a ‘persona’ for the red carpet because she didn’t like the idea of being fake; she thought she should just be herself, no matter how uncomfortable she looks. And although, in interviews she comes across as a moron, you can at least see that she’s not trying to please the world – supported I guess with her latest actions. It was quite refreshing to see a tiny bit of honesty from the world of celebrity, something that is not echoed across the board.

I spend some of my time around various people in bands. Now, I don’t see them as celebrities as such, but the people that come to see their shows, do. They spend their time worshipping these guys and girls and write to them and shower them with affection, yet a lot of the time it seems that they are indeed in love with someone that doesn’t exist. I read an interview about a guy who had battled with his drug addictions in the past and in this interview, was professing how great it felt to be over that hill. He was now, clean, free, and was back to his best. What rubbish, I thought; only a couple of weeks earlier I had watched him sell drugs to kids and look a lot worse for wear.  Why bother lying? It wouldn’t lose him that many more fans.

Back in March I was also reading an interview in a music magazine about how a particular front man’s life was. Apparently he never drank, never partied, never did drugs, gave money to charity and spent his time helping fans and people.  Well, apart from the charity thing, which I don’t know, the rest was a huge pack of lies. I have seen the guy do most of those things on a daily basis, and my friends have seen the rest. In-fact in the band world he is renowned for all of the above that he said he couldn’t do and more on top (including sleeping with as many girls as possible). So many kids idolize him and look up to him and there he is lying straight to the interviewers’ face, to save his own. It drives me crazy when I see fans love such a fake ideal, and then give grief to someone who hides nothing and is openly honest about himself, like my fiancé Caleb. Caleb has honestly never lied once to fans or himself about the person he is, and that alone is worth more respect than the amount that these other front men seem to get.

So, it brings me back to Brad Pitt and Angelina ‘I make the world a better place’ Jolie.  Surely if you are really in support of making sure the world is an equal and better place, then no matter how much money you earn, do you each really need a wedding ring that costs £500,000?

I don’t doubt that Angelina Jolie has done some very good things with her time and money and has used her status to get the plight of so many countries recognised, but she still lives a vastly extravagant life.  If she truly wanted to help the world, then she would surely, keep enough to lead a nice life, without having to buy a £35m house in France (on top of the other homes that she has). [I’d go as far to say that she could probably fit all of her children in a house (at a still extravagant lifestyle) for about £3m if she truly wanted. I’m sure it could be done.] 

 A nice, quaint £35m Chateau in France for the couple

I have no problem with people spending money that they have earned, on themselves. They have earned it! But, I have a problem with a contradiction of ideals and the pretence of only caring about making the world a better place, and then still keeping the majority of your own money to yourself. Yes, they have given the odd £1m here and there, but if you get paid £20m a movie, then surely every so often, you can afford to just give away a pay check.  Get rid of the private jets, and (shock, horror) fly first class maybe?  I don’t need Brad and Angelina, doing more of the fake celebrity chat and telling me in interviews “I hit the lottery so I think I need to pass that on.” Or that there are starving children and too many tramps in the world for them to get their children Christmas presents. I’ve seen your children; I know they don’t go without. They lead the jet-setting lifestyle that any adult would be envious of. Perhaps if Brad & Ange sold a house or two and gave the proceeds towards charity then I would actually start to believe the statements they make about truly wanting to help people in life who really need it. Until then, I shall continue to see just a lot of hot air coming out of theirs and other celebrity’s mouths.