Saturday, June 7, 2008

Why is there a Double Standard for Hollywood?

Every time we hear of a Hollywood personality being arrested, it seems there is a double standard being used. Under aged drinking, drunk driving, driving under the influence of drugs and/or narcotics, possession of illegal drugs, all seem to be handled with a cavalier attitude, and a slap on the wrist.

The most recent arrest of Tatum O'Neal illustrates the point. When she was arrested she allegedly asked the police to "let her go." Thankfully they didn't, but once again, it will be interesting to see how her sentencing goes, and if she gets favoritism in her treatment.

Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton, Nicole Richie, spent very few days in jail as I recall. Funny enough, the circus that surrounded Paris' incarceration probably made Sheriff Baca decide never to incarcerate a young star again for any reason. It probably cost a million dollars to get Paris in and out for one night! Then we have Britney Spears, who creates a three ring circus all by herself and should be paying millions just for all the costs for law enforcement to deal with her antics.

Then there is Amy Winehouse and I don't even want to go there. They give accolades to this person who seems to have nothing but trouble with authorities internationally over drugs, but she's still loose and free to move about. Non-celebs would be so deep in prison they would have to pipe sunlight in by now!

What's wrong with this picture? The justice system is sending a very wrong signal to our children, and to society in general. The signal seems to be that it's okay to be a celebrity and do bad things and get away with it, with little to no consequence, simply because you're a celebrity, have money and/or have a good lawyer. The signal should be that when you're held in esteem by society, by way of your station in life or your status, perhaps you should be held to a higher standard, or at a minimum, to the top end of the standard that the rest of society is held to. If you don't want to be held to a standard of decency, then you shouldn't be in the public spotlight at all. And, don't tell me the paparazzi is what places a celebrity there, because I don't buy it for a moment. Celebrities make their own news, by doing and acting in manner of their own choosing.

Celebrities should be good role models. Or not have celebrity status. Better still, parents need to be better mentors to their children, and teach them that emulation of these poor role models is wrong. Stop paying to attend movies and creations featuring actors and actresses who are not good role models, and as the box office dollars dwindle, see how changes occur. Because, Hollywood, as any business, runs on the dollar, And as cute or sexy or darling as any "star" is today, the only thing that matters to the studio and the media is how much money they make from them. When the money goes away, so does the stardom. And, you have the power to decide who is and who isn't a star. How about that?

No comments: