by Daryl James

Created on: July 23, 2008

I must confess to having a dirty little secret. I've visited the online gossip columns from time to time. OK, I visit them nearly every day. They're entertaining. They're shocking. They make me laugh. But they also make me think.

What is it like on the other side? What is it like to be so sought after, so popular? How would I handle the fickleness of fame, the feeding frenzy of the paparazzi, the exaggerated bold print of the tabloids?

Now, as I've admitted, I do read up on the occasional celebrity, and with not so much ado, I feel like I might have an answer to these questions, or rather an observation on the greater issue itself: Do Celebrities Deserve Privacy?

Below the surface, celebrities are just like everyone else. They live in a house, drive around, and go to a job. They eat, sleep, and engage in leisurely pastimes. In these things, I feel as though celebrities are somewhat entitled to their privacy.

However, as I've observed, while most celebrities are entitled to and may have the ability to have a somewhat private life outside of their careers, those followed most doggedly don't appear to have the desire for one.

It's the lifestyle, the erratic behavior, the flashy possessions, and the extravagant existence that brings them the attention in the first place. And it's the increase in the outrageous that keeps them there.

This spotlight that shines so brightly on our most notoriously celebrated celebrities is the very instrument that allows them the fortune of their craft. This spotlight is the very money-making, popularizing vehicle that separates the box office superstar from the local playhouse extra. It isn't necessarily the talent, but rather the fame that allows for such freedoms as are so commonly showcased on today's reality television.

There are plenty of celebrities who live in casual privacy. While I'm sure the recognition that accompanies fame can cause the occasional flair up, for the most part, the sensible celebrities are entitled to their privacy as they express such a desire through their lifestyle.

So what do we have then? Those celebrities who are willing to endure their fame as a necessary evil involved in the lifelong pursuit of their career dreams, and those celebrities who pretend that their fame is necessarily evil while they continue to seek it out, lost in the misguided karma of the evil itself.

Do celebrities deserve privacy? Yes. Celebrities are entitled to the privacy that they sincerely seek, but in a world of instant media, overnight riches and sad Hollywood stories, I say let the buyer beware.

Learn more about this author, Daryl James.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.