• Skip to main content
  • Skip to header right navigation
  • Skip to site footer
College Magazine logo

College Magazine

College Life, Dating, Career & Campus Advice

  • Colleges
    • College Guides
    • College Rankings
    • Campus Life
      • Academics
      • Dating
      • Freshman Year
      • Health
      • Social Change
      • Party
    • Find Your College
  • Majors
    • All Majors
    • Most Popular Majors
    • Choosing a Major
  • Intern
    • Internship Directory
    • How to Get an Internship
    • How to Write a Resume
    • How to Write a Cover Letter
    • How to Interview
    • How to Network
    • Career 101
    • Find Your Passion Career
  • Money
    • How to Make Money
    • How to Save Money
    • How to Get a Job
    • Credit Cards 101
    • FAFSA
    • Ramen Project
  • Travel
    • Study Abroad
    • College Spring Break
    • How to Travel Cheap
    • Things to Do
  • Shop
    • College Magazine Shop
    • Gift Guides
    • College Packing List
Home » Latest Posts » Why we love celebrity slip-ups
Life

Why we love celebrity slip-ups

Facebook Tweet
Olivia Yankey   April 10, 2012

The sad truth is that gossip magazines and celebrity news make up one of the largest portions of American media today. While we all feel that twinge of embarrassment picking up the latest issue of US Weekly while checking out at the grocery store or skimming PerezHilton.com , it’s a compulsion that almost can’t be stopped.

Why do we love celebrity gossip so much? While some of that love stems from a genuine, innocent and curiosity-driven interest in the goings-on of the lives of the beautiful, rich and famous, there is another, more malicious side of that love.

Oftentimes, it seems we’re just waiting on news of the next celebrity screw up. From the little things like seeing pictures of celebrities’ faces without make-up or the solitary mark of cellulite on their otherwise perfect butt, to the darker stories of falling stars’ drug abuse and the subsequent trips to rehab, the focus on celebrity news seems to never wane.

Jessica Simpson’s famous “Chicken of the Sea” debacle is an oldie, but still a goodie as far as simple celebrity mishaps go. It was television gold and stands as a testament to the innocent kind of preoccupation with celebrities messing things up. The way she confused tuna with poultry was almost endearing.

Lindsay Lohan, though, quite obviously embodies the darker side of America’s celebrity addiction. Drug use, erratic behavior and run-ins with the law are the kinds of dramatic moments of her personal life that exist as general knowledge. One would be hard pressed to find someone-–especially anyone college-aged-–who didn’t know about Lindsay’s hard times.

Whether what’s happening is just funny or something serious and grim, there’s an ever-present desire to know what’s going with famous people we’ll never know personally. It could come from an (essentially imagined) personal connection with a particular celebrity (how many celebs do YOU follow on Twitter?), or from the wider social tendency to know what’s happening in the human community. Wherever it comes from, most of us can’t help but gossip about the people around us and, by extension, the people both known and unknown to all of us.


trending

230

The Teacher I Hated Changed my College Journey

164

Top 10 Spots Around Emerson College to Get Inspired

139

Top 10 Ways to Spot a UT Austin Alum


Looking over the following list of celebrities’ not-so-bright moments might give some insight into this curious element of our culture.  Did I miss any?

10. Ashlee Simpson’s “Performance” on SNL, 2004


9. Sarah Palin’s Disastrous Katie Couric Interview, 2008


8. David Hasselhoff’s Drunken Burger Binge, 2007


7. Miley Cyrus Doing “Drugs,” 2010


6. Kanye West's Outburst during Taylor Swift's Acceptance Speech, 2009


5. When Charlie Sheen Was Winning, 2011


4. Kim Kardashian’s “Marriage,” 2011


3. Tiger Woods', cough cough, situation


2. Bill Clinton Not Having “Sexual Relations with That Woman,” 1998


1. Any celebrity sex tape, ever. (That means you, Kim K., Paris, and the O.G. sex tape starlet, Pamela Anderson)

About Olivia Yankey

Junior > English > Georgetown University

Ant-Man Opens the Doors for Marvel’s New Phase

10 Boba Tea Spots for Houston College Students

10 Ways to Have Fun with Your Friends Indoors

Do You Actually Care, Or Do You Want to Look Like You Do?

unsplash.com

Top Ten Inspirational Quotes from Your Favorite Sports TV Shows

I lived with my three best friends. Here’s how it went.

21 Things to Do in Williamsburg When You’re Under 21

The Beauty and Pain of Living Alone

Was There a Purpose for That Roommate Questionnaire?

Previous Post:The 10 People You Meet in Your College Gym
Next Post:The Ugly Truth About Acne

colleges

  • College Guides
  • College Rankings
  • Campus life
  • Academics
  • Dating
  • Freshmen Year
  • Health
  • Party

majors

  • All College Majors
  • Most Popular Majors
  • Choosing a Major

intern

  • Internships Directory
  • How to Write a Resume
  • How to Write a Cover Letter
  • How to Interview
  • How to Get an Internship
  • How to Network

money

  • How to Make Money
  • How to Save Money
  • How to Get a Job
  • Credit Cards 101
  • College Loans

travel

  • Study Abroad
  • College Spring Break
  • How to Travel Cheap
  • Things to Do

shop

  • College Packing List
  • Gift Guides
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS Feed
  • Twitter
  • About Us
  • Team
  • Write
  • Apply
  • Privacy Policy
  • Sign Up
  • Advertise
  • My Account
  • Cart

College Magazine logo

Copyright © 2023 Powered by BizBudding