Star wars–and scars

Stars are supposed to live lives of glamour, popularity, wealth and the avid adoration of millions—but, show biz insiders know that reality is sometimes much less roseate than that carefully constructed fantasy.

Despite its obvious and extravagant perks, stardom isn’t for weak-willed aspirants, because its requirements are inordinately arduous.

On top of looking beautiful and being exceptionally gifted, a star is expected to not just survive but even thrive in an unusually competitive and sometimes even brutally vicious industry.

Everybody wants to be on top so he can enjoy the fantastic perks of stardom, but hundreds of aspirants want exactly the same thing, so the room at the top of show biz’s stellar heap can be very—tight!

So many people competing for that tight space means that the winners are victorious warriors, and that means that they’re all too willing and able to play a really mean game!

That’s especially true when so many starlets and stars work for the same TV-film studio. They’ve only as good as their last hit, so they are endlessly required to “deliver,” or else they’re put in the freezer.

To make sure that they’re always “hot” and in contention, they cultivate their own personal connections with studio executives who wield the most power. With the stakes so high, stars and starlets are prepared to do anything to cultivate those all-important ties with the powers-that-be, and personal favors are sometimes part of the “barter” arrangement.

The cliché of the “casting couch” for female starlets is a part of show biz lore, but the fact is that male starlets sometimes have to do more of the “capitulation” to get their big breaks from gay producers and directors.

The exploitation is the same, but the guys are often more willing to “submit” because no physical “deflowering” is involved. Sadly, however, as some male capitulators have belatedly come to realize, the psychological scars can be as grave.

Star wars come to a head when big names are involved, as in the most recent instance of Sunshine Cruz accusing ex-hubby Cesar Montano of unseemly conduct in relation to their daughters.

It’s shocked the eavesdropping populace and resulted in a series of nasty changes and rebuttals, some of which intimate a financial motivation for such acrid and acrimonious accusations.

We fervently hope that the real truth will soon out, because the stars involved are admired film artists. Above all, however, it’s the welfare of the girls involved that should be of paramount importance!