What celebrities owe us

My, my, show business is truly abuzz these days. And we’ve found ourselves unwitting witnesses to it.

Without getting into great detail, show biz breakups and their corresponding fall-outs have been keeping us glued to the Sunday afternoon entertainment news shows. An exclusive interview here, a veiled revelation there and a lawsuit to round it all up. Videos of all that transpired have been uploaded on YouTube.

Sordid, shocking

The blogosphere has been active with reactions to all the goings-on. There are lengthy postings analyzing each situation, going through them with a fine-toothed comb and a final recommendation or editorial.

Online observers have been polarized into teams, depending on where their allegiances lie. For the most part, it has all been—for lack of a better word—interesting to watch. It looks like the sordid, shocking type of revelation has become staple entertainment to us. It isn’t the professions of the personalities involved that give us pleasure; it’s their meltdowns and destruction that’s catching our attention.

Damage control

I can imagine what their respective managers, publicists and lawyers must be going through. They’re all on “damage control” mode—their efforts concentrated on saving their clients’ tarnished reputations.

It’s tempting for all of us to make snap judgments on these celebrities, based on what we are allowed to see on TV. But the thing is, whatever comes out in public isn’t always (or ever) the whole, unedited picture.

For example, whenever we see somebody undergoing an emotional breakdown on TV, that’s all we see—the meltdown. We don’t know the circumstances behind the scenes—what happened during the months or years leading up to that precise moment. I mean, for all we know, that meltdown could be completely staged, a fabrication meant to tease, shock, titillate, fool and, yes, entertain a captivated audience.

How many times has my own mother called to dish on who were on TV, in tears, making a fool of themselves for whatever reason. I tend to let it in one ear and out the other, especially if the celeb in question happens to be one of my friends.

Yes, it has all become very… interesting to watch. But of late, as a member of the viewing public, I’ve decided to just stop watching.

Favor for friends

Various scandals past and present have at times involved people that I know as either acquaintances or friends, people I actually like, either as dinner dates or companions in conversation. Whatever they reveal about what they’re going through in life, whether it’s about a new love or an exciting project being mulled over, then sure, I’ll gladly listen with open ears, and give an opinion if it’s solicited.

However, when they find themselves publicly embroiled in something that causes them great grief, I do them a favor as a friend and turn the TV off. I’d really rather not see them in that condition. If they’re going to make fools of themselves with my eyes on them, I’d better be only a couple of feet away.

Truth is, they really owe me—as a sometime audience member of their films, plays, TV gigs and concerts—only one thing: the best performance that their skills and God-given talents can possibly offer. If they’re singers, they owe their audience great music. If they’re acting in a film, an emotionally connected portrayal. If they’re in stand-up comedy, I want to laugh so hard that I’m  peeing in my pants.

Nothing else

They owe me nothing else. Certainly nothing that would induce a veritable feed ing frenzy.

I wonder, though—why the fascination? Why the enjoyment at the sight of another human being going through the wringer, having to answer very difficult questions, being forced to display dirty laundry for the world to see? What is so compelling about scandal that, once it’s in front of us, we can’t take our eyes off it?

We don’t have to involve ourselves in the lives of people we don’t know personally. We don’t have to feel forced to watch a tawdry display of anything if we don’t want to. We all have a choice, if you think about it.

So I’m going to make an executive decision. Whenever a show biz controversy slaps me with its presence, I’m going to turn my TV off and thus allow the respective parties involved to deal with their troubles with a measure of dignity and privacy, without me as a member of the audience. It’s all none of my business, anyway.

Last few shows

Only a few more “Little Mermaid” performances to go! Congratulations on what is sure to be, in the end, a most amazing run.

By the way, my reunion with Atlantis Productions via Yazmina Reza’s Tony Award-winning play, “God of Carnage,” is coming next year, and I can’t wait to get started.