So much for privacy if you’re a celebrity

Featured, Movies — By ken on July 11, 2010 at 10:19 pm

These days one is capable of being sprung in the act by all manner of means.

Surveillance cameras at every ATM, bank, convenience shop, fuel station, railway station and many street corners. Not to mention speed and traffic control cameras. Then there’s the proliferation of smart phones with ever increasing sophistication that can be used as audio recorders and high definition video cameras. So any impromptu happening can be captured by accident or design. In addition, people in high public profile have the paparazzi to contend with, whilst events with the rest of society are monitored by the print and electronic media for its newsworthiness.

Every costume malfunction, make-up, hair, fashion disaster and indiscretion is likely to be captured in one form or another and then reported on ad nauseum, milked to within an inch of its life.

Some personalities are their worst enemy by acting in a manner less becoming. Being explicitly photographed without underwear, or acting inappropriately under the influence of artificial stimulants, will lead to a higher degree of notoriety.

Some are flamboyant attention seekers who purposely perform for the cameras to increase or maintain their public profile, whilst others are caught out and exposed in a way that ordinary citizens would consider a gross breach of privacy. Unfortunately for public figures, their antics are considered to be in the public interest, offering them less protection should revelations bring them into disrepute.

A number of happenings have grasped the media attention in recent years and gone viral on the internet. Many involve famous personalities and wannabes seeking the publicity or a related cash stream. Some are the result of accidental divulgences, some due to unwise decisions, whilst others culminate from premeditated and purposeful actions. Stress in relationships and the influence of people and substance have also been big factors.

A poor reading of public and official acceptance resulted in Janet Jackson’s controversial Super Bowl halftime performance in 2004, where her breast, adorned with a nipple shield, was exposed by Justin Timberlake for about half a second on the CBS television network in the United States. This resulted in many repercussions for the producers, performers and broadcasters.

Janet Jackson

Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show controversy

Paris Hilton and her ‘Simple Life’ co-star Nicole Richie became household names following their reality television series broadcasted from 2003 to 2007, in which the two wealthy young socialites tackle the everyday tasks of the common-people. Public awareness of Miss Hilton was heightened when a former boyfriend released a pornographic video of them having sex. The video was recorded in 2001 and released in 2004, causing a media sensation.

Paris Hilton

Paris Hilton – Sex tape (One Night in Paris)

Both girls became notorious for their behaviour. In 2003, Richie was arrested for possession of heroin and driving with a suspended license. She was arrested again in 2006 for driving under the influence, as was Paris Hilton. Richie was sentenced to 4 days in jail in mid 2007, but only served 82 minutes of her sentence, whilst Hilton was sentenced to 36 months probation and fines, until pulled over driving with a suspended license, then caught again speeding whilst still under suspension. Hilton was sentenced to 45 days in jail, but only served 23 days of her jail term.

Lindsay Lohan

Paris v. Lindsay: Similar Crimes, Different Sentences

A close shave for Paris in a foreign country…

Marijuana Charges Dropped Against Paris Hilton

AssociatedPress
A court in South Africa has dropped the marijuana-smoking case against Paris Hilton and instead charged another person in her group. Hilton was arrested at the 2010 World Cup quarterfinal game between Brazil and the Netherlands.

Britney Spears life went off the rails in 2006 after driving with her son Sean on her lap instead of in a car seat, posing nude for the cover of Harper’s Bazaar, getting divorced, being photographed without underwear three times in less than a week, a day stint in drug rehabilitation, then shaving her head. She hit hit rock bottom in 2007.

Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton were also part of the panty-less brigade, with cameras catching Lohan panty-less four times over a period of two months.

Britney Keeps Flashing, Cameras Keep Clicking

Lindsay Lohan is an American actress, model and pop singer-songwriter who began her career as a child fashion model before making her motion picture debut in Disney’s 1998 remake of The Parent Trap at the age of 11.

A hint of trouble also came in 2006 when a studio executive indicated that she was late arriving and absence from the set, associated with all night partying, which led to Lohan attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, followed by ill health and appendix surgery in 2007. Next she was arrested for driving under the influence, then after a car accident, a small amount of cocaine was found in her pocket resulting in a second DUI arrest. It was then feared that a lack of sobriety and reliability would impact adversely on her career.

Lindsay Lohan’s eHarmony Dating Profile

Lindsay Lohan’s Stripper Pole Photo Shoot

Double Exposure is a reality TV series starring high fashion and celebrity photographers Markus Klinko and Indrani. Each episode follows Klinko and Indrani, who have photographed everything from album covers for David Bowe and Beyonce to high-profile shoots with Lindsay Lohan and Kate Winslet, in the high fashion and celebrity photography industry.

Lohan Cries in Court, Gets 90 Days in Jail

Lindsay Lohan gets 90 days in jail

AssociatedPress
A judge sentenced Lindsay Lohan Tuesday to three months in jail and to a rehabilitation program after finding the actress had violated the terms of her probation in a 2007 drug case.

Lindsay Lohan’s Lawyer quits

ITN The Showbiz 411
Lindsay Lohan’s lawyer has quit after the actress lost her court appeal and was sentenced to ninety days in jail.

Mel Gibson

Mel Gibson is an American Australian actor, film director, producer and screenwriter. Born in the US, Gibson moved with his parents to Sydney when he was 12 years old and later studied acting at the Australia’s National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA), a centre of excellence in training for theatre, film and television, where notable graduates include: Cate Blanchett (Elizabeth), Judy Davis (My Brilliant Career), Mel Gibson, Baz Luhrmann, Jacqueline McKenzie (Angel Baby), Miranda Otto (The Lord of the Rings trilogy), Richard Roxburgh (Moulin Rouge!/Mission: Impossible II), Pamela Stephenson (actress/comedian/psychologist wife of Billy Connolly), Hugo Weaving (Matrix trilogy/ Lord of the Rings trilogy), Sam Worthington (Avatar) and many others familiar to Australian audiences were trained.

Mel Gibson has acted in movies which have grossed more than two billion dollars in the U.S. alone. Notable film appearances include: Mad Max series, Gallipoli, The Year of Living Dangerously, The Bounty, Lethal Weapon series, Hamlet, Braveheart. His notable directorial achievements include: Braveheart, The Passion of the Christ and Apocalypto.

Gibson divorced his Australian wife Robyn after 29 years of marriage, which included nearly three years of separation. He then fathered a daughter by his girlfriend in 2009, the Russian pianist Oksana Grigorieva, but split the following year, with a domestic violence restraining order filed against him. Reports now have been leaked that alleged threats against his former girlfriend have resulting in the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department launching a domestic violence investigation against him. Meanwhile Gibson has filed for a restraining order against Grigorieva to prevent her speaking publicly about the case, though that has not stopped recordings of their conversations being made public.

Mel Gibson accused of racist and sexist slurs

ITN The Showbiz 411
Reports claim actor and filmmaker Mel Gibson was caught on tape using the N-word.

Mel Gibson investigated in domestic violence claim

Police probe Gibson abuse claim

ITN The Showbiz 411
Los Angeles police are looking into allegations that Hollywood actor Mel Gibson abused his former girlfriend Oksana Grigorieva.

Mel Gibson’s Alleged Racist Rant

RadarOnline.com, the celebrity website that posted the recording Friday, says there’s more where that came from.

AssociatedPress
RadarOnline has posted exclusive audio of a recording it says is Mel Gibson engaging in a racist and sexist rant toward his ex-girlfriend. The full recording can be heard at RadarOnline.com.

Gibson was raised a Traditionalist Catholic and has been attacked not only for his beliefs but for anti-semitic remarks when arrested for driving under the influence, and the tone of his film “The Passion of the Christ”, with its interpretation of the Gospels. Since the latest controversy surrounding his former girlfriend, Gibson has now been accused of racism and sexism. He has admitted to being manic depressive and that alcoholism runs in his family.

Gibson also has many redeeming factors. A good sense of humour, philanthropy and a good reputation in Hollywood for professionalism and punctuality.

Most people have secrets of one sort or another which could be embarrassing if discovered by friends and family, let alone the public at large. Modesty prevents the average person from overly flaunting their bodies, so flashing the genitals is not only unseemly but unlawful in many instances. Alcohol and other substances lower inhibitions which alter behaviour, so this can exacerbate things when deviating from the norm in manners and speech. The line is overstepped should the law be broken, meaning the behaviour has become more than a simple problem.

Not all indiscretions make the newspapers, the television news or go viral on the internet, but those of celebrities will always garner more eyeballs reading and viewing the scandalous headlines and juicy gossip. Oddly enough, many people want to be famous, but hopefully for the right reasons, for outstanding achievements, rather than infamy or fifteen minutes of soon forgotten fame.