Monday, December 11, 2006

Celebrity Is Not Life

First off, I am unilaterally removing The Malcontent and Gay Orbit from my sidebar of "Blogs On Which Mentioning My Name Will Get You Banned, Too".

Why? Life is too short to feud with people whom you want to cite.

At any rate, Robbie of The Malcontent pointed to a piece by Chip Arndt, who has much to say about newly-out Lance Bass and the supposedly-closeted celebrity mass that Bass represents:

But I am always offended when celebrities say, “leave me alone … none of your business … my life is my life.” It must be nice to be able to insulate yourself from the scrutiny and harassment of the world because you have money to escape to your island retreat, hideaway in Aspen or exclusive dinners in Malibu all while living your “secret gay life.” What about setting an example and standing up for common gay and lesbian folk who don’t have the money to protect themselves from scrutiny or harassment from others in the workplace, in public or by their own government?


This is surprising, when one considers that Arndt was blaming the media for over-scrutinizing his relationships and poking into areas that weren't their business a few years ago. Why is he suddenly being so mean to the erstwhile Mrs. Reichen Leimkuhl, after whining about having had his own sexual proclivities made front-page news a few years back?

Probably because that was back when he was Mrs. Reichen Leimkuhl.

And I loved this part:

Maybe it’s time to reassess the role that a celebrity plays in society. That role should include being a role model to help end bigotry and hatred. And it is simple to do: Just come out and be proud of who you are.

I agree. Perhaps Arndt and his ilk should stop portraying gays as celebrity-obsessed, catty b*tches who demand that other people stay out of their dresser drawers, but come up with convoluted reasons why they should go rummaging through other peoples', especially those of people who are (or were) dating their ex.

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