jjhunsecker said:

gandorb said:

I think when it's big time celebrity, it is more often a curse. When it starts with as a child or adolescent, it is almost always a curse. When it is a young person who initially eats up the attention due to their own lifelong insecurities, it is almost always tragic (e.r., Britney, Princess Di, Marlin Monroe, Amy Winehouse, etc. . This is one reason I root for Taylor Swift, who is in the high risk category but may just not only surviving it but seems to flourishing as of late.

What probably helps Taylor Swift cope with the madness of extreme fame is that she seems to have come from a strong family structure, whereas many of the people you mentioned- and a lot more- had issues that fame just magnified

Good point. It could be a life saver.

gandorb said:

Free2BMe said:

jjhunsecker said:

gandorb said:

I think when it's big time celebrity, it is more often a curse. When it starts with as a child or adolescent, it is almost always a curse. When it is a young person who initially eats up the attention due to their own lifelong insecurities, it is almost always tragic (e.r., Britney, Princess Di, Marlin Monroe, Amy Winehouse, etc. . This is one reason I root for Taylor Swift, who is in the high risk category but may just not only surviving it but seems to flourishing as of late.

What probably helps Taylor Swift cope with the madness of extreme fame is that she seems to have come from a strong family structure, whereas many of the people you mentioned- and a lot more- had issues that fame just magnified

She claims to have studied every Behind The Music so there's that.

Wolfie87 said:

And as usual, there are low lives hijacking the thread to throw cheap shots at Michael. How predictable.

PatrickS77 said:

alphastreet said:

SantanaMaitreya said:

PatrickS77 said:

And as usual, there are low lives hijacking the thread to throw cheap shots at Michael. How predictable.

As usual? Hey, I'm the one who started this thread and I never intended it to be about Michael Jackson, although I may have been a little naive thinking it wasn't going to be about him. And I want to thank everybody for the responses. But don't go telling me that my thread was hijacked, okay?

Was it you who talked shit about or mentioned Michael?? If not, why do you get defensive now? Was it your intention and were you secretly hoping that someone would start to talk shit about Michael?? If not, why do you get defensive now? You didn't mention Michael, so obviously, I wasn't talking about you.

PatrickS77 said:

Free2BMe said:

SantanaMaitreya said:

PatrickS77 said:

Was it you who talked shit about or mentioned Michael?? If not, why do you get defensive now? Was it your intention and were you secretly hoping that someone would start to talk shit about Michael?? If not, why do you get defensive now? You didn't mention Michael, so obviously, I wasn't talking about you.

Holy fuck, why are you getting so angry? I started this thread about celebrity, not about Michael Jackson. And then if people want to talk about him, that's fine, because he was a celebrity, so it falls within the subject of this thread. No problem there. But once again, I'm the one who started it and as long as I have no problem with it and the moderators have no problem with it, it's not hijacked. Okay? Now let's get back to the subject!

When it's used to diss Michael, it is hijacked, as that clearly was not the topic. Also I wasn't talking to you, before you chimed in. I was calling out the people who use this as an excuse to diss Michael. Like they always do. And I'm not angry.

Free2BMe said:

gandorb said:

Good point. It could be a life saver.

I agree. However large Taylor’s fame is, it doesn’t compare to the fame that Michael attained. We also must remember that Taylor is not receiving the jealousy and backlash that Michael received because he was the biggest star in the world AND a black man who did things, broke records, etc. that no one else had ever done. The fame, popularity, madness that surrounded Michael will never be seen again, IMO. Therefore, it’s hard to compare ANYONE’S situation to his.

Yes, MJ was imprisoned by his enormous celebrity. However Black men are not the only target group who are unfairly treated by the press. Female pop stars have especially been maligned, pitted against each other, and criticized constantly about their looks, clothes, and weight as well as gas-lighted as crazy if they any reactions to the out of control paparazzi. They are seen as promiscuous whores if they show up with a series of attractive male dates, where male celebrities are admired for their attractive dates. Nevertheless, I still think as it was mentioned before in the thread that having a really solid family of origin is the most important inoculation for celebrity meltdown regardless of the other demographic factors.

PatrickS77 said:

SantanaMaitreya said:

SantanaMaitreya said:

the OP started the topic Celebrity: a curse or a blessing?

stay on topic everyone else. Follow the rules. This is PRINCE.org

Neither honestly, it's just like any public facing job, albeit with an added set of caveats and demands (to paraphrase Rich Pryor "when you're in show business, the little extra treat you get is p*$$y"). Large wealth and fame gives them access to extra resources and opportunities, they can make a choice whether they shill out for more dough. Yeah some of those fast food artists get pounded into the ground on the promo circuit, but it's not like they were going to be hard at work on their craft anyway.

OldFriends4Sale said: