Celebrities Are People Too!

Often I see celebrities and think wow they got it made. The lead such wonderful lives. Most of them are drop dead gorgeous ( Beyonce), young black and famous with money hanging out the anus ( Lil Wayne… anyone). Many seem to have more money than they know what to do with and can say fuck the world because I’m a millionaire ( Kimora). Lets not forget, be over the age of 40 and chosen as one of the most beautifulest people ( Halle).

While it’s easy to get envious, most of us are intelligent enough to know all that glitters aint gold. Behind the money, make-up and materialistic things lays a real person, with real feelings and real issues.

Today I learned of the tragic deaths of Jennifer Hudson’s mother and brother and thought I would hate to be famous under that condition. Wouldn’t you find it hard to grieve when all the world is watching, waiting on your response. Imagine a million cameras going off, when you are in the middle of the worse experience of your life. My heart and prayers goes out to the Hudson family as they deal with the death of their loved ones.

I imagine being a celebrity is a curse and a blessing. Most of these people had lives before they were famous and most of their lives were not so great. As a matter of fact, most of them came from nothing. But being a celebrity is about creating an illusion of perfection, something so untouchable that it can become a breeding ground of envy.

For instance, many women in the black community have a love/hate relationship with Beyonce Knowles-Carter. We love her because for the most part she is a positive self respecting black woman. But some people envy her because it seems like this woman never makes a mistake and everything she touches turns to pure gold. She seems to have it all; the looks, the career, the multi-millionaire husband, a multi-millionaire herself and to top it all off she is drop dead gorgeous.

Well I must admit her life does seems nice. But the woman cant go outside without being all glammed up or she is on the front page of some magazine. When was the last time you heard about her going out kicking it with her girlfriends? As a matter of fact, when was the last time you saw an A – list celebrity doing anything normal, like going to church, drinking a cup of coffee on the porch, taking the kids to the park, grocery shopping… ya know normal everyday stuff. They give up part of themselves to be celebrities.


Not to mention, being perfect is ( or thought of as perfect) is overrated. Life is lived not in the details but in the quirks and ups and downs of living. The next time you read something about a celebrity that is embarassing, funny or stupid… give’em a break. We do the same things without a million or so people watching, deciphering and judging.

Remember all that glitters aint gold and you never know what a person gave up to get what they got.