Celebrity Gossip: Our Guilty Pleasure

American Icons
on September 7, 2011

Fans love reading celebrity gossip articles, especially ones written about scandals involving their favorite stars. The articles we read online or in magazines allow us to peek inside the real lives and drama of some of the most famous celebrities. For example, headlines often make claims about who's dating who, who wore what outlandish outfit or which popular couple just broke up. All of these topics, and more, fill the pages of celebrity gossip columns every day for us to read and enjoy.

The big question pop culture critics ask is, "Why do people care so much about celebrity gossip?" The truth is that people are fascinated with the lives of the rich and famous. Celebrities have indulgent lifestyles filled with big houses, exotic vacations and expensive gadgets. Since most people will never have or experience these things, reading celebrity gossip; articles gives people the chance to image what their lives would be like as a celebrity. Sometimes people will then try to mimic their favorite star. For example, many young girls enjoy reading celebrity gossip magazines so they can imitate their idol's fashion, makeup and hairstyles. Remember when women all over the country wanted the "Jennifer Aniston haircut."

Another reason why people enjoy reading celebrity gossip is because they are simply curious about the off-camera lives of their favorite celebrities. For example, the public wants to know whether an actress known in movies for being a "good girl" is truly an out of control party girl in real life. Hearing about celebrities' highs and lows turns these picture-perfect stars into the real people they truly are. The public can relate to these gossip stories, and see themselves in the drama of their lives. When fans read gossip articles they feel closer to their favorite celebrities, as if they knew them personally.

It is impossible to account for all of the reasons why people love reading celebrity gossip articles, the point is that they do. What the reason is, people all over the world will continue to search out the latest information and gossip about their favorite stars.

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