As normal people, we read about celebrities in magazines with awe and wonder. We load up on celebrity magazine subscriptions to study their every move, including their successes and failures. Whether they’re winning awards, buying million dollar houses, filing for bankruptcy, getting locked up in jail or entering rehab for the fourth time this month, we examine their lives religiously with the help of celebrity magazines. But this practice of following the lives of celebrities isn’t just an American pastime. In fact, we can learn a lot from the celebrities we read about in magazines – and even become better people ourselves. Here are some of the top recent celebrity magazine stories and what we can learn from them.
Drug Abuse and Rehab
She’s known for her sultry voice, numerous Grammy awards and, unfortunately, her numerous trips to the hospital and rehab. Many people are puzzled as to why such a talented woman in this day and age would abuse herself so much. Many have died from drug abuse, including Jim Morrison, Kurt Cobain and Jimi Hendrix. Amy Winehouse though seems to be on the exact same path. She’s been hospitalized for smoking crack and abusing heroin, ecstasy, cocaine and ketamine. So what can we learn from Ms. Winehouse? We can learn to take care of ourselves and to get the help we need. Amy Winehouse’s actions have set a great example of what not to do.
Income Tax Evasion
Paying taxes every year has become the American way. However, when people “forget” to pay their taxes, the federal government comes into the picture. Wesley Snipes is one famous celebrity who made this mistake and is certainly going to pay for it. Snipes’s situation, which may certainly land him in prison and with heavy fines, teaches us to follow the law and become better human beings; not to mention, tax evasion is a serious crime and not even the richest celebrities can get out of paying their taxes.
Teen Pregnancy
As Britney Spears’s life spiraled out of control, her little 16-year-old sister was shoved into the spotlight when she announced her pregnancy. The younger Spears received tons of media attention and criticism for being too much like her messy sister. Not only did teen celebrity Jamie Lynn receive harsh words but so did her parents. Another example of a high profile teen pregnancy is none other than 17-year-old Bristol Palin, former Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin’s daughter. These highly publicized teen pregnancies can make us better people. We can learn to take more responsibility for our actions and, for those of us who have children, the importance of good parenting.
Catfights
Conflict can be unavoidable, but it seems like celebrities are the best at defaming each other and starting fights. Some famous celebrity catfights include the Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie fight and more recently the Miley Cyrus and Selena Gomez fight over fame. Celebrity fights seem petty, and they are. According to many celebrity magazines, they fight over men, trash talking and for no reason at all. From this we can learn to simply be smarter and to choose our actions wisely. We can’t mindlessly start fights with other people and we can certainly use celebrities as perfect examples of what not to do.
Sources:
“Amy Winehouse.” Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amy_Winehouse
“Britney’s Teen Sister Jamie Lynn Spears Pregnant.” People. www.people.com/people/article/0,,20167059,00.html
“Bristol Palin’s pregnancy raises issues of privacy, judgement.” USAToday. www.usatoday.com/news/politics/election2008/2008-09-01-palin-daughter_N.htm
“Wesley Snipes given three years for tax evasion.” The Times. entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/film/article3671886.ece
