Why are We So Obsessed with TomKat?
Yes, after 7 years together, the adorable duo are parting ways, with their offspring/future-heartbreaker Suri Cruise caught in the middle of the divorce battle. The media has been in a frenzy for days, constantly posting news updates to site such as Huffington Post with every new minute detail of the divorce drama. There have been Thought Catalog pieces rambling on and on about the demise of TomKat. There are dozens of photos of Katie and Suri on Buzzfeed doing adorable things. The couple graces the cover of every major tabloid. The public questions: if they can’t make it, who can?
And then there are the rumors. Is Tom Cruise gay? Will he finally come out of the closet? Does John Travolta know? Did Katie finally realize that Scientology is a cult? Did Dawson Leery have something to do with this?
Why do we care?
It’s not just TomKat that the public obsesses over. Remember the week we found out that Brad Pitt left the adorable, wonderful, PERFECT Jennifer Aniston (Have you not seen her hair? She has the best hair.) for Angelina Jolie? ANGELINA JOLIE? She used to have sex with Billy Bob Thorton and wear vials of blood around her neck! And do you remember the media blitz surrounding Kim Kardashian’s 72-day marriage? How much time did you spend tweeting jokes that ended in #ThingsLongerThanKimKardashiansMarriage? Oh, and just so you know, Miley Cyrus just got engaged so that should be fun for all of us.
We like to know about the personal lives of celebrities for one very simple reason: it is a distraction. We want to know about Lindsay Lohan’s latest debacle because it is comforting to know that no matter how rich, powerful or gorgeous you are, you are still human. Mistakes still happen. These celebrities aren’t better than we are. Their lives are falling apart regardless of the size of their bank account. They can afford all the Chanel they want but they can’t keep a marriage together or manage to remember to put underwear on so they don’t pull a Britney. And off of these mistakes are photographed every single day. They are under constant scrutiny. As much as we’d like to glamorize the lifestyle of the rich and famous, the tabloids come along to remind us that their lives are not in fact perfect. And when the celebrities are happy and doing fantastic? We love that too. They’re beating the odds.
Is it disgusting how obsessed America is with celebrities? Possibly. Do they deserve respect and privacy? Yes. However, the constant attention comes with celebrity status. If Kim Kardashian didn’t want a magnifying glass on all of her personal relationships, maybe she shouldn’t have starred in a reality show. Should we give it a rest? Maybe. But let’s be honest, with all of the terrible things happening in the world, sometimes it’s nice to zone out and pretend our biggest issue is whether or not Jessica Simpson will lose the baby weight.
- Suzie Robb
@suzierobb