Scandals

You may remember a few months ago when there was a huge rumor pervading the celeb gossip world that pictures of Nick Lachey and his girlfriend Vanessa Minnillo had been taken by freelance paparazzi through Fame Pictures which depicted the two lovebirds in some quite compromising positions during their vacation in Mexico. The most shocking of the Lachey/Minnillo sex pictures is a photo of the couple having sex in an outdoor hot tub at their private villa in Mexico as well as a few completely nude Vanessa Minnillo photos. Luckily, the savvy couple managed to wheel and deal with OK! Magazine by accepting to do an exclusive interview about their relationship as long as OK! Could provide the capital to purchase the more raunchy pictures of Nick and Vanessa and keep them under wraps for good. Well, at least that was the original plan. However, anyone knows that once celebrity sex photos are known to exist, they won’t remain a secret for very long.

Some of the terms of the interview with OK! Magazine were that the couple had to address the issue of the scandalous sex pictures. When being interviewed about their lack of privacy by OK!, Nick claimed that he and Vanessa had done no wrongdoing by having sex in a visible public location. He also made the following point during the same interview: “I was in Mexico with my girlfriend celebrating our first anniversary together on a private vacation. It’s not like I was caught with a Mexican hooker. We’ve all gone out and had a few too many and done something stupid. We’ve all made mistakes.” This mistake is turning out to have been a colossal one for the couple.

Unfortunately for Nick and Vanessa, their cover over this mistake has been blown and the pictures have been leaked for all to see. First, Life &Style and Australian magazine Famous, printed the risqué, but not the worst of the sex pics. However, Spanish publication Toxic Magazine has printed uncensored pictures of the couple which depict Vanessa Minnillo fully naked and probably a lot hairier than you would expect for a former beauty queen. Maybe from now on she has learned not to take such long breaks from getting waxed… and oh yeah, and not to have sex in view of cameras outdoors when you’re a celebrity!

Despite all of the controversy which developed into a full-fledged media frenzy when the plan for O.J.’s latest book If I Did It was revealed, it seems that the book may actually find it’s way to your local bookshelves anyway. If I Did It is a chronicle of how O.J. says he would have murdered his ex-wife Nicole and Ron Goldman, if he had done it. It seems very tasteless to me, and in the eyes of most of the media coverage, it seems like it’s getting that rep as well. So what will be the draw, and why is it going to be published anyway?

Well, despite editor Judith Regan being fired by Harper Collins for supporting the initial release of the book, If I Did It, the controversial book has now found new support thanks to a court ruling that will award most of the proceeds to the family of Ron Goldman—the reason being that they have not been paid much of the 33.5 million they deserved from winning a wrongful death case against Simpson. According to rumors circulating now, the family of Goldman will be adding notations to O.J.’s original text and the book will be published through Beaufort Books, a small publishing company based in New York.

Though the Goldman family support of the book’s release, since they will have ultimate control over it, there are some who are not so happy about the change. Denise Brown, the sister of the murdered Nicole Brown, believes that the book is in poor-taste and supports a full boycott of the book, despite the fact that the proceeds will be going to the Goldman’s. She accuses them of profiting from the “blood money” of their son Ron and of the death of Nicole as well. On the other side of the fence, the Goldman’s and Beaufort Books are confident that the book will not glorify the musings of an accused murderer, but hope that their special additions to the text will help readers honor the memories of Nicole Brown and Ron Goldman. It will also be one of the most effective ways to begin to be compensated for the huge amount of money they are still owed by O.J. Simpson

The book is currently scheduled for release on the 3rd of October, though many bookstores are still deciding whether to carry the controversial book.

Unless you were living under a rock in early August of 2006, you probably remember the huge amount of fall out and weeks of media discussion from Mel Gibson’s highly publicized erratic behavior and subsequent arrest for three offenses on July 28, 2006. First, Gibson was found traveling on Pacific Coast Highway significantly over the speed limit at approximately 2:30 am. When officers pulled him over, they found offense number two: an open container of Cazadores Tequila. Finally, a blood alcohol content test revealed that Gibson an alcohol level of 0.12%, far above the legal limit for driving which in California is 0.08%.

In today’s world, we’ve become so used to seeing celebrities reprimanded for drug use, sent to rehab, or even jail, but the behavior Mel Gibson displayed upon his arrest is one of the most surprising instances of celebrity bad behavior in the past several years (with the possibly exception of Lindsay Lohan’s drug-fueled car chase). While waiting in the police car, Gibson began to make Anti-Semitic remarks such as “Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world,” to the Jewish arresting officer and later allegedly called a female officer “sugartits” as he was escorted by another officer.

It’s difficult to judge the sincerity of the several public apologies which were issued by Mel Gibson. If there hadn’t been so much media attention surrounding his behavior, would he have changed his ways? Will his career be hurt in the long-run for his offensive outbursts? These questions are hard to answer and only time will tell whether Mel Gibson can rebuild his reputation in the eyes of his fans, or if he will from now on regarded as a prejudiced drunk. Other celebrities have beat the odds and recovered, while some have tainted their reputations forever (think Tom Cruise’s prescription drug rant and Britney Spears’ hard-partying reputation).

Many famous names spoke out against Mel Gibson’s unacceptable behavior and pledged to keep him from working on productions with their studios or from accepting roles in his movies.

mel2.jpgThe final sentencing for Gibson’s DUI “incident” was: a 90-day license suspension, three years probation, mandatory one year Alcoholic’s Anonymous participation, mandatory rehab attendance, and a $1,300. Still seems pretty light compared to the jail time that Paris Hilton received for a much less serious offense: driving under a suspended license. What gives?

It seems that everything with Britney’s Meltdown crisis still hasn’t come to its end. Kevin Federline’s attorneys have now subpoenaed many of Britney’s employees to make statements regarding Britney’s behavior around her children. I’m sure most people will now agree that Britney’s children need to be with a more responsible parent. I’m not sure if Kevin Federline is the best answer, but let’s take a look at Britney’s recent downfall and repeated reports of erratic behavior.

1. The Umbrella and the Paparazzo’s Car- Probably the ultimate in Britney craziness. She looks like a psychopath.
2. The Head-Shaving- Pictures below. Words aren’t really needed.
3. The Clubs- It wouldn’t be so exciting if she wore underwear. I especially enjoy the occasion which provided us the pictures of Britney after she had changed into her assistant’s clothes… and her poor assistant had to wear Britney’s trashy get up.
4. The Awful Extensions- You’ve seen them. They look like bread twist ties attached to her head. You would think that with the number of people surrounding her at all times, someone would have the balls to tell her to spend a few bucks to get some decent extensions.
5. The Revenge of the Fashion Mags- This is probably the most insightful of all of the recent crazy-Britney actions. If you haven’t heard, Britney personally booked a photo shoot and interview with OK! Magazine that turned disastrous according to OK!. TMZ has called it a definite “melt down” and states that Britney was so completely out of it during the shoot that she thought the ceiling would cave in on her head and could barely keep her eyes from rolling back into her head. She ruined several pieces of the wardrobe for the shoot and left the premises without finishing the interview.
6. The Pool Hook Up- A 21-year old college student named Matt Encinias who was in Britney’s most recent music video has gone public with his story of hanging out and making out with Britney naked in a pool at L.A.’s Standard Hotel.
7. The Fender Bender- Last week, an unbuckled Britney ran her car into a parked car outside of a vitamin store in L.A. She may face hit-and-run charges since she didn’t file a report or contact the owner of the car.

It seems like the list can’t get much longer but it will be interesting to see what’s to come in the future. Hopefully, Britney will come to her senses and get the help she so obviously needs. Otherwise, who knows what will happen next?

Celebrities, by nature, are very high-profile individuals and with the ever-growing popularity of non-stop coverage of nearly all “A-list” celebrities that are “hot” at the moment, their profiles tend to grow larger all the time. Additionally, celebrities are known to make lots of money on the projects that they are involved in, endorsements deals, and their subsequent investments. All of this exposure about them and their financial profile makes celebrities prime targets for extortion.

Just recently, Tom Cruise and his wife Katie Holmes were the target of a celebrity extortion attempt by a 47 year old Arizona man. The man contact Cruise’s representatives claiming to possess private photographs of his wedding day to Holmes and was asking for a sum in excess of $1,000,000 for them. Cruise’s representative immediately went to the FBI and the man was arrested and detained with bail set at $100,000.

This is not the first time that celebrity extortion has taken place, nor will it be the last. In fact, there is no way to know how often it happens because it is very likely and really no doubt about the fact that many celebrities would rather pay an extortionist off before having their private moments become public, particularly if it showed them in a particularly negative light. In Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes’ case, it happened to simply be their wedding day. While it is certain that they would rather those photos not get into the public eye, they don’t depict the couple doing anything remotely shameful. Since a celebrity’s future earning potential and marketability hinders on their public image, there are many celebrities that would quickly decide to pay off an extortionist leech rather than allow their embarrassing moments go public.

Other public victims of celebrity extortion include, but are certainly not limited to Paris Hilton, Collin Farrell, Tommy Lee, Pamela Anderson, and Oprah Winfrey. Though the reason for the extortion changes with each celebrity that falls victim to extortionists the crime is always the same and is punishable in the same manner that conventional extortion is punishable.

The public’s obsession with Hollywood and celebrities is at unprecedented proportions these days and there is no end in sight. While there has always been a public fascination with the glamorous movie stars and even some curiosity about how they act in their private life, never before has the industry been so focused and so rabid on capturing celebrities during their day-to-day lives. Celebrities are literally hounded day and night outside their homes, while they shop, while they eat, and even while they are on vacation because no matter what the average man or woman says that they believe is right or wrong about taking pictures of someone during their private moments, they are still enthralled enough to purchase the latest copy of US Weekly and OK!.

The most pervasive, annoying, and even dangerous side effect of the infatuation with public figures and celebrities has to be the overwhelming number of opportunistic paparazzi. With the price of pictures of celebrities fetching up to millions of dollars for a few snapshots, photographers that dream of striking it rich have taken to following celebrities around in hopes of catching them in some kind of situation that would be considered newsworthy to the public and thus, to the magazines that buy the pictures.

While there is no doubt that the practice is annoying at best it can be dangerous at worst. Though no convictions were made, it was widely speculated that the paparazzi that were following Princess Diana at high speeds helped cause the automobile wreck that led to her death. However, as appalling as everyone agrees that this tragedy was there are still no efforts to place some kind of legal restrictions on the act of following someone rabidly and shoving a camera into their face at every opportunity.

Paparazzi are even known to taunt and jeer the celebrities in hopes that the celebrity will get angry and throw something at them or otherwise act in a manner that would appear to be unbecoming and, more importantly, unprovoked to the viewer of any pictures they snap. George Clooney was snapped in a picture that caught him throwing food at paparazzi that was yelling at him while he ate on a patio at a public restaurant.

Paparazzi have even sunk so low as to use telephoto lenses and trespassing to photograph celebrities in their private life in their private homes. It makes one wonder what the limits are to some of their tactics and morals.

While there is no doubt that celebrities should expect to be noticed and photographed at some point or another when they are in the public eye on television and in movies so much, there has to be a point at which someone draws a line at what is right and wrong. However, as long as people keep buying the magazines that pay the paparazzi so much for the pictures that they get while utilizing these tactics there is little hope that such a thing as professional courtesy will ever exist in the world of paparazzi.