Falling Stars- when Celebrities crash to earth

[SurferStitch]

I was going to say Tom Cruise, but I voted for the Dixie Chicks.

I never really liked them, and when they pulled that gutless, cowardly stunt of bashing our president in another country, well, they sank to the bottom of the cesspool for me.

Like it or not, Cruise will probably come back. He is still bankable (even though I can't stand him), as is Affleck. Mel will be fine. Britney is still famous and in the limelight, so no problems there (can't stand her either).

The Chicks, while still heard on the radio, will probably never rebound to the fame they once had. That Natalie can't keep her obnoxious mouth shut, so she'll keep the Chicks in the celler for a while. To this day I always turn the radio station when I hear a Chicks song come on. I absolutely despise them.

[Ian]

Luckily, I hated the Dixie Chicks long before they got in hot water, so I didn't have to suffer much after the fact

Mel, while somewhat of a drunken idiot, is still okay in my book. Any Hollywood celeb with enough guts to go against the prevailing attitude out there is a winner in my book.

[SurferStitch]

WDWacky....you sound just like me. I feel the same way.

[2Epcot]

Are people really this interested in the lives of celebrities? I always marvel at the headlines I see on allegedly "respectable" news outlets, like CNN and even the AP ...

Brittany Bleches on Video!

Brittany Trips While Carrying Baby!

Tomkat Buy Private Ultrasound Machine!
and I think to myself ... WHO CARES?????

I really do wonder if people actually are interested in this stuff or if the media just assumes we are (since in many cases, they consider themselves as celebrities and must have a tough time believing no one is interested in THEM!).

Considering that Entertainment Tonight has now been on the air for 25 years and is still in the Top 10 syndicated programs on TV, its seems there is quite of bit of interest in celebrities by the public. ET has been renewed through the year 2012. If you look at the news stands, very few magazines don't have a star on the cover, because editors know that is what drives sales.

The recent activities between Mel Gibson and Star Jones leaving The View, increased the ratings on every magazine show doing entertainment news. Probably the down side of that is, the main stream news shows see what is drawing viewers, and follow suit by covering more entertainment stories themselves.

I have been to a couple of events where Tom Cruise was in attendance. I stood right next to him as he took picture with fans and shook their hands. Though I could have spoke to him myself, it was more fun for me to watch how excited others got ... it made their day to meet such a huge star. So many tourist come here to LA, and if they can go back home and say they met a celebrity, they are so thrilled.

Of course not everyone cares about stars, but obviously there are many who do. I would guess many people decide on what movie to see based on who is in the film, as opposed to what the story is about (horror films being the exception).

Maybe the interest in celebrity news has a lot has to do with just having a little bit of escape from normal life. For some, maybe it makes them feel better about their own lives, knowing all the money in the world doesn't prevent stars from going through the same problems themselves. Though that shouldn't be a surprise, since we are all just people.

[Ian]

I guess ... if it's true, though, I find it pretty sad, because 90% of these people are nothing but role models on how NOT to live your life.

It's a shame that these are the folks the general public opts to be interested in when there are so many people out there more worthy of their attention. Not sure what that says about us ...

[Here we go again...]

Mel, while somewhat of a drunken idiot, is still okay in my book. Any Hollywood celeb with enough guts to go against the prevailing attitude out there is a winner in my book.

I agree. I just can't turn my back on Mel, but I am surprised at some of his actions lately. Mel is a traditional Catholic, meaning that he follows the original teaching of the bible. (being Catholic explains the drinking ) As hard as he fought to produce a movie that many people believe is the true story of Christ, how can he start screwing up now and do so many things that go against his religion. Is he cracking under the pressure? Who knows.

As for the others, Ben is going to be okay. He just needs to find some good movie scripts and stay out of the public eye for a while.

The Dixie Chicks... what can I say? They need to put a muzzle on Natalie. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but the way she handled herself made it look like she was talking for a group of people, not just her own point of view. The radio stations around here still will not play their music and they have had to cancel their tour. Natalie still does not ralize that it was her fans that put her on that stage to begin with... she should not use that very same stage to kick her fans in the butt.

Tom is an idiot. I have never felt that he was a very good actor, so he was never anything special in my book.

Lindsey is just having some growing pains like all child actors seem to. Hopefully she will make some better choices soon and grow up.

Brittany - she got my vote. Getting married to a no talent man that had another woman pregnant was stupid to begin with. All he has done is [take] her money from her and she is not smart enough to see it. So, what is the solution? Why, get pregnant again of course!! I do not think I have ever heard a song by Brittany that I liked... I do not understand why she has been so popular this long to begin with.

Okay, off my now.

[2Epcot]

I decided to look up the poll I created almost a year ago, to see how Lindsay Lohan ranked. At that time there was enough going on with her to include her in the poll, but she didn't score very high. I think more people would have voted for her if I did this today. It's unfortunate that it seems like it takes jail to turn some of these stars around. For Paris, jail seemed to only make her more well known (Though a year ago, I wouldn't have thought of including her). Sadley Lindsay has a great career which she's throwing down the tubes.

[Fantasmic]

I would have voted for Britney, especially now, with the head shaving thing...

[SBETigg]

But with Tom Cruise, it is so much more than the couch-jumping and being in love. It is the negative comments he has made on medication and psychiatry, the passing judgment, and forcing his beliefs on others. His interview with Matt Lauer caused far more damage than even his couch-jumping with Oprah, though the couch-jumping was the easiest to lampoon.

I think we lose interest in people we look to for entertainment when they use their celebrity status to push their opinions on others instead of entertaining us. Rosie O'Donnell, Susan Sarandon, and Richard Gere are a few names that come to mind of others who have struggled with lost popularity after publicly championing a cause. Some recover better than others. Tom Cruise has probably done permanent damage to his career.