I know, I know - I never thought I'd say that. I'm the person who subscribes to People and US, and then always picks the longest line in the grocery store so that I can read In Touch and OK! I consider AJ Hammer a very reliable newssource.
That said - I'm SO OVER the Gosselins that I may go crazy if I read one more article about them; I don't want to hear any more about Letterman's dalliances, and when I read about "Balloon Boy" and his family, I feel really sad for those 3 kids.
I think that's the difference - celebrity watching used to be fun; a mindless entertainment break from the 9 to 5 routine that most of America follows. Don't get me wrong; I would never trade my life for that of say, Paris Hilton, for 10 minutes. But I sure got a kick out of hearing about parties at Chateu Marmont, and laughing at the complete stupidity of someone buying an $800 purse.
But now, well, a lot of the stories making headlines just aren't funny. Take the Gosselins - there are 8 little people who are going to be irrevocably screwed up because their parents can't seem to put their egos aside and buck up and actually, I don't know, put their kids' best interests first. Sadly, parents divorce every day, all over the world. And it's heartbreaking and hard on the kids and the parents; and that's WITHOUT every move, snide remark,and temper flare being reported to every major media outlet in the country. It's just not fun to watch a family rip apart.
I have been a Letterman fan since I was allowed to stay up late on Friday nights and snuggle up on the couch with my mom to watch him. I didn't miss an episode in college, and DVR him now. Yet, I saw absolutely no humor in his infamous confession that he had sex with past staffers. Who he wants to sleep with is certainly none of my business. Will I still watch him? Probably. But no part of me got a kick out of watching him make a joke out of the situation - have some respect for your wife and your son. That little boy will inevitably end up seeing that clip on You Tube in a few years, and I really doubt he'll find it as amusing as the audience seemed to.
Okay, I'm going to come down from my soapbox. I'm certainly not righteous enough that I'm swearing off reality tv or gossip magazines. I just think there should be a line - when parents are building homemade UFOs and then telling the world their 6 year old is hiding in it so they can extend their 15 mintues of Wife Swap fame, then that is going too far. Whatever happened to good ol' conniving on Survivor, amongst adults who all knew exactly what they were getting into? Leave the kids out of the equation.
