Why Celebrity Crime Makes Headlines

Why Celebrity Crime Makes Headlines

If you take a moment to look at the people who are the richest and most influential in the world today, you’ll see that the list is mostly populated with stars from the film industry and the sports world. Yes, there are business tycoons and royals too on the roster, but the majority belongs to the entertainment industry, because this is the field where money comes and goes as easily as air. Once you’re a star, it’s easy to rake in the big bucks as long as your name sells on screen. It is this popularity and the immense amount of money that these people own that make them the target of the paparazzi, and when they’re involved in a crime, either as the victim or the accused, they make headlines for all the below reasons:

• There is double the attraction: We’re already voyeurs who enjoy the gossip magazines because of the dope and dirt they dish out on the celebrities. And when the gossip gets juicier, we like to speculate and feed our baser instincts with news that all is not well in the world of the rich and the famous.

• There is double the anticipation: We wait with bated breath to see how the cases pan out, if the stars will actually be booked and tried in court, and then you can’t wait to see if the jury lets them go because they are celebrities or if they convict them for the crime.

• We think celebrities are Gods: We are guilty of elevating them to this status, and we often forget that they are humans with natural feelings and emotions too, just like the rest of us. But when pictures of them shouting, screaming, or acting in an otherwise unseemly matter that does not befit someone who lives in the eye of the public turn up, we take great pride in belittling and judging them for their behavior.

• The press sensationalizes it more that it has to: It’s news when a celebrity sneezes, so you can imagine what blood, guns, knives and murders would do to the paparazzi. They’re like wolves following the scent of fresh prey, and nothing can stop the sensationalism that follows. The news story takes a long time to die a natural death, even though the star in question may have been exonerated.

Crime makes good copy, but it’s even better when there are celebrities involved.

By-line:

This article is written by Kat Sanders, who regularly blogs on the topic of forensic science technician at her blog Forensic Scientist Blog. She welcomes your comments and questions at her email address: katsanders25@gmail.com.