14 DAY TRIAL // Whenever a celebrity starts promoting a new project, whether it’s a music album, a film, a perfume, a new season of a reality show – you name it – know to expect them to come out with rehearsed anecdotes, answers to pre-approved questions, and a deluge of details from their personal life.
Only a handful of celebrities refuse to discuss about their life in detail, and they deserve credit for it. They’re also a dying breed because they’re refusing to go with the trend of oversharing, and in so doing, they’re fighting to remain film people or musicians, instead of becoming celebrities.
These celebrities, on the other hand, no matter how spontaneous or genuine might come across on TV or in print, or even online, are trained in the art of celebrity. They know exactly what to say and when to say it, because they have people who tell them to say precisely the things their fans want to hear.
So here’s a list of 5 celebrity lies you should never believe.
I did it on my own, my name didn’t help one bit
Most recently, it was Kendall Jenner who said it. She’s just landed a new fashion campaign (for Estee Lauder, so it’s a big deal), and for the past year or so, she’s been working steadily in high fashion, modeling for some of the biggest names in the industry.
It seems like it was only a short while ago that she was just this sweet-looking kid on Keeping Up with the Kardashians, the kid who spoke about maybe not wanting a career in the spotlight and about wanting to grow out of the reality show.
She’s now trying to disown the Kardashian-Jenner name that got her attention, by claiming that she had to work hard – if not actually even harder than regular models – to get to where she is now.
Leaving aside the fact that showbiz is brimming with instances of nepotism, Kendall, just like every other celebrity who claims to have done it on their own, is full of it. In her case, it was Kim’s relationship with Kanye that got her with her foot in the door, just when people were starting to wonder if her modeling dreams would amount to nothing, because she wasn’t getting offers.
She shouldn’t be saying that she did it on her own, because she’s insulting her fans in asking them to believe her. Instead, she should admit to help in starting out, whatever that might have been, and just pride herself in the fact that she got this high on her own. Like “yes, I had help, but I got here through hard work.” Now that would be a more convincing narrative.
I do this for the art
Every actor or musician says that, because that’s what the fans want to hear. They don’t want to know of money struggles, or of making compromises when working on a project because the boss who’s paying for all wants things done his or her way: they like to believe that their idol is only working in showbiz because that’s what their calling is. Otherwise, they would die of stifled creativity. I hear that’s a painful way to go.
The reality of it is that the almighty buck calls all the shots, to the extent where today, except for indie projects, very little is made for art’s sake exclusively.
The best example of that is if you look at the career of someone as insanely talented and appreciated as Robert De Niro and Al Pacino. There was a time when they were both huge names in film, when most projects they got involved in meant something for them.
Obviously, they would have gotten nowhere in today’s entertainment landscape, not when such meaty roles have diminished appeal to the larger audience. Because of that, we got to see them in messes like “Grudge Match” and “Gigli,” for which I will personally never forgive Pacino. But as they say, a paycheck is a paycheck.
I never got any work done, would never
This is often the rhetoric with female stars, though the males have also started feeling the pressure of looking “perfect” for the camera and how that can’t happen when you age and things change about your face and body, as they very well should.
Celebrities are caught in a vicious circle, hence the need to lie about getting work: on one hand, they have to look “perfect,” because if they don’t, they’re not being sent offers and they’re out of work. No one likes feeling like they don’t matter anymore, let alone celebrities, who are idolized throughout their entire career and put up on a pedestal.
On the other hand, admitting to plastic surgery would make them less relatable, and at the same time, would equate an admission of old age. Nowhere else in the world is growing old a more shameful thing than in showbiz – this is the reality, make no mistake about it.
If they do dare to own up to getting work done, they’re publicly shamed. If they don’t but the result is visible, they’re publicly shamed again, so there’s really no winning for them – not unless you count the very rare instances where a celebrity finds this amazing doctor who does amazing work on them, but it’s so subtle you can’t tell. Then, they’re praised for looking “fabulous” and aging “gracefully.”
This is real, this is my life
This applies to all reality stars and it’s one of the most frequently told lies on TV, not including politics. Reality television, despite what its name might suggest, isn’t a reflection of everyday reality but rather a spin on the reality fans expect to see.
At the beginning, there was very little scripting to this type of shows, but as more and more appeared, there came the need to offer more shocking content to viewers at home.
So today, we’re getting shows about people who eat dead people’s ashes because they’re “addicted,” we get shows with drunks who fight in clubs, with grown-up women who throw glasses of booze in each other’s faces with more flair than your favorite soap opera characters do, we get personal and marital drama, etcetera.
The line between actor / singer and reality star is blurred, and crossing it becomes a walk in the park, and celebrities are born. The only way they can continue being called that is if they drum up their problems – which is what producers are doing for every single episode, by scripting it, down to the dialog.
If you believe that what you see in reality television is “real,” you’re in for a real awakening.
My job is so much fun!
What a celebrity won’t tell you is how difficult it was for them before making it big. Sure, once you’re rich and famous, your life will be considerably better, but until you get to the top, you have to grovel, kiss you-know-what, and work harder than ever before.
We live in a world in which everyone can become a celebrity in seconds, with just a cell phone and a social media account. This means that the fight to get to the top has become infinitely tougher than it ever was for, say, Pacino and De Niro.
The smile we see on the red carpet hides hours of training to deliver it (i.e. the perfect smile, to go with the perfect pose) and years of working to get people to notice you. Along the way, painful compromises have been made, many tears and blood ran freely, countless humiliations were suffered, and many doors closed in your face.
Being a celebrity is fun, but only if you’re at the top.
