If you haven’t been paying attention to celebrity news lately first of all congratulations! You have other things that are occupying your time. But every once and a while a celebrity issue will cross the lines of pop culture and become a real conversation starter. Recently comedian Jay Mohr “fat-shamed” actress Alyssa Milano. Yes, you read that correctly. Former teen idol and still smoking hot mom, Alyssa Milano.
Let’s put this in perspective. Milano had a baby in August 2011. Her son Milo is incredibly adorable by the way. Anyway, she had a baby two-and-a-half years ago and while she still looks more amazing than many of us can ever hope to look baby or not, she is not the same size as she was before she gave birth. So Jay Mohr decided to insult her post-baby bod. She–naturally–took to Twitter to respond, and after a media firestorm Mohr issued a mea culpa.
The other celeb that’s recently taken a stand in the media is Rashida Jones. She’s requested that Hollywood- especially young Hollywood put some damn clothes on. Yes, she’s talking to you Miley. She insists she’s not slut-shaming women, but instead asking them to value their worth as more than their sexuality. While I am a huge admirer of Jones and think she’s incredibly intelligent- she’s a Harvard graduate after all, here’s my question: When did it become status quo for celebrities to become our country’s voice?
Do we live in such a pop culture obsessed society that we need these celebrities to point out societal issues because more people watch E! than CNN? My first instinct was to roll my eyes that more celebrities addressing issues dealing with women’s bodies instead of their achievements, but then I remembered the time in 2006 when more people voted for “American Idol” than in the Presidential election.
What I thought was going to turn into another rant is actually gratitude. Celebrities might not be the most appropriate or ideal mouthpieces, but at least they have the nation’s ear. And if we only have Kardashians speaking about kids and clothes things will never get better. These seemingly petty controversies at least start a conversation. Maybe E! isn’t so bad after all…
