BLOGS: Celebrity Gossip
By Rebecca Verner, Blogger
November 7, 2007 | 6 a.m.
Okay, so, Lindsay has a new boyfriend, Paris was a sailor for Halloween, rumors say Nicole Richie smoked a cigarette last week, and the Spice Girls are officially reuniting in the U.S. Britney Spears is still binge partying, Barack Obama went on MTV, and Marc Jacobs dyed his hair blue. Celebrities had a fun Halloween weekend from the looks of things, and it seems as if no major scandals spooked our friends. Thankfully we have Web sites to check for photos and magazines to read about stories, but nothing is better than reality television to catch up on gossip. Two shows seem to be making the most noise in Hollywood lately, and thankfully, I love both of them.
One of the newest additions to my gossip havens is a face I’ve seen before but maybe you guys never noticed. Kim Kardashian is going to be famous. She originally got in the tabloids for being friends with Paris Hilton, but this Hollywood party girl is going to take over the limelight. The daughter of former lawyer Robert Kardashian, a close friend of O.J. Simpson, Kim and her family are currently featured on the new E! reality show “Keeping up with the Kardashians.” The series follows Kim and her family through their everyday lives of photo shoots, auditions and stripper poles. The Kardashian’s mixed home (mother/manager Kris is married to former Olympian Bruce Jenner with whom she has two daughters) provides fresh entertainment and a good laugh.
Friendship is not the only thing Kim and Paris have in common. Kardashian was also part of a sex tape scandal with her former boyfriend, R&B singer Ray J. An episode of “Keeping up with the Kardasians” features Kim as a guest on “The Tyra Banks Show,” where she is grilled for the negative publicity of a sex tape. Another episode will follow Kim as she shoots her first pictorial for Playboy. I don’t think the Kardashian girls will mind parading around cable television in glitter and Gucci so long as we keep watching and they keep making news.
The other show in the news lately is “The Hills.” The MTV-produced show that follows the lives of young, attractive trendsetters in Los Angeles has been stirring up controversy over rumors of its episodes being staged and scripted. A former guest on the show (the cute model who took Lauren on a date) has said that major parts of the show are staged. News is also leaking that even the jobs the girls have could be fake. Rumors say that Heidi and Audrina only work at the production studios featured on the show while they are on TV. Otherwise the girls never go in, too much time shopping maybe?
Another for-sure fakery is noted in the most recent episode of “The Hills” when Lauren’s nail polish color drastically changes between shots. The second scene was obviously taped a different time than the previous one. Sounds tricky to me. I’m not sure if “The Hills” is real, but honestly, I don’t really care. I’m sure “Keeping Up With the Kardashians” isn’t 100 percent genuine either, but it’s hilarious, and I’m in love with all of Kim’s cute shoes.
Reality TV doesn’t have to be “real” to provide us with entertainment. Whether Lauren really works at Teen Vogue or what Kim says about her sisters isn’t important. Thanks to reality television we get to take a break from our lives and watch the drama of strangers. And thanks to celebrity gossip, these strangers can become more familiar as we catch every step and misstep along the road to fame.