> What an interesting thought. It brings to mind an intriguing question: Why is it that people who gain recognition for the content and quality of the work that they do become publicly scrutinized for aspects of their lives that have nothing to do with the things for which they are recognized? Does their private life give some credence, or lack thereof, to their work?


I think the reasoning goes something like this: A person whose work makes him/her famous has influence on a lot of peoples lives. Otherwise, they wouldn't be famous. For instance, Hemingway has influence on a lot of people because people can relate to what he says, or because it makes them think. N'sync has influence for the same reason that music as such has influence - it affects our emotions. Accepting that famous people have influence on many lives, the question is: "Do you want a swearing drunk pedofile socialist colourblind buddhist crossdresser to influence your life?" Many parents don't think so. So people want to know these things. And the tabloids know this.

In my opinion, a distinction must be made between the influence coming from the person and that coming from her/his work. Of course, in some cases, this is difficult to do, but I think that these are the exact cases where it doesn't matter, because the influence *is* coming from the person. I mean, it is difficult to separate the influence of Adolf Hitler from the influence of his "work", but not so with Victoria Beckham/Posh Spice.


> Sure, the National Inquirer is good for a laugh when "Bat-boy" is trapped on a roof during the Mississippi river flood, but I don't care who's divorcing who unless it's a friend of mine.
>


Funny you should mention National Inquirer. A couple of weeks ago, I read in a Danish newspaper that NI hadn't been selling so well, because they had diverged more into political scandals than "Bat-boy" stories. Or was it "so they had diverged ...". Damn. I can never remember those details.


jul"No offense meant towards swearing drunk pedofile socialist colourblind buddhist crossdressers. Or parents"ian