Industry Nexus - Celebrity Sightings: How low can I go?

Celebrity Sightings: How low can I go?

Written by Veronica

I was never very good at the limbo. Scratch that – I was terrible. With my tall, gangly, uncoordinated frame, the ubiquitous party game was and continues to be a form of cruel and unusual punishment for me. My body simply does not bend like that. And I do not respond well when taunted with obnoxious DJs in obnoxious shiny garb asking me, “How low can you go?"

As the resident “Eye” at Industry Nexus, part of my duties include keeping my “eye” open for celebrity sightings and commissioning my Los Angeles cohorts to do the same. While I enjoy catching Freddy Rodriquez from Six Feet Under perusing the same fruit stand as me at the Farmer’s Market on Fairfax and Third, or hearing that How I Met Your Mother star Jason Segal was spotted outside a liquor store on Sunset at Crescent Heights, not every celeb sighting is created equal. I, for one, sincerely hope that I never ever have to “bare” witness to commando Britney hopping out of a limo.

All cheap jokes aside, there is a fine line to walk when writing about celebrities, their whereabouts, and the color and make of their expensive designer shoes. It doesn’t quite plague my sleep to announce to the wide web of Hollywood gossip-lovers that Stacey Dash who played Dionne on Clueless three years past forever ago, was looking super fab in a sharp black skirt suit as she waited for her car at the valet station outside Studio City hotspot Firefly. When a celebrity is seen in a crowded bar or popular nightspot, it doesn’t feel all that intrusive to broadcast the information in a respectful manner. The argument can be made that if the celebrity in question didn’t want to be seen or noticed, he or she should choose a less flashy environment to show off their assets (or, in the case of a particular Rock of Love posse also seen at Firefly, a lack thereof).

When a celebrity is spotted in a more private context however, the sighting starts to present me with an ethical dilemma. Just like that horrid DJ taunted me as an awkward preteen, I find myself taunted again – only this time, by myself. How low can I go?

Is it acceptable to reveal where Elf star and groovy new songstress Zooey Deschanel gets her sweat on? Or where Phyllis from The Office and Dominic Purcell from Prison Break both go to worship on Sundays? And is there any way to justify dishing out juicy gossip about a pregnant celebrity couple’s recent trip to the gynecologist? While all these activities are commendable behaviors, it somehow seems wrong to share the details of these private moments with the public. (Note: Opinion subject to change when there’s a check with my name on it floating around…)

It all makes me wonder – does Gossip Girl ever pause to consider these ethical dilemmas when she shreds apart the private lives of poor Blair, Jenny and Serena?

Kristen Bell, you better be out there reading this – but only if you are somewhere acceptable for me to write about.

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