Why Do We Care About Celebrity Drama?
Is it a psychological desire or are we just bored?
While in self isolation, I’ve made a lot of personal changes. I’ve hopped off of social media, I’ve made a career change, and I’ve stopped worrying about losing weight in a certain time frame. Yet something that remains on my radar is celebrity drama.
I care so deeply about Britney Spears, Shane Dawson, Jeffree Star, Gabbie Hanna, and what the hell is going on in their lives. Only recently did I stop giving a shit about the Kardashian’s: I unfollowed them all from social media because I couldn’t bear seeing one more ad for detox teas that just make you poop a lot.
I’ve fallen down a dozen rabbit-holes over the last several months. James Charles has had to now apologize twice for gate-keeping the beauty industry. Britney Spears is fighting to get rid of her conservatorship. Shane Dawson and Jeffree Star are mixed up in drama regarding Tati Westbrook, as well as racism, grooming, and general unpleasantness. Kanye West tweeted a whole bunch of crap that ended up going viral. Gabbie Hanna spent weeks livestreaming on YouTube about how the platform has shadowbanned her channel and that it’s their fault her music isn’t trending or popular and then disappeared from the face of the earth for a month.
Why the hell do I care though? Why am I following topics like Kanye and Megan Thee Stallion on Twitter? Why, in the middle of a pandemic and amidst arguably the most crucial election year in history, am I so engulfed and consumed with the importance of celebrity drama?
Why do any of us care? How do people like the Kardashian’s get famous simply by letting people watch them in their houses? Kim recently announced that Keeping Up With the Kardashian’s was finally ending after 14 years, and it seemed like Twitter stopped in its tracks. Why are literally millions of people waiting for what Shane Dawson is going to do next? What is up with the way that tabloids express “news?” Are we bored, or is this genuinely interesting?
According to Psychology Today, it’s quite simple: We expect public figures to behave morally and it’s intriguing when they don’t. When someone as loved as Tiger Woods is discovered to be cheating on his wife a dozen times over, it’s fascinating to the general public. We revered Tiger as a stand-up guy who just plays golf and wears a red polo on Sundays. But come to find out his behaviors don’t align with those of most people, the media swarms.
Another argument is that we worship celebs so that we live vicariously through them. The Kardashian’s, while melodramatic to the nth degree, live elaborate luxurious lives. We like to see what they do all day because, in some ways, we wish we could live that life.
Further, it may be ingrained in our brains psychologically. Frank McAndrew, Ph.D says:
The social intelligence needed for success in this environment required an ability to predict and influence the behavior of others; an intense interest in the private dealings of other people would have been handy indeed, and strongly favored by natural selection. In short, people fascinated with the lives of others were simply more successful than those who were not, and it is the genes of those busybodies that have come down to us through the ages.
By this argument, it may be good for you to be obsessed with Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s whereabouts. You could be influencing natural selection and saving yourself from an untimely demise.
Sure, maybe I’m just bored. But I’m going to lean into this idea that my caveman brain craves a look into Jeffree Star’s life.
