Woe is celebrity

Once I got into the office today (after an off-site meeting, parking hell and a trip to Starbucks, of course), I sat down on my computer and got to the work of the day....trolling the MSNBC website, of course. Here's my routine...scan the home page, check out the sports, check out the entertainment, check out the areas like "Health" and "Pets and Animals."

I only got as far as the Entertainment page today. Drew Barrymore is apparently the most beautiful woman in the world...whatever. But then I saw a link that caught my eye. Apparently, Hugh Grant has been arrested for throwing a tupperware container full of baked beans at a photographer.

As we know, this isn't the first time that Hugh Grant has had a run-in with the law. There was, of course, that infamous stop to pick up Divine Brown. After that, he did the completely unorthodoxed move of apologizing to everyone. Seriously! I think he even made a personal apology to me!

This time, however, I really don't think he needs to apologize. Here's a guy who just wanted to eat some beans. So, he goes home, with beans in hand, and someone insists on taking his picture and making him answer inane questions, probably about his ex-girlfriend's possibly illegal Hindu wedding. The guy just wants to eat beans! Give him a break! The only think I think Hughie did wrong is NOT take the lid off the tupperware container before he threw the beans.

I'm not a fan of celebrities. I mean, yes, there are actors and musical acts I enjoy. But, to me, they are just brands that I chose to purchase. I'm not the person who is going to wait in line to meet someone famous in the entertainment industry because I don't want to meet them. On the flip side, I do think these people are entitled to a little bit of privacy. True, there are some who want to live their lives in the spotlight but, on this day, Hugh just wanted to eat beans. What's wrong with that.

I recently attended an event where I attended a talk given by the author, Amy Tan. After her very amusing monologue about her mother (surprise, surprise), she gave a book signing. I did stand in line for this--I don't consider this meeting a celebrity, but rather having an artist autograph their work. Anyway, there were two women in front of me who both had digital cameras. While waiting to get to the front of the line, they were sneaking pictures of Ms. Tan. I had to bite my tongue--we were there for a book signing and not a photo-op. Would they like to have complete strangers take pictures of them for their own personal enjoyment.

Stepping off soap box (for now!)