Cameras flashing. News spreading. For public figures, any small actions can lead to them being the talk of the internet.
Even though celebrities are public figures, they still deserve to have their privacy respected. The public has such a huge fascination with knowing every detail about public figures’ personal lives, but they don’t have a right to know everything just because they are well-known to the public.
One of the biggest aspects of life that the public loves to pry into is relationships. Fans and haters alike always want to know the latest about who is dating who and what drama is between celebrities within their love lives.
A very recent example of this is the break-up between Taylor Swift and Joe Alwyn. News spread very quickly through media outlets publishing stories about their separation. Soon after, the public couldn’t stop talking about it, with people posting their thoughts on why they would break up or how that could be possible as they seemed so in love.
Even with a couple that keeps their relationship very private, the public still loves to pry and look into it. On the other hand, having couples that post a lot publicly about their relationship still doesn’t give people a “right” to know everything about their relationship.
Another aspect of people’s lives that is discussed online is people’s bodies and health. When paparazzi photos are published, tabloids love to pick apart celebrities’ bodies and note any weight change or potential surgeries they could have gotten done. For example, recently, Ariana Grande posted a video to her social media pages talking about how people on the internet continuously discuss her changes in her body and why it is so harmful.
The public also loves to spread discourse about celebrities’ addictions and their personal struggles. People on the internet love to discuss these very personal subjects as if it’s just a casual topic and push to know more. In addition to this, the general public also loves to discuss potential surgeries that a public figure may have undergone, and sometimes even demand celebrities to make a statement about what they had done to them. This is problematic as the public doesn’t “deserve” to know every intimate detail about a public figure’s health. Regular people aren’t forced to share all their health information, so why don’t celebrities deserve that same privacy?
One issue that can arise from public speculation about public figures is that it can lead to rumors that spread like wildfire. Sometimes, rumors can be so intense that celebrities have to come out and make a statement about it to prove it true or false. One very personal aspect that the public loves to theorize about is celebrities’ sexualities. So much so that it sometimes makes celebrities feel forced into having to make a statement about it, like with Andrew Garfield and Kit Connor.
A certain type of public figure who perhaps should let the public know a bit more about their life is politicians. If a politician wants to help lead and make decisions in our country, it’s important that the public knows a little more about them to know what kind of person they are. Sure, maybe being disloyal in one’s relationship doesn’t make them a bad politician, but what kind of example does it set for people looking up to them as a leader? This isn’t to say that they don’t deserve any privacy because they do; it’s more that the public should be at least a little more informed about their life to help understand them and their values.
Overall, public figures have a right to enjoy their life privately. Just because fans see their face in movie theaters, hear their voice on the radio, or see their posts on social media, doesn’t mean they deserve to know every detail of their life. It’s simply just the unfortunate truth, though, that no matter what, the public is going to try to pick apart public figures’ lives to get to know more.
