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Friday, July 8, 2005

21st Century Celebrity Lessons

Posted by on July 8 at 9:14 AM

So I know I already devoted an inordinate amount of ink to the Bobby-and-Whitney humilation showcase Being Bobby Brown in this week’s Last Days, but last night I caught a chunk of Episode 2, and was shocked all over again.

Here’s the thing: In previous eras, celebrities would do everything in their power to keep humiliating footage such as that featured on Being Bobby Brown away from the media and out of the public eye. For example, I heard years of whispers about that notorious Go-Go’s party videoin which a seriously bedraggled Belinda and Kathy sexually denigrate some groupiesbefore finally meeting the friend of a friend of a friend who had a twelfth-generation bootleg copy to show me.

But all anyone has to do to see Bobby Brown and Whitney Houston denigrate themselves in every way imaginable is get basic cable and remember to watch.

That celebs like Whitney and Bobby are unable or unwilling to distinguish between good attention (such as applause after a performance) and bad attention (such as shocked gawking at bizarre private behavior) is a subject for another Slog…or maybe not.