this needs to stop

I admit that I am a celebrity-obsessed whore. I love gossip, I love trash mags, I love entertainment websites, I live for it. I enjoy gossip in all mediums. It's just me.

However I think there comes a point where the media begins to cross a line. Obviously, we've seen it before (see: Princess Diana) but even I think it should be toned down a little. I'm not talking about random paparazzi shots from across the street, or simply talking about celebrities in magazines and speculating about their lives - I think that's mainly harmless as it generally has no truth and it's not exactly considered a legitimate source of news.

These two following articles particularly concerned me. I am not going to post the the pics or anything because I find them pretty disturbing and don't want them to be further purported throughout the interwebz but if you really want to see them I'm pretty sure you can easily find them somewhere in cyberspace.

Last week I stumbled across a link to an article and series of pictures depicting Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie in the backyard with their children playing and having breakfast one morning. If a family cannot even be ensured privacy in their own backyard where the hell can they go? I understand that they are in the public eye and they asked for it and the upsides of being famous are better than the downsides and blah blah but I think there is a LINE when it comes to paparazzi and this time they crossed it. After all, Brad and Angelina's kids did not sign up to getting their pictures taken on a daily basis. I'm pretty sure France some  strict privacy laws and I can't understand why other countries won't do it. Especially when it comes to kids and private residences. Not even I want to see celeb families chilling in their own backyard. I felt uncomfortable even looking at the pics for a minute.

The second story I came across that I have an issue with was about John Travolta and a possible sex tape depicting him with another male. First of all, I don't give a shit if it's a man or a woman but the theme of the article is to 'out' him more than anything. Again, I KNOW John Travolta is in the public eye but this was not only a PRIVATE act but it was also filmed without him knowing (allegedly - if the tape exists). Isn't this exactly the same thing that happened to Tyler Clementi (the American teenager who was filmed having sex which his roommate then streamed online, eventually causing him to commit suicide)? I don't think this situation is any different. It is bullying and it is unfair and I really hope this tape doesn't exist and is not made public.

Okay, that's mainly all I wanted to say. I know this doesn't fit into the general theme of the blog (read: shoes and clothes and makeup oh my!) but I've become increasingly aware of how celebrity gossip and paparazzi activity is changing and in my opinion, getting worse. I think guidelines and policies need to be established so that privacy is not one day totally eradicated.

Also, as I will one day be married to Jake Gyllenhaal this could become a real problem for us. I want our babies to be able to play freely in the backyard without a stranger's lens peeking out over the back fence.