Vocal blunders and faux pas are hardly new to the Hollywood brat pack of the decade. From Lindsay Lohan complaining that her court-mandated alcohol monitor isn’t ‘stylish’ enough, to Miley Cyrus’ ‘I’m not a slut!’ outburst, following criticism for her scanty stage costumes, it’s almost refreshing to read an interview where nothing untoward is said at all, and you actually learn something of note about the starlet’s career.
Kristen Stewart’s recent gaffle went a little too far, however. The Twilight star told Elle magazine that her fame and the resulting paparazzi furor is equivalent in trauma to what she assumed being raped would be like.‘The photos are so…I feel like I’m looking at someone being raped…A lot of the time I can’t handle it,’ Stewart told the magazine, no doubt twitching uncontrollably at the time (if you’ve ever seen Stewart in a live interview, you’ll know what I mean).
Now, I think it’s pretty clear to anyone who isn’t a self-absorbed teen star, that having your photograph taken against your will is in no way even slightly as traumatic as being physically and sexually assaulted. I understand (vaguely) what Stewart was trying to convey, that being stalked by paparazzi makes her feel violated and vulnerable, but her choice of words is so thoughtless, it’s offensive.
As Katherine Hull of the Rape and Incest National Network stated on Fox News, ‘Rape is more than an intrusion, it is a violent crime.’
Stewart’s poor choice of words, which she has since apologized for, can be excused to some extent as a spur-of-the-moment comment that somehow missed her ‘appropriate’ filter, but I think it’s symptomatic of a bigger problem.
I feel as though often, we, the public, are expected to sympathize with and feel badly for privileged, wealthy celebrities, because they have small levels of their daily comfort impeded on. This is due partly, I believe to the nature of Hollywood as an industry. Stars are no longer simply famous for their work, but rather for their own personal realities as well. We know intimate details of stars’ lives, but more than simply knowing them, we are taught to empathize with and cast judgment on celebrities as if they were fictional characters, observed in a film or television show.
This is problematic as it requires a disconnect from reality for the celebrities, who are forced to engage with the public in every moment of every day of their lives, but it also means that relatively trivial inconveniences are heightened to traumatic status, or worse, that serious situations are trivialized.
Stewart is not the only starlet to fall prey to sheer insensitivity, either.
Lindsay Lohan’s complaints about her unfashionable alcohol monitor are troubling, as they show a blatant disregard for what the bracelet symbolizes – that her actions were reprehensible, and that alcohol has had a seriously negative affect on her life.
And similarly, Miley Cyrus fails to engage with the complex issues at hand with her sexualized stage outfits, such as the objectification of the female body, or the sexualization of children (because at her age, she can still be classified as a child), or even just the much lauded issue of the star being a ‘role model’ for her fans.
The Hollywood brat pack of today seem to unable to put things into perspective, or try to relate to their fans or the world at large, all of whom exist outside of the celebrity bubble in which they reside.
In the grand scheme of things, being stalked by paparazzi, when you have the funds to hire bodyguards and support staff, is not quite as severely traumatic as, say, being sexually assaulted, and having to pay for your own court case when you work part-time, or are of a lower socio-economic background would be.
Kristen Stewart would like us to sympathize with how, even though she is grossing millions of dollars for each Twilight film, and even though, presumably, she auditioned for the role because she actually wanted to be successful, it’s just so hard being famous and having people want to know what you do with your time outside of filming.
Perhaps I am being too harsh, but I have little to no sympathy for the disgruntled star. 1 in 6 women, who don’t have bodyguards and security personnel, will actually get raped, and only 16% of rape cases are ever reported to the authorities. Why? Because many rape victims are disadvantaged in other ways, and are unable to engage in court cases or investigations; because many rape victims suffer from having their allegations questioned or disregarded entirely; and because many rape victims are too scared to report the rape, as over 50% of rape offenders personally know their victims. Kristen’s comparison of her own discomfort to that of something that is so involuntary, and so beyond the victim’s control and defenses is incredibly offensive.Next time you think fame is such a burden, Kristen, think about the women who have actually been raped or assaulted, and are unable to even press charges because of the legal costs. Hopefully that will put things into perspective for you.
Thank you <3
Bitching about other women is not feminism.
Love your work! Welcome to the team Zoya x
Great article, Zoya. Nicely written
author starts off talking about famous women saying stupid things. then says that celebrities are like caricatures. then blabs on about rape victims in a way that suggests the authors no less ignorant than kstew. eh. do not love.