Barack Obama has been called a celebrity by John McCain. No one is calling John McCain a celebrity. Paris Hilton and Brittany Speers were called celebrities by John McCain. Brittany Speers is a singer so maybe she qualifies as a celebrity. Paris Hilton went to jail so I am not convinced she qualifies as a celebrity.
What is a celebrity? Who decides if someone is a celebrity? The synonyms are intriguing:
- famous person
- superstar
- star
- personality
- pop idol
- movie star
- icon
The definition is “The quality of being widely known.” That means that John McCain is a celebrity too. I wonder if he knows that.
I have never heard of many of the people who are photographed and discussed on Access Hollywood or Entertainment Tonight. I am wondering if those people they discuss are real celebrities. Perhaps a person has to be followed by the press to be designated a celebrity.
This is the sort of topic that ought to be discussed by Andy Rooney on 60 Minutes. Come to think of it, isn’t Andy Rooney a celebrity? I tried to find an answer to this on the internet but the subject has not received a lot of attention.
Maybe we should have a government department that determines if someone is a real celebrity. Lloyd Levine, my outgoing California State Assemblyman was always introducing outrageous legislation. This might be something he ought to consider.
On Language 