Pop Culture Curmudgeon

Why Are Celebrities Held to a Different Standard?

I had a post planned for today, but I was just involved in an exchange on Twitter that inspired this post. Visit later this week for the planned post on celebrities in money.

I, like many, was frustrated to see Michael Vick welcomed back into the NFL and signed by the Philadelphia Eagles. He exhibited a complete lack of respect for life in all forms when he became heavily involved in a dog fighting ring. You, my loyal readers, know that I’m an animal person. But it isn’t just that Vick tortured animals and bet on their deaths. It is the mind set and lack of respect for life that is shown by such cruelty toward animals. If I had been an Eagles fan, that would have been over. I’m married to a Green Bay fan, so obviously, Eagles fandom has not even been dreamed of in my household.

@Larissa_Ione and @jasonpinter were discussing the idea that people are a lot more upset about Michael Vick than they are about current NFL players who have killed people. Pinter gave the examples of Donte Stallworth and Steve Little. Stallworth struck and killed a pedestrian while driving drunk earlier this year. He pleaded guilty, entered into a financial settlement with the family, and was suspended without pay for one year by the NFL. Leonard Little was convicted of vehicular manslaughter in 1998, again for drunk driving. His blood alcohol level 0.19%, two and a half times the legal limit of 0.08%. Little was arrested for drunk driving again in 2004. He was charged with felony drunk driving, but was convicted only of misdemeanor speeding. He is currently in a $19.5 million contract with the St. Louis Rams.

But it’s not just athletes who are allowed to go on with their careers after committing horrible crimes. Vince Neil, lead singer of Motley Crue, was convicted of vehicular manslaughter after a drunk driving incident that ended with the death of Hanoi Rocks drummer Nicholas Dingley. Many other celebrities, including Jani Lane, Lori Petty, Keifer Sutherland, Paris Hilton, and Michelle Rodriguez, have been arrested for drunk driving with less tragic results. The spate of actors and other celebrity types driving drunk was actually one of the catalysts that got me blogging here. Drunk driving was an epidemic in Hollywood, and I have never understood why they don’t just get drivers when they are drunk. Normal people take cabs or have a designated driver. What is it about celebrities that makes them think they don’t need to take those precautions?

We forgive media icons when they make mistakes, even those that cost lives. We probably wouldn’t extend the same courtesy to the drunk driver who killed our cousin or friend. Why? Because celebrities are so far removed from our daily lives? Because we don’t know their victims personally? Because their rampant PR machines make us forget about their trangressions?