Celebrity Skin

Posted on February 27, 2010 06:00 am by Regina Belmonte, Cosmo.ph Staff Writer
Photo: from "The Runaways" courtesy of Apparition

I caught myself listening to 'NSync on my way to work this morning, and as I was quietly singing along to "Dirty Pop," I realized how much sense the lyrics make. Not that I know any pop superstars, because all my musician friends are in rock bands, but if you don't think about the lyrics' music scene context, the theme rings true.

Where they sing "It doesn't matter 'bout the car I drive or the ice around my neck / All that matters is that you recognize that it's just about respect / It doesn't matter about the clothes I wear and where I go and why," they're talking about celebrity life like it is.

I know a good number of famous and quasi-famous people, and it's always surprising to me to think about how much drama they have to deal with on a daily basis because fans and strangers alike don't realize that artistas are real people, too; that they have feelings (which they are entitled to like anybody else); that they do get annoyed; and that they're just as normal as you and me.

If you follow artistas on Twitter, especially the ones who reply to their followers or retweet messages that are sent to them, you'd be surprised to see how many rude comments they get from strangers. The Magalona sisters, for instance, seem to get so many of these. Someone will Tweet something like "Mas maganda si @maxenemagalona kay @saabmagalona," and that message will pop up on both sisters' feeds. They'll both be able to read it. And while I'm sure they aren't that affected (considering their family is a showbiz family and they must be used to this), unless the comments are extra mean or extra rude, I can't imagine having to deal with that every single day.

It's not just the harsh comments they send you. It's your lack of privacy. It's your inability to just say what you want or do what you want without having to think long and hard about protecting your image. You are truly living under a microscope. Everything about you is scrutinized. Every little thing you do or say is judged and analyzed; things that people wouldn't care about if you weren't famous, things that would otherwise not be noticed. You have to watch every little step you make, because one significant flub could damage your career.

Fame is great, but it comes with a price. And it seems to be a very steep price to me.

These artistas--sometimes all you see is the glitz and the glamour, but behind the fame are very long hours and a lot of hard work. Behind the clothes and the makeup, they are real people who are trying to live their lives as best as they can; people who might also be looking for success, for love, for happiness, just like the rest of us. As charmed as their lives are, perhaps they aren't as charmed as we assume.

They give up more than we realize to entertain the public. The least we can give them is a little more respect.

Tags: Pinay celebrities,showbiz,Celebrity,fame

Subscribe to Cosmopolitan E-Newsletter | Subscribe to Cosmopolitan Magazine

• Read comments [7]
• Post comment
• Email this
• Share
  |
• Fave this post
• Back to Cosmo Community main
• Read previous post
• Read next post
• Back to Cosmo Home

From THE FUN, FEARLESS FORUM:

7 Comments

• 
  flyingfish
  7. i follow alot of artistas on twitter, kapareho lang natin sila, tao rin :)
  April 03, 2010 at 12:42 am report abuse
• 
  jannicesilver
  6. that's the reason why there are sooo many of them critics and very few celebrities.
  March 21, 2010 at 12:59 am report abuse
• 
  Santori01
  5. Right.. they are just people like us...
  March 17, 2010 at 05:42 pm report abuse
• 
  lalabong
  4. i love this post, parang wake up call sa mga kritiko out there.
  March 17, 2010 at 03:29 pm report abuse
• 
  mary_ann_lei
  3. Yup. It's like provoking sibling rivalry between Max and Saab.
  March 12, 2010 at 11:45 am report abuse
• 
  lalabong
  2. We have to respect celebrities! They're also human like us!
  March 11, 2010 at 05:36 pm report abuse
• 
  Andreína
  1. HI i love reading your blog and when ever i buy my best buy of the month (cosmo)the first thing i read is the editors blog. but this time, i want your thought for my personal issue. I'm 21 years old, i moved to the Philippines 4 years ago when i was 17. I'm half Filipina so i have some relatives here, i didnt know how to speak english or filipino and things where hard but fun and the first thing that helped me with my english was my cosmo magazine that i used to read back in Venezuela too. so i Meet a great guy we have been dating for over 3 years now, and we want to move together, since leaving with my "lola" has been a living hell and i dont have my parents or any other relative to run to, beside i will love for us to live together and we have plans of getting marry but maybe 5 or so years from now. But when i broke the news to my parents they think we should marry before living together (to do things morally right and so people wont talk about us in an awful way but then although i would like to get marry in the future right now, changing my name, or just introduce my self as a married woman doesnt seem to fit. i see this word so heavy i cant hold it over my shoulders. staying in my lola's place is no longer an option, and living alone, is just too lonely and i know at the end he will still stayed in my place so often he wont have any clothes in his place :S hehehe. i just cant see it yet. and i need some advice. i dont want to be a disappointment for my family or regret the love for my man.
  March 06, 2010 at 12:09 am report abuse

RECEIVE COSMO.PH WEEKLY!

Join thousands of subscribers enjoying our fab weekly Wednesday sendouts, and get EXCLUSIVE celeb news, tips, and promos right in your inbox.