The Rich Celebrity

On the radio this morning, I heard someone having the same bitch I've had for years. Celebrities and their free gifts.

These people make gobs of money, but rarely spend any of it on clothes, jewelry, or gadgets. They go to award shows or celebrity parties and find these things handed to them. Yet we, the little people, have to scrimp and save up for these things. We have to watch the price tag and never get anything free.

Will Smith, while I love his music and acting, recently was heard saying, "If someone wants me to wear it, I'll just wait until they give it to me." Sean 'P. Diddy' Combs was handed a diamond encrusted iPod at a recent event. These are just two examples.

These people can afford these luxuries! Haven't you seen what they have done to their vehicles? I was in Meijer at the magazine/book aisle sometime last year, and read in a car magazine about all the tricked out things Adrian Brody (star of The Pianist) had done to his new Hummer. These celebrities have no control. And we let them get away with it.

When will we step up and take a stand and say "NO!" Name brand companies charge us higher and higher prices while our employers give us measly raises that barely cover groceries and diapers each month. The name brand companies charge us higher prices because of all the free gifts they give the celebrities. The employers give us measly wages to keep their costs down so they can provide more free gifts to the celebrities.

They make us work long hours and we never get to see our kids, all for measly money to be able to spend on our families. All the while, they give free things to celebrities and tell us, 'so-and-so can't live without his such-and-such, how can you?'

Oh I don't know. I just look at the empty checkbook and the empty cupboards and tell my kids, nieces, nephews, and younger cousins, 'Sorry babe. There's no money to get you that flashy new mp3 player you wanted for your birthday unless you go without clothes to school.'

Speaking of celebrities... I was in Meijer last night picking up some needed groceries (thanks to food stamps) and saw a magazine screaming in bold letters, "Mary-Kate: Before at 80-something pounds. Now at 91 and rising!"

Now a long time ago, before their 18th birthday, I saw the twins on one of those day shows where they were complaining about how they can't find any clothes small enough for them because of how short they are. Mary-Kate and Ashley are my height. I think there may be only an inch difference and I don't remember who is taller. These two girls 'have to have clothes custom made'. How do they think us short poor folk survive?

And did anyone care when I was 17, 5'0", and weighed only 87 pounds? Did they splash my starving plight across tabloids? Did they care that I was slowly starving myself to death because I wasn't as beautiful as the guys wanted me to be? Do they even care that their focus on beauty is destroying our youth? Do they care that these same youth feel sorry for Miss Mary-Kate? I don't feel sorry for her one bit. I dealt and got over it, she will too.

When I was in high school, there were two types of teens. Those who were fit and athletic and those who were obese or fat because they weren't like the popular people so they ate themselves into oblivion and size 22.

Now I see the teens, every last one obsessed with being thin, and I weep. I don't see as many athletic or fit bodies anymore. I see anorexic and still the obese. Many may say, "Then they should stop eating so much!" The sad thing is that these overweight teenage girls aren't eating like they were 6+ years ago when I was in school. They are starving themselves and the stress of trying to get thin just puts more weight on. Their bodies are retaining water and they are growing larger... and dying.

My cousin Vanessa, thin as a rail, but with the wide hips our family is cursed with, lounges on the couch, never doing anything, and poking her belly complaining about getting fat. She's 15. I only just met her a year ago and already I want to shake some sense into her.

Yes I am thin compared to many. I'm 30 weeks pregnant with my third child, and I only weigh 140-something. And when I start losing the weight from the baby, I'll manage to get back to 120 or so. But I'm the rarity who can eat whatever she wants and still keep my weight down. It's called genetically inherited high metabolism. My father is skin, bone, and slightly toned muscle. We are the skinny ones of the family.

In fact, I just cracked open a tub of Fannie May Mint Meltaway ice cream. Yes, I know you are all screaming that you hate me. I hate me too. Why am I so lucky that I can eat all this fattening food and still be so skinny, while everyone else has to work their butts off to look this thin... just like the celebrities.

The truth of the matter is that beyond getting things for free constantly, and getting paid gobs of money for the jetsetting and acting and singing on stage and recording albums that they do, they have quite a lot of free time because of all that money they make. Which means... They can afford the pricey trainers and pricey gyms.

They work out days and days and days, work for a couple months straight, and then back to the gym they go. Remember those long hours we have to work for measly money that doesn't cut a dent in the expenses and debt? How do they expect us to work out to get those bodies when we have no time and even when we do have the time, we're too tired.

For the rising hike in poor health habits of our teens, I blame the rich celebrities and fashion mags. For the rising materialism of our kids, I blame the rich celebrities and the companies who pamper them.

For not keeping them in check, I blame ourselves.