Fame or Shame?

Task 38, October 10 to October 17

“You’re always with yourself. So you might as well enjoy the company.” Diane Von Furstenberg

Ok. One of my male friends, who shall remain nameless (unless he unmasks himself) told me the other night–just after the calamari and just before our pasta, and between glasses of Cabernet–that looking back upon his life he wished that he would have struck it rich, had too much money–and been famous as well.

I mustered up a career’s worth of skepticism and disregard for the rich and famous and said, scornfully and with an air of superiority, fueled by the cheap wine, “here’s what happens when you have too much money and fame, and power for that matter. You think that you’re too smart for everyone else, you think that money will protect you from the vagrancies of life, sickness for example, or that you are above the law, or protected by a secret aura that filters out other people’s poor opinion of you; and you believe that you can speak to subjects that you actually know literally little or nothing of, and you believe all this so strongly that you can’t entertain the notion that it may not be true.”

That was just my warm up. “Just take the news of this past week. Mark Sanchez, once a star quarterback at the renowned football school, USC, and later with the New York Jets, who transitioned to the rarified air of that of an NFL announcer and podcaster, finds himself dead drunk, on the loading dock of an Indianapolis hotel, berating, attacking and pushing around a 60+ truck driver –only to be pepper-sprayed, stabbed, hospitalized, arrested and charged with three felonies…why? Because he thought, gosh darn it, I’m Mark Sanchez, I’m a celebrity and an ex-athlete and thus in charge of the loading dock behind an Indianapolis hotel.

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Or how about Lori Loughlin? She found her celebrity in the world of sitcoms, on ‘Full House’, playing the cute-as-pie, sensibly sexy Rebecca opposite John Stamos and the whacky Bob Saget. Lori graduated to Hallmark movies, then married a fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli, and they have two wonderful girls, Isabel Rose and Olivia Jade. Peaches and cream, right? Well, until the girls got to be eighteen and mom and dad realize that they aren’t the sharpest tools in the shed, but instead of settling for community college or an internship at Revlon, Lori decides that because she is a celebrity that the girls MUST go to a first class college so she and Mossimo pay $500,000.00 to Rick Singer, a scam college “recruiter”, who obtains scholarships for Olive and Isabel on the USC rowing team…and what happens? Lori and Mossimo were arrested, served time in prison, and her career flamed out. And this week, Mossimo announces that he wants a divorce. Lori’s reaction: incredulity.

And finally, “P Diddy. Sean Combs. Diddy’s accomplishments include founding the successful Bad Boy Records, achieving numerous music awards (like Grammy, BET, and MTV awards), producing hits for artists such as The Notorious B.I.G., acting in films like “Monster’s Ball”, creating the REVOLT TV network, and building a diverse business empire in fashion, liquor, and more. He is also recognized as a significant entrepreneur, cultural influencer, and philanthropist, particularly in his support of education.

Only it was a facade for his terribly sinister lifestyle. In November and December 2023, Combs was accused of sexual misconduct by four women including his former girlfriend Cassie Ventura, who alleged that she had been raped, trafficked, and physically assaulted by Combs multiple times under a period of ten years. Over the next few months, numerous civil complaints were filed by claimants who alleged that they had been sexually abused by Combs between 1990 and 2009. He was later criminally tried for sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution.

AND HE DIDN’T THINK HE DID ANYTHING WRONG! He was rich, and a celebrity of the highest magnitude–how dare anyone accuse him of these salacious crimes?

And what did it get him? Four years and two months in federal prison”.

With all that said I theatrically finished my glass of wine. My friend stayed silent for a long time, then said, glumly, “a man can dream, can’t he…”

TASK:

Be comfortable with your own lifestyle, not someone else’s.