On Ownership of Celebrities [View all]

[MineralMan]

Ellen Degeneres sat next to George W. Bush at a game. She was even seen to be smiling. That has cause a great uproar in some circles.

Now, I'm not a huge fan of Ellen. I never watch her show on TV, although I sometimes see the close of it, since it's on immediately before our local CBS affiliate's local news programming.

I also never think about Ellen in terms of her politics, really. She is a celebrity who has a late afternoon talk show that has a primary audience of women. I actually don't know much about her politics, to tell the truth.

Why do we feel some sense of ownership of celebrities? Why do we think they should behave at all times in ways of which we approve? Why do we act like they are dead to us on a moment's notice if they do something we don't like?

I don't get that, really. It seems really odd to me.