Pop Culture Roadkill

My friend and I had the best of intentions last night with regards to watching the Miami Heat game. OK, so deep down I knew that "watching" really meant sipping wine while filing nails, tidying up and gossiping, but still, you get the drift. But then we realized that an earthshaking, life-altering, mind-bending journalistic landmark was scheduled to air at the same time, and we simply had to partake in such a profound historical phenomenon. That's right, the Britney Spears/Matt Lauer interview.

A defiant Britney Spears takes on the tabloids - Dateline NBC - MSNBC.com

Now, as most of you know, I worked at this bastion of journalistic integrity that may or may not be this publication called The Star. I also wrote a little novel that revolved around the underhanded activities that a research editor witnessed while working at a famous American tabloid. After having toiled in the trenches of trash journalism, my appetite for celebrity culture was obliterated. After leaving said magazine, I have not purchased, read or even glanced at one single entertainment magazine. I have not followed Bradgelina, Lohan or Spears. I have, in short, become one of those people who couldn't give two shits about celebrities. Whereas before, I was a prime source of celebrity gossip.

Suffice it to say then that I haven't read or seen anything about Britney in ages. Didn't know she was preggers again, so was shocked to see her looking like a trailer park denizen chomping on gum whilst wearing false eyelashes and sporting enough cleavage to crush Matt's head. Appearances and ironies aside--"I don't understand why people call me white trash," chomp, chomp, smack--there was something very interesting about this interview.

She spent a large portion of the interview berating the paparazzi for stalking her in order to get pics to sell to the gossip rags. A fair argument, but one that no celebrity will ever win for the money at stake in publishing. But here's the brilliant irony. One of the show's producers was none other than the illustrious Michael Lewittes,
Michael Lewittes, Gawker who was a top editor at US Weekly and The Star, and who, was, in previous incarnations as a muckraker, perhaps responsible for many scurrilous items printed in such publications about fair Britney.

Just a little observation about the small, incestuous world of the media.