Before I even get into my list of the biggest fame whores in the world, I already know I’m going to get myself in trouble for some of the people or organizations I’ve chosen to include. It’s just something I’ve accepted well in advance. I only hope people will actually read the intro I’m writing right now and the explanations I’ll include with each entry on the list so you can perhaps understand where I’m coming from. My intention is not to make people angry or hurt feelings. I’m simply writing this article because I feel it could be interesting and because I am having a “let’s be honest” kind of day.
The first thing I want to explain is what the term “fame whore” means to me. Some might argue that anyone who poses for Playboy or films a sexy video is a fame whore. Others might say anyone who seeks out a career in the entertainment industry in the first place is a fame whore. To me, a fame whore is someone who will do absolutely anything to be in the spotlight. Sometimes, they have (or had) genuine talent that first brought them to prominence in the industry. Other times, they are related to, or are/have been, involved with someone who has (or had) genuine talent. Most often though, they have no discernible talent and only seem to be famous for running their mouths or staging publicity stunts.
When coming up with the entries for this list, I chose only the biggest fame whores that immediately come to mind when I think of the term. For that reason, I’m certain there are a few people I’ve forgotten. I also excluded a few people who are notoriously fame whorey (Paris Hilton and the octomom, for example) because their fifteen minutes has passed and I don’t want to contribute to extending it. I’ve also excluded comedians like Bill Maher, Joan Rivers, Lisa Lampanelli and Gilbert Godfrey because, while they often say shocking things for the purpose of garnering attention, I consider it part of their job description. Shock comics aren’t really doing their job if they aren’t shocking people, after all. Finally, I included ‘serious’ politicians or political commentators that seem to purposefully push buttons because it can be hard to determine whether we’re supposed to take them seriously or not. Rush Limbaugh, Bill O’Reiley … these are the kinds of people I mean here. I made one exception and one exception only because, in my opinion, she’s the worst of the worst and I couldn’t make this list without including her on it.
Probably the biggest absence people might complain about here is the absence of a certain famous family who shall remain nameless. This was a calculated decision. While the family seems to be composed exclusively of fame whores who would do anything to stretch that fifteen minutes a little bit further, they are far too obvious to even bother including. We know who they are and honestly, the last thing that family needs is another article with their name all over. I’m tired of them. Most of you are tired of them and at this point, they’re probably tired of themselves. Let’s leave it at that.
05: The Vast Majority of Reality Show Stars
I honestly have no real problem with reality television. It can be entertaining and find, even if most of it is fairly mindless. With that said, I have no problem saying reality television stars are only really ‘celebrities’ by the loosest definition of the term. People know who they are, they get their photos in magazines but that’s pretty much the extent of it. For the most part, they have no genuine talent and earn their fame by acting like annoying, sleazy, drunken idiots. Of course, there are exceptions. Reality competition shows often focus on talent of some sort and contestants sign up to get a chance at their big break – a recording contract, a killer job or something of that nature. Even reality competition shows where talent isn’t necessary reward their contestants with some kind of prize money. That money or the big break is what draws contestants in. That is much different than the draw of other kinds of reality shows – reality shows that simply follow the lives of the stars. Jersey Shore and The Hills are the two shows that come to mind right away. The goal of stars on shows of that nature is fame and nothing more. They’re willing to do outrageous things to get and keep their celebrity status. Snooki, J-Woww, The Situation, Speidi – all great examples of people just looking for their 15 minutes of fame. Fame whores in the truest sense of the word.
04: “Teen Bride” Courtney Stodden
I was hesitant to put Courtney Stodden on this list because I’m quite the timer on her 15 minutes is at about 14:59 right now. By the time this article is published, she could be long forgotten. I truly hope that is the case. This woman is a perfect example of everything that is wrong with today’s celebrity culture. She married a 54 year old actor when she was 16 and then spent a few years flaunting her body as often as possible. Even Playboy refused to have anything to do with her. With attention quickly turning away from her, I expect some new scandal any day now – a sex tape, a drug bust; anything to get people talking about her again. This girl is a tragedy waiting to happen. I only hope someone close to her wakes up and sees that before it’s too late. It isn’t healthy to be that self-obsessed. The saddest part is that I really can’t imagine who in her life would be able to do that. Her mother signed off on this “marriage” and has even appeared in at lease one of her daughter’s barely clothes pictorials and her husband seems to be the driving force behind much of this insanity. Without someone in her life to tell her to pull back a bit and start respecting herself for something other than her physical attributes, I fear nothing good lies in this young lady’s future.
03: Ann Coulter/Gloria Allred
Ann Coulter. Oh Lord. Ann Coulter. Now, everyone has the right to their own opinion and everyone has the right to express that opinion. That is why I firmly believe Ann Coulter has the right to put out as many idiotic books as she wants filled with all kinds of ridiculous non-sense that makes no sense whatsoever to any sane rational person the same way I have the right to call her an completely useless fame whore. The one good thing about Ann Coulter is her ability to get people talking; even if they’re only talking about what a total C U Next Tuesday she is. Wow. That joke doesn’t work nearly as well in writing, but you get the point. I have a few friends in my life that I disagree with on pretty much every major issue. When we talk about news or politics, we always wind up in a heated debate. We agree on all of three things: 1) Go On is a terribly underrated sitcom, 2) Marley & Me was the saddest movie ever made, 3) Ann Coulter doesn’t open her mouth unless she’s positive she can offend at least one person. I put her on the list over Bill Maher, Rush Limbaugh and Bill O’Reilly because I believe they actually believe the things they say. I don’t believe anything that’s ever come out of Ann Coulter’s mouth. Her ‘opinions’ are based on the reaction she thinks she can get from people. She thrives on hate. Pissing people off motivates her. If people stopped getting angry at her for the stupid things she says, we might actually get to hear what she really thinks about things instead of what she thinks people will hate her for thinking. It’d be a nice change.
Gloria Allred almost remained off this list because I just can’t decide sure whether or not she’s actually a fame whore. Part of me thinks that yes, yes she is. As much as I don’t want to admit it, I can’t see any other motivation for the constant press conferences and the taking on of clients involved in the biggest Hollywood scandals. It seems to me that she takes cases based on the amount of press coverage she’ll get. I don’t doubt that she’s a fantastic lawyer. I do, however, doubt that she doesn’t at least consider publicity when she takes on many of her clients. It’s sort of become a joke now. Whenever a big scandal breaks involving someone who could be seen as a victim, bets are taken on how long it will take before Gloria Allred announces she’s taken the ‘victim’ on as a client. It’s sad, really. She used to be such an inspiration and still does a lot of good work in terms of supporting worthy causes but that is often overshadowed by the fame whoring. She seems to be doing less fame whoring than she used to so perhaps she’s changing her ways. I guess we’ll see next time there’s a big Hollywood scandal and some poor ‘victim’ needs a lawyer to squeeze someone for a quick payout.
02: The Westboro Baptist Church/One Million Moms
As I mentioned above, I am a supporter of free speech. As I writer, I feel free speech is extremely important and needs to be protected. Even I have to admit though, the Westboro Baptist Church makes it hard to hold that opinion sometimes. Free speech means this organization is allowed to say whatever they want whenever they want. Free speech says these hate filled bigots who claim to be followers of Jesus Christ are allowed to spew as much filth as they want because they aren’t actually calling for violence against any one group of people and they aren’t actually uttering specific threats. The same goes for One Million Moms, about the organization I can think of that comes even close to Westboro when it comes to being bat-poop crazy. Westboro is obviously the worse of the two as they take their crazy to the streets while One Million Moms keeps their crazy confined to their computers (for the most part). One thing is clear about both of them though – they’re just looking for attention and we keep giving them the attention they want. They’re like the dog that pees on your rug because it’s never learned the difference between good attention and bad attention. The only difference is that you can show a dog positive attention to correct it’s behavior. You can take it for more walks. You can give it a few more scritches behind the ears because it doesn’t want you to be mad at it. It just doesn’t understand. These people understand. They just don’t care. They want people to hate them. If we ignore them, they will go away. They’ll fade off into the background until they’re never heard from again. The next time you see an article about how The Westboro Baptist Church or One Million Moms has done something shocking and outrageous, just don’t click on it. If you’re watching television, turn the channel. Eventually, the news will stop covering their ridiculous publicity stunts because no one is tuning in. No one is clicking the links. They’re not making money. Without the news to spread their word, before long, they’ll find they no longer have a platform. Without a platform we can see how small and insignificant they really are and that’s the last thing either of these groups wants.
01: Donald Trump
Out of all the fame whores on this list, Donald Trump is probably the one that’s the most obvious about his fame whoring. Trump has something to say on every subject, even if he’s not really saying much of anything. I put him above Westboro and One Million Moms because Trump is the worst kind of fame whole – he’s a fame whore that actually has some influence in the United States. While most people don’t take Trump all that seriously, he has deep pockets and let’s be honest – money talks. No one would pay attention to the moron with the bad rug if he were penniless. The thing about The Donald though, is that everything he does seems to be powered by ego. His reality show, his run for president, his challenges to the President of the United States seems to be driven by his need to make himself feel more powerful and more important than he actually is. Donald Trump is nothing special. He’s a blowhard with too much money and too much time on his hands – a fame whore of the highest order.
