Has Sensationalism Gone Too Far?

By: Alaina Gizzo
Posted In: Opinion

It’s everywhere and simply inescapable. It haunts you on the magazine stands at the supermarket and pops up when you use the internet, perhaps even on your homepage. Plainly said, for the past few weeks, celebrity sensationalism has reached a record high in senselessness.

A photo surfaces of Olympic swimming champion, Michael Phelps, engaging in the use of an illegal substance and knocks President Obama’s economic stimulus plan right out of the spotlight.

Eight people have been arrested in connection with the photo. According to Fox News, one of them was caught trying to sell paraphernalia featured in the photo for $100,000 on eBay. And if you search Phelps on eBay now, you’ll find a slew of buttons and t-shirts all relating to the event. Perhaps the public is taking too intense of an interest in this matter.

Clearly Phelps made a poor decision. But, if you take a quick glance at the photo, it’s easy to tell that someone snapped this photo somewhere private and certainly not in a location of particular public interest. Essentially, it’s not as if he paraded about in public purposely revealing this information. And it doesn’t look like he posed for the photo, so, at the time, he might not even have known that the photo was taken of him.

He won eight Olympic medals for the nation and experienced a lapse in judgment. It is only natural that a company like Kellogg will refuse to renew Phelps’ endorsement of their brand and a decent number of people will be shocked and let down. It’s definitely not the behavior typical to a role-model, and in that sense this news can be disappointing.

Illegal behavior should not be easily excused in any case; however, the extent of this sensationalism has gone too far. Besides, it’s not as if he directly harmed someone else. Unlike Chris Brown, who was recently arrested for allegedly assaulting his girlfriend and fellow musician Rihanna. I think we can move on to more important things of interest, especially since he isn’t the first celebrity to be caught doing something illegal and he certainly won’t be the last.