Jodie Foster Blasts Media Over Kristen Stewart Scandal Coverage
Jodie Foster has had enough of all the hoopla surrounding the Kristen Stewart/Robert Pattinson scandal. The Silence Of The Lambs actress took to the Daily Beast this morning to publish an essay she penned about how the media is “destroying childhoods.”
“There’s no guilt in acknowledging the human interest in public linens. It’s as old as the hills. Lift up beautiful young people like gods and then pull them down to earth to gaze at their seams. See, they’re just like us. But we seldom consider the childhoods we unknowingly destroy in the process.”
Foster started her acting career at the age of three. She was nominated for her first Oscar at the age of 14 for her role as a prostitute in Taxi Driver. Needless to say, Foster has never really lived outside of the public eye.
But the award-winning actress says that growing up as a star in the 1970s was a lot different than today.
Foster writes:
“In my era, through discipline and force of will, you could still manage to reach for a star-powered career and have the authenticity of a private life. Sure, you’d have to lose your spontaneity in the elaborate architecture. You’d have to learn to submerge beneath the foul air and breathe through a straw. But at least you could stand up and say, I will not willfully participate in my own exploitation. Not anymore. If I were a young actor or actress starting my career today in the new era of social media and its sanctioned hunting season, would I survive? Would I drown myself in drugs, sex, and parties? Would I be lost?”
“I’ve said it before and I will say it again: if I were a young actor today I would quit before I started. “
It’s this hounding media culture that Foster says will destroy young actresses like Kristen Stewart.
It’s hard to argue against Foster. Modern celebrities are stalked at every waking hour. Cellphone cameras, the paparazi, social media — Just about every facet of a celebrity’s life is available somewhere online. Nude photos are constantly being leaked out onto the internet and unverified sources are often relied upon to give inside scoops on celebrity relationships.
But is that just the cost of fame? Tommy Lee re-started the debate earlier this year when he told his fans that he hates taking pictures with them and doesn’t really owe them anything. Foster makes the same point, saying that “a salary for a given on-screen performance does not include the right to invade anyone’s privacy, to destroy someone’s sense of self.”
Do you agree? Are celebrities here to entertain us? Does the media go to far with its coverage?
Kristen Stewart’s personal life may be hindered by the never-ending clicking of the Paparazzi’s cameras, but her professional life could also be derailed by her adulterous actions. Stewart was recently dropped from the Snow White and the Huntsman sequel.
