The Craziness Disease Continues

Not long ago I wrote about how celebrities seem to be coming down with some kind of craziness disease.  At the time I focused more on the movie and television stars.  I believe I also mentioned Madonna and her apparent decision to shop for children as though she were shopping for groceries.  However, mostly I was talking about movie stars.  It’s nice to know that the craziness disease has also expanded to our musical stars.
Of course Kanye West has been showing signs of being a little nuts for a while now.  How anyone could forget his tirade shortly after Hurricane Katrina that left Mike Myers looking as though he were about to be run down by a speeding train is beyond me.  Yes, George Bush may not care about black people, but I am not entirely sure a telethon designed to help people suffering from a natural disaster is the place to air those particular grievances. 

A lot of people like Kanye.  He is particularly popular around here in the
Chicago area.  He grew up on the south side of
Chicago and he’s become a kind of hometown hero.  We had to have one to make up for the whole R. Kelly disaster.  When you back the wrong horse you generally immediately look for another horse to back.  When the horse you backed turns out to be whizzing on young girls you really have to consider looking for another thoroughbred.  Kanye seemed like a decent horse to back.  He has talent.  He has charisma.  He hasn’t been caught throwing bodily fluids upon teenagers.  He does, however, seem to have a problem with his mouth. 

I think a couple of years ago he threw a bit of a fit at another awards ceremony and made some kind of joke about having a big celebration planned or something.  Just recently, however, he did it again in
Europe.  Apparently some kind of MTV Europe thing where he lost and immediately jumped on staged and then grabbed the microphone.  What followed was some kind of tirade about how he should have won.  What did this accomplish?  Was it some kind of a joke?  From my understanding his people are trying to pass it off as some kind of joke.  If it is a joke then Andy Kaufman must be the insanity disease that’s been possession the celebrities.  He would have loved that kind of thing. 

It’s nice to know that the insanity hasn’t just infiltrated the rap community.  Of course, it has always been a little evident in the rap community.  How else to explain Public Enemy and that guy they hired who wore the military uniform and said all kinds of things about Jews?  How else to explain the enduring but baffling celebrity of Diddy?   

However, just the other day Faith Hill decided to show that insanity and acting poorly at awards show is not something confined just to the rap community and isn’t just confined to MTV Europe.  If you haven’t seen this video I recommend you get online.  You should probably visit YouTube.  Why?  Because YouTube has everything these days.   

Apparently Faith was up for female country performer of the year.  Along with her was nominated that blond girl who won American Idol a couple of years back and then immediately became a country singer, Carrie Underwood.  Apparently forgetting that every single solitary awards show likes to put cameras on the other nominees she appears to react in a not-very-sporting way when the winner was read as Carrie Underwood.  What did Ms. Hill do?  She threw up her hands, looked disgusted, scrunched her face up and very obviously shouted one word. 

“WHAT?” 

Of course now her people are claiming it was a joke.  They say she was just pretending to act that way.  Then, confusingly, they also said she didn’t realize the camera was on her.  When you see her reaction it was hard to say this was a joke.  She looked royally pissed.  Plus, if she was joking and thought the cameras weren’t on her then who was the joke supposed to be for?  The stagehands?   

Faith Hill’s people say they have spoken to Carrie Underwood’s people.  Carrie says she understands it was a joke.  On the other hand what is Carrie Underwood supposed to say?  She’s like sixteen years old and trying to make it in the music business.  Faith Hill is a powerhouse in the country music world and to try to start some kind of fight would be career suicide for her.  Well, she could always make it in the rap community, think. 

Exactly what has gotten into these people?  Again, I cannot imagine.  If Faith Hill was trying to play some kind of joke why did she execute it so poorly?  What was the point?  Who was it supposed to amuse?  Was she about to launch her career as a stand-up comedian?  What’s the deal with Kanye?  Is he trying to make a break into performance art?   

The fact is I think fame just makes you lose touch.  You forget what’s acceptable and what isn’t.  You surround yourself with people who just say yes to you about everything and tell you how great you are.  You forget that they are just trying to keep their jobs and bask in your reflected glow.  One of the best examples of how this can go horribly wrong is with Elvis.  He was surrounded by a whole gang of people who just wanted to stay employed with Elvis.  That meant if “E” wanted drugs these people would find doctors to prescribe them.  If Elvis wanted to eat gigantic sandwiches made with an entire jar of peanut butter and three pounds of bacon then they got it for him.   

The problem is that if you let it go too long you lose touch entirely and the people around you don’t see it when you are self-destructing.  Of course we all know what happened to Elvis.  He faked his death and got a job working at Burger King in
Michigan.  No, seriously, he died from it. 
I am not saying either Faith or Kanye are going to die form acting like idiots at awards show.  I am just saying it could be a sign that perhaps they are losing touch with reality a bit.  Perhaps they are forgetting what it means to be a regular person and how to act.  If they are doing it in public then what are they doing behind closed doors?  Plus, is what they are doing behind closed doors available at YouTube? 

Bryan W. Alaspa’s novel Dust is available for sale at his website www.bryanalaspa.com and www.amazon.com.