- . Digg It
- . Sphere It
- . E-mail This
- . Save to del.icio.us
- . Permanent Link
Honey, I Lost the Kids
Bad parenting: a Hollywood tradition
How does the old saying go? "You need a license to own a dog, but anyone can be a parent."
To see the media frenzy whipping up around Britney Spears, and the court ruling this week forcing the troubled singer to give up custody of her two young sons, you'd think she was the first celebrity in history to engage in questionable parenting practices. The embattled star has played out the scenario in front of bloodthirsty, tireless paparazzi — and, while that's no excuse, it leaves one wondering what, exactly, her crime truly is: not wearing underwear, shaving her head, or being accused of using illicit substances? In many cases, I fear that it's the behavior you don't see that can be much worse.
Take the infamous phone message actor Alec Baldwin left for his 11-year-old daughter, Ireland, last April. While the world-at-large was quick to seize on the fact that he called the preteen a "little pig," nobody seemed interested in remarking on how terrifying the tone of the message was, in general. The man doesn't just sound cruel, he sounds menacing, maniacal, and dangerous. Until that message leaked, Baldwin was just another Hollywood dad going through an unfortunate custody dispute. Who knows what the kid was subjected to prior to Baldwin's misstep.
The whole thing reminds me of Bing Crosby. Back in the day, Life magazine declared the velvety voiced crooner "Incontestably the No. 1 Big Family Man of Hollywood." Decades later, two out of four sons with wife Dixie Lee Wyatt Crosby would be dead from suicide, with another, Gary Crosby, penning a memoir detailing what a cold, abusive man his father was. Bing, who died in 1977, didn't stick around long enough to know what his alcoholism and bitterness had wrought.
To see the media frenzy whipping up around Britney Spears, and the court ruling this week forcing the troubled singer to give up custody of her two young sons, you'd think she was the first celebrity in history to engage in questionable parenting practices. The embattled star has played out the scenario in front of bloodthirsty, tireless paparazzi — and, while that's no excuse, it leaves one wondering what, exactly, her crime truly is: not wearing underwear, shaving her head, or being accused of using illicit substances? In many cases, I fear that it's the behavior you don't see that can be much worse.
Take the infamous phone message actor Alec Baldwin left for his 11-year-old daughter, Ireland, last April. While the world-at-large was quick to seize on the fact that he called the preteen a "little pig," nobody seemed interested in remarking on how terrifying the tone of the message was, in general. The man doesn't just sound cruel, he sounds menacing, maniacal, and dangerous. Until that message leaked, Baldwin was just another Hollywood dad going through an unfortunate custody dispute. Who knows what the kid was subjected to prior to Baldwin's misstep.
The whole thing reminds me of Bing Crosby. Back in the day, Life magazine declared the velvety voiced crooner "Incontestably the No. 1 Big Family Man of Hollywood." Decades later, two out of four sons with wife Dixie Lee Wyatt Crosby would be dead from suicide, with another, Gary Crosby, penning a memoir detailing what a cold, abusive man his father was. Bing, who died in 1977, didn't stick around long enough to know what his alcoholism and bitterness had wrought.
What People Are Saying…
Leave a Comment
16:05 EDT, 04.Oct.07
15:49 EDT, 04.Oct.07