I can't stand celebrities and the cult of celebrity

I can't stand the whole thing so maybe I should sit down.

It is one of the main reasons why I hardly watch any TV, even the internet is awash with the same nonsense.

What has happened to our fine country when someone who goes on a reality TV show and loses becomes a celebrity on other shows

I live next door to one. He was on a well known reality TV game show. And lost. And recently ended up as a celebrity on another TV show.

I have not watched television for years, apart from background news or sports.

Must admit I don't even really know what a "reality show" is.

Unfortunately reality TV is here to stay, the women especially seem to like this kind of stuff, it will just get worse as time goes by.

Yep. My wife too.

Famous for doing nowt and having no discernible talent, they are a waste of oxygen. Go out and do something meaningful with your life instead of coming up with some ****e story so you appear in hello, ok magazine or some tabloid front page. Plus they are generally too orange for my liking!

Not a fan

Now, Mrs Ash is always studying various Filipino celebrities.

Celebrities occupy a space in the minds of people that was once occupied by the Rich and Famous, and before that by the Nobility and Gentry.

Over the past two centuries, from the Battle of Waterloo up to the present day, the old aristocracy faded from sight as a subject for gossip and was replaced, first by politicians and then in due course by other "public figures" such as film stars and newspaper proprietors.

Now, we have people who are famous for being famous...

There seems to be a need for normal people to have some people who are "larger than life" for them to know about, talk about, be shocked by, and so on.

Most celebs seem so empty-headed when I have had the misfortune to see.
I am sure that meeting people on this forum face-to-face, for example, would be far more rewarding than the nonsense that are celebs.

The term celebrity covers a broad spectrum. They are not all the same. Not all celebrities seek the limelight. I know several. They are a mixed bunch.

n. pl. ce·leb·ri·ties
1. One who is widely known and of great popular interest.
2. Fame or popular renown.

I have only met two celebs in my life and they were two of the nicest people - George Best and George Harrison, both now sadly passed on.

Miriam Margolyes very nice lady. Also seen Sophia Loren in the flesh, just as beautiful as she was on screen

Is that met or seen?

I was on a transit bus at Aberdeen Airport with Terry Scott and June Whitfield.

Seen. She had quite a large entourage. I was 14 and she was staying in the same hotel as us on Puerto Rico island. Incidentally the Harlem Globetrotters were also in the hotel.

I saw Sting at Heathrow airport once. He was waiting for his baggage to come off the carousel.

And Big Jack Charlton having a pint at the bar on a train. What surprised me was that he wasnt that big.

There is a big difference between seen and met.
"Seen" doesn't amount to much.
Chatting to people is revealing.

Anyone can "see" a football team but it doesn't mean they have any idea what the people think.

Good point. The several that I know, I have known for a considerable amount of time and in a couple of cases a lifetime.