In some ways, celebrity comments could be seen as simply the latest evolution of a much older form of entertainment: the tabloid. According to Trudy Mercadal, PhD, tabloids first began appearing in the early 1900s. And ever since, they’ve invited us to peer into the lives of famous people, turning their relationships, friendships, feuds, romances, and off-duty antics into stories for the masses. Sure, their format might have changed over the years (alas, you know what they say about print these days), but our fascination with getting a glimpse BTS is as alive as ever.
The digital age may have done a number on printed formats, but our fascination with what our most beloved (and despised) stars get up to doesn’t seem to be going anywhere anytime soon. As L’Officiel Singapore noted, much of the content we used to devour in glossy magazines with sensational headlines has simply moved online, with celebrity and entertainment news finding a new home on socials. Here, we can follow not only what the stars are doing and saying, and who they’re interacting with, but also what they’re willing to reveal.
We no longer need to rely solely on boundary-bulldozing paparazzi to catch a celebrity at exactly the right (or wrong) moment, or a mysterious “insider” willing to spill the tea. Sometimes, they’ll simply tell us what we want to know themselves. And that’s where things get interesting: now, rather than simply being the subjects of the gossip machine, celebrities can participate in it.
Sure, they can post carefully curated, magazine-worthy shots on the grid, or glamorous stories of them attending some swanky event, but we know that the real gold is always in the comments. And it’s no different for celebrities. Often, just a few words on someone else’s post, celeb or plain old civilian, can become the story: revealing unexpected friendships, gently poking at each other, settling a score, fueling dating speculation (who knew a ‘fire’ emoji could do such heavy lifting?), or simply saying something funny.
In this way, we might say that social media has subverted the old tabloid tradition while still fulfilling our appetite for celebrity intimacy. It’s just that now, the celebs are no longer simply watching themselves from the sidelines; they’re in on the game. They can talk back, poke fun, or deliberately and strategically play into the very speculation that a tabloid would’ve dedicated a whole multi-page spread to “expose.”
Because now there can be something in it for them, too. As Josh Duboff reported for Vanity Fair in 2018, getting highlighted for a funny comment could be “an emerging form of ‘promotion’ for stars,” one that’s far less work than arranging for a paparazzi photo to show up in a tabloid. In other words, the same comments that give us something to gossip about can also give celebrities an easy way to get attention.
