Thursday, November 4, 2010

In which a celebrity gossip story irks my feminist sensibilities

I'm not a big country music fan, but I do like my celebrity gossip.  So I've heard plenty about the LeAnn Rimes - Eddie Cibrian scandal.  For purposes of this rant, it really isn't important that you are familiar with these people.  LeAnn is the big country star who got her first record deal when she was 13.  Eddie has been on several tv shows over the years.  Both LeAnn and Eddie were married to other people when they met on the set of their t.v. movie. 

Soon, rumors swirled that LeAnn's "good girl" image was tainted by an affair.  Nobody seemed all that worried about Eddie's image.  Sure enough, LeAnn announced she was divorcing.  Then Eddie, too, filed for divorce.  And just a few months later, Eddie and LeAnn were living together.  Shape magazine put LeAnn on their October cover and received complaints for celebrating a "husband-stealer", prompting the magazine to apologize.  I am unaware of any calls to keep that "wife-stealing" Eddie off magazine covers.  For her part, LeAnn has expressed some sadness that things went the way they did, but maintains that both of their marriages were failing anyway and does not regret choosing to be with the man she loves.  Nobody has asked Eddie to explain himself (other than, presumably, his ex-wife) but then no one ever projected a false, unfair, unattainable image of perfection on him.  'Cause he's just a man.

And today comes news that Eddie and LeAnn are officially engaged.  Or as msnbc puts it, "Eddie Cibrian is going to make an honest woman out of LeAnn Rimes."  Which pretty much made my head explode.  Because, see, only LeAnn is the adulterer.  Only LeAnn is the cheater.  She's the dirty, dirty whore of a woman who needs to be purified, made honest, by a man.  Fortunately for her, Eddie (that adultering wife-stealer) is just the man to do it.  Phew.

3 comments:

BellsforStacy said...

I get what you're saying. It's the hypocrisy of our world.

I think it's most pronounced in this situation because people know who Leann is and no one has any idea who Eddie is. So he's like, an enigma, and she's a harlot.

But, as far as country music goes, Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood had an affair and BOTH were crucified and he more so because he had a wife and kids. They did not end up continuing their relationship, he got divorced and did not marry her because of his kids. But now his kids are raised and I think they are back together? No idea. My mom says they live together and thinks they are married. That might be worth a google search.

Anyway ... just a ramble to let you know I still read. And I think about you and hope you are feeling okay.

And I don't care what anybody else says, it takes time to get over big change. Especially unexpected change you didn't want. I know you want to move, I completely understand that desire, but I hope you give it a full year.

You loved it there once and I think there's probably still a lot there for you. it just will take time for you to heal to find those things again.

My two cents, for what it's worth.

S said...

It's certainly true that LeAnn is the bigger star, but Eddie has been a regular presence on t.v. for over a decade, so it still ticks me off that so much of the focus is on her misdeeds. For the record, I don't give a hoot about how their relationship began and I hope they'll be very happy together.

Garth and Trisha have been married since 2005. (Oh, the useless info I have!) They did wait several years after the divorce. I do believe the country music world has embraced them, so I'm hoping LeAnn will catch a break eventually.

As for moving, well it's probably not going to happen that easily, anyway. It's just not that easy to find a job, coordinate getting licensed somewhere else, etc. It's really hard to imagine ever being happy here again, though. I just have to get to work on that novel or screenplay so I can score a quick million and move without having a new job lined up.

Nance said...

Oh, hell. This just makes me think about how everyone is beating up on Nancy Pelosi. And you know goddam well that, had the Speaker of the (Democratic) House been A MAN, none of this vilifying and mudslinging would be even .01% of what it has been. Never have I heard so much misogyny before given a Free Pass. Hideous. The Leann Rimes thing pales in comparison

 
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