Are celebrity deaths hyped up?
By Tania Arora, Staff Writer
The entire nation was shaken by the early morning news that broke on January 26—officials confirmed the death of Kobe Bryant, 41, the former Los Angeles Lakers star. The player was with his 13-year-old daughter Gianna at the time. He was in a helicopter with nine other people, and it crashed into a foggy hillside area of Calabasas, California.
All the online and print media platforms are now filled with Kobe’s stories and praises for his achievements. Yes, he had an exceptional career. Yes, he made the nation proud, but how much attention should this topic be given in the media?
When the amazon news broke out, the platforms had hardly anything to say. No one published or shared about the people who died in the fire.
People want gossip, and celebrities are where they get that gossip fix. Any events related to them are way too hyped up. Because of the excitement around these types of stories, it is an easy way to make huge bucks for media channels. We are so obsessed with the fancy lives that these stars portray that we do not want to see the reality. Do we prioritize news about Kylie Jenner’s Instagram posts as much the news of the hardship people in Africa are facing, or people at the Mexico / US border are facing?
I don’t mean to say that people shouldn’t consider the loss of the legend or mourn over it… but being obsessive about it is concerning. Following or placing them in a position of such worship is a problem when we don’t actually know that person.
Another important thing I think to note is Kobe in 2003 was charged with rape allegations which were later taken back by the victim. The case was silenced by signing non-disclosure agreements by the parties involved. Kobe apologized, and his apology included the following phrases: “First, I want to apologize directly to the young woman involved in this incident,” and then it goes on with “Although I truly believe this encounter between us was consensual, I recognize now that she did not and does not view this incident the same way I did.” No further news was published after the actual incident. Guilty or not, should we be celebrating the life of someone who is accused of such a horrible thing?
The point of the matter is to consider the past and present of each person we give god-like status to. The media should leave the family alone to mourn the loss and figure things out. There are much more pressing issues that should be as popular and as widely known as Bryant’s unfortunate passing.
