The one where the cougars come out to play

As the past shows, it has never been uncommon for an older man to date a younger woman and even though it hasn’t gone unnoticed, it seems to have been accepted. However, in the last couple of years, the roles have reversed and now the women are playing the man’s game. Does this mean that women are now using dating as a source of empowerment? Well the celebrities certainly think so.

There are a number of celebrities who have dated or are currently dating younger men and the list includes:

1. Natalie Imbruglia and Sam Branson: She is a 33 year-old singer who just divorced her husband and now that she is on the rebound, so she is now dating a heir to the creator of Virgin Records. The only problem is that he is only 23 years-old.

2. Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher: They made headlines in 2003 but not because of the fact that were a new, hot, power-house couple but because of their 15 year age difference. They are now married but she is still known as the cougar who caught her prey.

3. Cameron Diaz and Justin Timberlake: The began dating in 2003 and their relationship lasted for four years and, that alone, surprised everyone. Everyone believed that it wouldn’t last long, not only because of the fact that Diaz was afraid of commitment but because the relationship started when Timberlake was only 21 years-old and Diaz was 30 years-old.

This shows that age is only a number and female celebrities are proving that they can also date younger people if they choose to. The truth is, some relationships work and others don’t, age doesn’t make a difference.

The one with all the pregnancies

In 2007, we have seen a baby boom, either from our personal circle of family and friends or from the celebrities. Does this mean that we effect what happens in the celebrity world or does the opposite happen? Most likely it is the celebrities that effect us because of the fact that we see them everywhere we look, and they keep showing up pregnant.

In the past year, celebirty after celebrity have been exposed in the media, proving that they are in fact pregnant, and through these constant images, it is setting off non-celebrity people to the notion of having children.

Some of the pregnant celebrities include:
1. Halle Berry
2. Jessica Alba
3. Niclole Kidman
4. Gwen Stefani
5. Lisa-Marie Presley

However, some of these celebrity pregnancies are not so joyous and welcoming. A latest celebrity, Jamie-Lynn Spears, the 16-year-old sister of Britney Spears, announced that she, too, is expecting a baby.

Even though this is looked upon as a shocking event, this shows that teenagers are falling to this baby boom as well. However, maybe by this happening, parents will talk to their teenage children about sex and proper protection.

This obvious parallel between celebrity pregnancies and non-celebrity pregnancies proves that the actions that we witness through the media really does effect us. Celebrities create fashion statements, they are to push for the president they want in office, and now they are able to convince people that, they too, want a baby in their family.

The one where Joe Francis does some jail time

For many years, Joe Francis has been the man known for creating “Girls Gone Wild” and, in some cases, the hero for many young men. Now the tables have turned and the “hero” is doing some jail time for tax evasions. Is this just an incident that hapened to a celebrity or does the saying “what goes around, comes around” truly exist?

Francis has always claimed that waivers are signed before girls are prodcasted on his videos, yet women have been outraged and made legal complaints that they have been shown without their permission and objectified through these videos.

By Francis making a profit and by going as far as taping women half naked without their permission, this alone indicates that if you do something illegally, even if you are a celebrity, then it will catch up to you and you will face consequences even it is for another crime altogether.

The truth is that Francis commited a crime and now he’s paying for it but because he is a celebrity, he thinks that his time in jail will be cushioned. However, he is already complaining that the guards were abusive towards him and were cruel.

He is learning the hard way that there shouldn’t be any special treatment for celebrities who commit crimes. He didn’t pay his taxes, just like everyone else, and now he is paying for it.

The one where cancer comes into the picture

One thing that definitely does not care if you’re a celebrity or not is cancer. The latest celebrity that has discovered that he has cancer is Patrick Swayze and, like others before him, he is prepared to fight.

Many celebrities have been able to share their stories of battling cancer and the list includes:
1. Sheryl Crow
2. Melissa Etheridge
3. Lance Armstrong
4. Rod Stewart
5. Farrah Fawcett

All these celebrities have been faced with this horrible, life threatening illness and through the media, they have proven to others dealing with the same thing, that you don’t have to give up, you could fight.

In Patrick Swayze’s case, smoking was, apparently, the cause of his cancer. Even though most people who rather not feel any sympathy for people who cause their own illnesses, the truth is that cancer can strike anyone at anytime, it does discriminate.

This, however, brings up the debate about whether people who are heavy smokers and drinkers should get as much attention for their cancer as others who don’t do anything to affect their health. Honestly, they should, for the fact that there is no proof that if you don’t smoke or drink heavily, that you won’t get cancer anyways.

The most positive thing that has come from this is that the celebrities that are effected by cancer start organizations and charities that help others. Hopefully Patrick Swayze will get through this and change the lives of other cancer victims.

The one with the odd couple

In Hollywood, there have been many couples that are viewed in weird way, either because of the way they look togther or because of the fact that their personalities are so different that it really doesn’t make sense that they are together at all.

The latest Hollywood couple that is turning people’s heads is, none other than, Paris Hilton and Benji Madden. They have only been dating for two weeks but they have already have people talking and bloggers blogging.

However, Paris Hilton and Benji Madden are not the only celebirties that have gotten together and been considered an odd couple. Here is some other celebrities that have also received this label.

1. Jennifer Lopez and Mark Anthony: She went from Ben Affleck to him and that alone made people take a second look. It didn’t matter that their relationship worked, all that mattered was the fact she went one particular type of guy to a completely different one.

2. Simon Cowell and Terri Seymour: Here’s a guy who enjoys putting people down and crushing their dreams with a woman who is always seen in the public with a huge smile on her face and having a upbeat attitude. This couple just proves that opposites attract.

3. Celine Dion and Rene Angelil: She married a man who is old enough to be her father and it’s no wonder that their relationship is considered odd. She even had to go so far as implanting his sperm in order to get pregnant, but apparently to her, age is nothing but a number.

So now Paris and Benji are added to this list of odd celebrity couples and, undoubtably, they will not be the last. People have very many looks and personalities and maybe relationships work better is you are partnered with someone who is your opposite.

The one where Hulk Hogan cheats…on his wife

Since the “American Gladiators” came back on to the air, Hulk Hogan has also come back into the media (he is the host after all). However, the media attention is not of the good nature, it includes his divorce and, most recently, the speculation that he had an affair, and here’s the shocker, with his daughter’s friend.

The story was given to the Enquirer by Brooke’s friend, 33 year-old Christiane Plante, who worked with Brooke on her latest album. She claims that the affair only started after Hogan split-up with his wife and he was already out of the house.

Does a split-up automaticaly mean that you can start a new relationship and go for someone that your, barely-an-adult, daughter is friends with? Most people would say no, not only because of the fact that a split-up does not always mean a divorce but also because of the implication of having an affair with daughter’s friend.

This implication showed when Brooke started writing blogs on her myspace. She let everyone know that this was truly affecting her, and even though she did not name any names, you could tell exactly who she was talking about and how betrayed she felt.

What Hogan did, however, is not uncommon in the celebrity or normal world. People tend to cheat with the people closest to them because they are already in their contact list and they are more willing to keep it a secret. An example of this would be Jude Law cheating on his fiancee, Sienna Miller, with his children’s nanny. Here was a woman who was always around, didn’t want to lose her job, and tried to stay out of the lime light, making her the perfect person to cheat with.

Infidelity is not uncommon and heard of daily but by Hulk Hogan comminting this infidelity with someone so close to his daughter, makes it a little worse.

The one where Britney gets to see her kids

After long debates between lawyers, judges and participants (including Kevin Federline and Britney Spears’ parents), it was finally decided by Kevin, on February 22, 2008, that Britney would be allowed visitation rights to their children, Sean Preston and Jayden James.

Even after her public meltdown, Kevin allowed Britney to see her children for the first time since early January.

Anyone who pays attention to the celebrity media at all knows that this decision must of been extremely difficult because lets face it, Britney is not a stable person let alone a stable mother. However, will her children coming back into her life actually save Britney? Maybe or maybe this will just prove to everyone for once and for all that she is an unfit mother.

There have been many ugly celebrity custody battles:
1. Alec Baldwin and Kim Basinger
2. Charlie Sheen and Denise Richards
3. David Hasslehoff and Pamela Bach
and this did not seem to be any different; the reason this custody battle took a new light was purly due to the fact that Britney’s parents got involved again with their daughter’s welfare.

To be fair, parents all over the world get second chances with their children and just because Britney is a celebrity and her actions are seen in every magazine possible, it does not mean that she doesn’t deserves a second chance. Maybe with the help of her parents, Britney will realize her mistakes and start new.

The one where Pink gets divorced

Being in the public eye does not only complicate your social life, it has to proven to complicate your personal life as well. In Hollywood, being able to maintain a long lasting marriage is harder than winning the lottery.

Word got out recently that Pink is now on the long list of celebrity divorces. However, instead of it being a nasty divorce where every star and every fan picks a side, Pink and Carey took a higher road and publicized for themselves and let it be known that it was mutual and respectful.

Unlike the list of celebrity divorces that got ugly
1. Paul McCartney and Heather Mills
2. Charlie Sheen and Denise Richards
3. Britney Spears and Kevin Federline
4. Kim Basinger and Alec Baldwin
5. Halle Berry and Eric Benet
Pink and Carey will most probably not be like them because of the fact that Pink wrote a blog to all her fans and anyone else who was interested and told them to respect their decision and to remain fans of both parties.

If all celebrity divorces were like this, pre-nups would never be needed, divorce lawyers would be paid minimum, and gossip as we know it would not be the same.

It’s sad to say but the truth is that divorces like this are far from commom in the celebrity world. In the realistic celebrity world, stars get married, problems happen, petitions for divorce are sent out, fans choose sides, many stories are written, and the paparazzi is there to catch it all.

The one where rehab is the “in” thing

It seems as though rehab as become the new fashion statement. From Lindsay Lohan to Kirsten Dunst, these stars are constantly in the lime light, but not for their acting or singing careers, but for the fact that going to rehab is now on their resume.

It’s understandable that celebrities are people and that they too need some help but there has to be a reason as to why they make it so public.

Even stars like Eva Mendes who could easily go under the radar for a substantial amount of time in order to get the help she needs, made it public that she went, even though it backfired and she couldn’t even stay the full term.

However, there are stars like Lindsay Lohan who are put in the public eye whether they like it or not. Even if Lohan didn’t want her trip to rehab to be publicized, she had no choice because to the media she is gold and where ever she goes, they will know about it.

So is it because of these celebrities that more unfamiliar stars are making their cry out for help more public than it should be? All indications point to yes.

Here is a list of celebs that have went to rehab and it is almost guaranteed that you heard of them and still hear of them.
1. Billy Joel
2. Courtney Love
3. Eminem
4. Michael Jackson
5. Drew Barrymore
6. Johnny Cash
7. Elton John
8. Nicole Richie

So this just poves that celebrity’s trips to rehab most probably won’t ruin their careers, it might in fact make it better because their names are still being heard in the public.

Rehab is not only for celebrities, here’s real people dealing with at as well.

The one with the Heath Ledger mystery

On January 22, 2008, Heath Ledger, a 28 year-old actor was found dead in his New York appartment and from his death there came a mystery as to what the causes of his death were.

Some believe that Ledger overdosed on drugs because of the fact that, not only where six bottles of prescription pills found in his appartment, but a rolled up 20 dollar bill was also supposably found that had a narcotic residue. Even though the star had been seen previously out around town behaving and drinking soda, these clues lead to a conclusion that Ledger overdosed causing his own death.

However not all believe that Ledger took his own life intentionally. The fact that he was prescribed numerous amounts of drugs for his pneumonia and insomnia is believed to have been the cause of his death, not the fact that he overdosed, but because he accidentally mixed drugs that showed to be fetal if combined.

Even though some speculate what the causes could of been, facts need to be stated and the truth is that no illegal drugs were found and that the residue was not cocaine. In a case like this, all the media should do is what for the truth to come, allow autopsy’s to be properly preformed, and report what is neccessary.

Rumors and hear-says will roam around until the truth is actually given. Until then the fans and the rest of the public will believe what they want to believe. Some will believe that he was a good father whose death was accidental and others will believe that he was another actor who let the business get to him and took more drugs than his body could handle.