Harvey Levin is Hollywood's conscience? -or- God help me, I watch TMZ

Cafe Society
1

I can’t help it. It’s hypnotic. I realize I will feel less dirty (and recognize more people) if I switch over to a Bob Newhart rerun, but there it is, sandwiched between the 5PM The Simpsons and the 6PM The Simpsons. Whatever. The snark beats the fawning on the other celebrity shows.

Anyway, I take heart in how its creator and host, Harvey Levin[sup]1[/sup], seems to not recognize the same “celebrities” I don’t. And I’m learning something else: He’s turning into the conscience that Hollywood never had. Chris Brown beats the shit out of Rihanna[sup]2[/sup]. The paparazzi are all over other celebs, who ALMOST UNIFORMLY say namby-pamby BS like, “I wish them both well.” WTFin’F? But Harvey is the lone voice asking the same thing. “Where’s the outrage? Who will stand up and say, 'This is bullshit! Chris Brown should be in jail.” And though he’s only seen, but hasn’t bought, a set of the photos taken a few days later, after Rihanna’s wounds are swollen and bruised, he states that Brown will cop a plea before going to jail because, er, the photos will not sit well with her fans amonge the confined. Suits him and me if he doesn’t.

Then there is the big set of parties the Northern Trust bank threw after receiving $1.6 gigabux in bailout money. Levin says[sup]3[/sup] that 30 minutes after broadcast he got a call from a Congressional staffer asking for verification, and then the bank had to give back the bailout money! I’m falling back on my “I can’t help it” excuse. These guys are GREAT![sup]4[/sup]
1 - You may remember him from his longtime gig interviewing the losers who had so little self-respect they took their legal problems to The People’s Court.

2 - I think they sing.

3 - Yeah, I know.

4 - Or reprehensible. And I’m growing tired of cameramen asking Seth Rogan[sup]5[/sup] about his bowel movements and drug use.

5 - I think he’s been in some recent movies that appear on the level of Cheech and Chong’s Up In Smoke or Porkies.

2

It seems to me that the show spends a lot of time looking into the personal lives of people I’m not particularly interested in and whose personal lives are none of my business.

3

Yeah, and that bleeds into “the personal lives of people I’ve never heard of.” I never said it was pretty, nor comprehensible. I just said it is “easy to stay tuned to” (ie: I am tempted from changing the channel because it’s so unpleasant), and “Dammit. Levin is making a point on which I, despite being a responsible Doper, agree.”

4

My name is Hellpaso, and I love Harvey and TMZ. There.

5

Preach it.

I don’t get home until about 6 PM these days, so the husband tapes it for me.

You did know that there’s a weekly wrap up on Saturdays that’s an hour, right?

6

Cycles. Everything goes in cycles. The “dark side of gossip” and the fawning starfellating take turns being on the upside of things. It’s been the “Dragon Queen Publicists” (who will cut. you. OFF. if you print anything bad (or even real) about their clients) turn at bat for the last 15 years or so, and now we’re delving back into celebrity true-story stuff.

I recommend reading Dish by Jeannette Walls. It’s a history of celebrity gossip as an industry from the days of Hedda and Louella to the death of Princess Diana.