Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to be a famous celebrity and how sweet it would be. I could be rich, travel, and do awesome things. Basically, leave my mark on society.
However, my past has not been squeaky clean. I’ve had some run-ins with the law and personal confrontations that some might call “bad.” Now, it’s never been anything serious enough to hurt somebody or land me in prison, but like I said I haven’t always been the most stand-up guy.
So, how much of a role do you think past transgressions could cause for someone with aspirations of becoming a celebrity? Also, how much of a role can past transgressions (both legal and personal) play in the life of a normal everyday person?
It depends. Tim (Tool Man) Allen served a couple of years for drug trafficking in his earlier days. Even though he was honest and up-front about it later it still came out as an issue once Home Improvement became popular. Tim, the show’s producers, the studio, etc. all handled the issue pretty well, and I think one of the keys to that was that Tim was always honest and up-front about it and hadn’t tried to hide it. But stuff like that can come back to haunt you.
On the other hand, Danny Trejo was a drug addict and a career criminal in his younger days. He eventually cleaned up his act, and just by chance he happened to be on set (not actually working for the movie) and someone thought that his rough appearance would make him a great extra and they put him on camera. He did so well on screen that he immediately got a lot of speaking roles as well. The fact that he plays tough guys (and really looks the part) makes folks not all that surprised that he comes from a criminal background. Good on him for cleaning himself up though. The point is that a tough guy type actor can get away with a “bad guy” past much more easily than an actor who specializes in wholesome family type movies.
Mark Wahlberg (not the one from Antiques Roadshow, the other one) partially blinded a guy in a racially motivated attack. He seems to have had success in spite of being a complete asshole while young.
Depends. Alec Baldwin recovered from calling his teenage daughter a pig, Mel Gibson never recovered from his tirade against the Jews. Michael Richards is still on the outs of ‘polite’ society too. Hell even with all the stuff Nikki Sixx did, he implied calling a black guy who was punching a young white woman in the face a nigger was one of the most socially despised things he has ever done. Having read his biography, I can think of a few that were worse.
So I really don’t know what to tell you. If your history involves attacks based on race/gender/ethnicity it may be a problem. Also if you have a history of attacking women or children, that too. Aside from that I don’t think people would care.
It depends on how you market your image. If you come off squeaky clean, like say Tiger Woods did or tried to, then his indiscretions are relatively big and harmful to your marketability. If the Tiger incidents were done by a Mark Wahlberg early in his career, it wouldn’t be noticed. Think of Lance Armstrong’s fall from grace, too.
This. It’s a case the higher you go, the further you fall. The Tiger Woods, Lindsey Lohans, Britney Spears and Lance Armstrongs of the world have a long, long way to fall.
If there’s shit in your past, keep it there; if it gets brought up, have an utterly sincere explanation with all due humility and shame ready (even it it’s complete BS).
The comment about politicians is apt; once the newsflash about a rock star or even movie star having done something BAD is past, no one much cares any more. Pols are subject to unrelenting attack from some direction, or some set of directions, all the time, 24/7/365, and everything is ammo.
I have done a few things in the past I’m not proud of. I think most (all?) of us have. I’ve wondered about the vetting process for politicians or high posts like Supreme Court Justices, and how the candidate, before saying “Yes, I’d be honored to be considered for the position,” talks to their spouse and family about it. I’m guessing such a family discussion includes things like, “prepare for a wild ride,” and "if there is anything in your past that might be even remotely embarrassing, tell us now.
Where the media kills you is the denials. If you’re nothing but a wall of denials and excuses, they’ll never leave you alone, but if you’re just up front and honest, it may be a story for a moment, but then it will go away.
Example: Ricky Martin. He denied and deflected the “gay” rumors and speculation for a decade, and he had to take shit about it the entire time, but once he came out, it was no longer a story, and ultimately nobody really cared.
So you hurt someone’s feelings once? If you didn’t injure anyone or end up in jail, IMHO you are being a bit melodramatic.
As others pointed out, past transgressions can add to a celebrities mystique. Current transgressions, OTOH, can be a problem.
For normal people, the only skeleton that might cause an actual problem is having a criminal record (especially if you are in an industry like finance or law). Maybe being a prostitute or part of a hate group. Other than that, I’m not sure what would be a big deal. It’s like how everyone makes a big deal about not posting stuff on Facebook because your company might see it or something. One of my old employers (a big accounting firm) even had a training video on the subject.
The truth is, nobody gives a shit. You think the HR department of a Fortune 500 company is tearing apart the internet looking for pictures of you at a bar drinking with your friends?
