Smile, You’re on Camera!
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In the words of Lady Gaga: “I’m your biggest fan; I’ll follow you until you love me.” This iconic song blurs the line between paparazzi and borderline stalker, and rightfully so. They will do anything it takes to get an inside scoop, and oftentimes, they blow minute details into out-of-proportion stories that may not even be accurate. Celebrities have been battling the constant cameras for years. Dark sunglasses, hats, and large coats have been a common style choice among celebrities to stay out of the camera view. The recent split between Sydney Sweeney and her fiancé, Jonathan Davino, has sparked the circulation of rumors about her and Glen Powell again. Their press tour for Anyone but You generated enough speculation as the two had undeniable chemistry on and off-screen. Still, with her fiancé’s involvement in production, she quickly shut down those rumors.
Image Courtesy: E! News
Since the split, she and Glen Powell have been seen at a restaurant together, and Sweeney recently attended his sister’s wedding. Without the celebrity status, these actions seem completely harmless and showcase a pair of costars sparking a friendship. If not for the rumors circulating her breakup, these situations would be seen for what they are—two actors who became close friends while filming their movie together, and Sweeney forming a friendship with Powell’s sister.
The question still stands—is this another exaggerated paparazzi hoping to land a good story, or are the two actually beginning to transform the relationship into something more? I believe there can only be one definite answer to this question: nobody knows. The truth is, nobody ever will know unless it comes from the couple themselves.
Image Courtesy: UNN
The problem with invasive paparazzi is that they give us hope for things we want to believe, not things that have actual evidence to back them up. All that is being accomplished from the stir surrounding Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell doesn’t consider Sweeney’s personal issues with her own breakup and could make Powell feel as if he can’t be friends with a coworker without the media shifting the narrative. The tabloids and fake news bring a level of invasion, with individuals commenting on news that either isn’t true or could be true to an extent but could be something that these celebrities don’t want the public to have access to.
The culture that we have created surrounding the media and celebrities makes us feel like we have a right to know what is going on in these people’s lives—who they're dating, what they’re doing, who they voted for. These are not details that we are entitled to know. These aren’t things we would ask a stranger we just met, so why would we expect someone to share this information with the world simply because they’re famous for a talent they choose to share with us? These singers, actors, athletes, etc., deserve privacy just as much as we believe ourselves to. They might have signed up to follow their passions and dreams, but they did not sign up for a basic human right to be taken from them due to an overactive media. Starting with Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell, the paparazzi should lay off the cameras and allow these celebrities to open up on their own time and their own conditions.
Strike Out,
Writer: Isabella Bowman
Editor: Emily Montarroyos
Tallahassee