With the recent premiere of the 2014 season of the Bachelor, women across America have been buzzing with chatter about Juan Pablo Galavis, the Venezuelan soccer player from Miami. His charming looks and exotic accent have captured media attention, however, he has also made headlines for his recent comments about gays and bisexuals in a candid interview with the TV Page. The Bachelor was quoted saying that having a gay or bisexual Bachelor wasn’t “a good example for kids to watch” and that while he “respects” gay couples, he thinks that they are “more pervert in a sense.” Naturally, this quote received major backlash, going viral in minutes in the social media world.
ABC and the show’s producers released a statement saying, “Juan Pablo’s comments were careless, thoughtless and insensitive, and in no way reflect the views of the network, the show’s producers, or studio.” Although the network realized the significance of these comments, many of our female peers at Bucknell have argued that his comments were “taken out of context” and that “it’s okay. He doesn’t know English very well.” So is it okay to make these comments? Or are we simply making excuses for Juan Pablo because of his fame and sex appeal?
Another incidence of this kind was the spotlight shed on Woody Allen for the alleged molestation of his adopted daughter, Dylan. Dylan confirmed the story of Allen molesting and sexually assaulting her in the attic of her mother’s home in Connecticut in 1992 to Vanity Fair magazine back in April. It is known that Dylan and mother Farrow visited a pediatrician shortly afterwards, who then contacted authorities about an abuse allegation. The Connecticut state attorney later asked the Yale–New Haven Hospital Child Sexual Abuse Clinic to evaluate Dylan in which the clinic “concluded that Dylan had not been sexually abused,” according toVanity Fair.
Despite the concrete evidence presented, the court found the allegations to be “inconclusive.” People have been quoted defending Allen saying that “he has never been charge with a crime, must less convicted” and that the allegations were “extreme overreactions” to his relationship with Dylan.
Other less serious examples of this situation would be when people consider Miley Cyrus’s media stunts to be part of “good marketing” or when Lindsay Lohan’s drug abuse is blamed on child stardom. So the question remains: do we hold the same standards for celebrities? Or do we make excuses for them because of their fortune, talent, and beauty?