You know you’re taking a big risk when you ask people with intelligence to write about people without. The problem however, when you ask a comedian to write about celebrities (I’m referring to comedians who don’t pucker up to ‘celebs’ coz they want to hang out with them or feed off the bread crumbs that fall off their tables in the form of media exposure or TV/film opportunities), is that most comedians think of celebrities as numbnuts.
You Give Me Fever
In fact, not only do we comedians have a problem with celebrities, we have a problem with the people who worship them as well. Evidence indicates that poor mental health is correlated with celebrity worship. Psychologists like Lynn McCutcheon sought to prove that fans of celebrities display a general deficit in their creativity, crystallised intelligence, critical thinking, spatial ability, arithmetic skills and need for cognition (problem solving), which in their opinion makes fans inherently prone to worshipping celebrities.
My point really is this: Get a life of your own. Don’t succumb to the disease of obsessing with celebrities. Most of them suffer from a serious disease themselves – a disease called ‘celebrity complex’. It is a disease that makes a person think that everyone that surrounds them is looking at them and that they’re better than everyone else. It is quite fatal and if left untreated could cause another more incurable disease, ‘being idiot’.
Comic Rock
Finally for the ‘celebrities’ who are reading this, rest assured in the comforting realisation that you’re famous and your photograph will probably come on page 3 tomorrow to reassure you that your life still has meaning. And if that’s not enough, remember that while you celebrities are considered cool, it is not ‘cool’ to be a stand-up comedian. If I have a fantastic gig, someone might come up to me and say ‘Dude, you were a rockstar tonight’. But I very much doubt anyone goes up to a rockstar after a great show and says ‘Dude, you were a comedian tonight’. That thought alone should make you smile – while looking at the mirror.
Comic Rock
Finally for the ‘celebrities’ who are reading this, rest assured in the comforting realisation that you’re famous and your photograph will probably come on page 3 tomorrow to reassure you that your life still has meaning. And if that’s not enough, remember that while you celebrities are considered cool, it is not ‘cool’ to be a stand-up comedian. If I have a fantastic gig, someone might come up to me and say ‘Dude, you were a rockstar tonight’. But I very much doubt anyone goes up to a rockstar after a great show and says ‘Dude, you were a comedian tonight’. That thought alone should make you smile – while looking at the mirror.
With more than 1000 shows all over the globe, Papa CJ is recognised as a cutting edge stand-up comic with a host of global gigs to his name.
What do you think when you think ‘celebrity’: “Idiots.”
What makes you ROFL? “Watching other comedians falling flat on their faces.”
Do you think you are a celebrity: “No. I have to do real work for a living.”
From HT Brunch, May 20
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