- Poor Britney Spears. The newly bald pop star finally landed in rehab , according to People.com. For gossip fans, it’s been a long time coming. During months of hard partying, occasionally with the likes of fellow bad girls Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan, Brit has been photographed in various stages of dishevelment, with and without underwear. Last week, she apparently checked into and then out of a rehab center in Antigua—all within a matter of hours. Then she made her way to Los Angeles, where she shaved her own overprocessed locks in a hair salon in Tarzana, Calif. After that, she stopped at a tattoo parlor to get a cross inked on her hip and a pair of lips on her wrist. The next day she pulled on a platinum wig and hit a few bars.
Her mother, along with everyone else who cares about her, must be appalled and worried sick. Personally, I feel a little relieved. Relieved at the possibility (even if it’s a remote one) that the rest of Britney’s horrifying breakdown will take place in private. But I’m also relieved for a very selfish reason. I no longer have the slightest fear that my daughter will want to be like Britney Spears when she grows up. As I described in a recent cover story for NEWSWEEK called “The Girls Gone Wild Effect,” our kids are being bombarded with images of underdressed, oversexed celebrities, often falling-down drunk. Rich, beautiful and untouched by responsibility, these celebs are like a dog whistle for young girls. It’s not that girls set out to emulate them, but they can create a sense of normalcy about behavior—drinking, smoking and casual sex—that is dangerous for teens I’m not the only concerned parent: A recent NEWSWEEK poll found 77 percent of Americans believe that Britney, Paris and Lindsay have too much influence on young girls.
In truth, I really wasn’t that worried about Britney in particular; my kid is only 6, and Britney has been on a long, steep slide from her days as a perky pop princess. Thanks to her very public antics, her influence has been steadily waning. Last month, the founder of her biggest fan site pulled the plug saying, “it is very hard to maintain the respect needed to keep things going.” Fifth graders told NEWSWEEK that they had begun to turn on Brit, because she didn’t seem to be taking very good care of her two young sons—not to mention that whole no-underwear thing.
When out-of-control celebrities get too out of control, they quickly lose their appeal. Other famous bad influences have managed to scandalize us while staying firmly in charge. Madonna made us blush when she writhed on the floor in a wedding dress or published a coffee table book glorifying nearly every sexual fetish you can think of. Yet she always managed to wield scandal as a weapon, and with each new wave of controversy her fame grew. She seemed to carefully calculate just how far she could go. But while Madge has done her time with the tabloids, it’s impossible to imagine her stumbling around drunk with smudged make up and nasty hair extensions.
Even as I worry about the bad-girl effect on my very own girl, I know I am partly to blame. I am an avid consumer of celebrity gossip. I am always happy to see US magazine. I start the day with the New York Post’s Page Six. I really can’t read enough about Paris Hilton. I have always had a big weakness for bad girls. These celebs seem wild and independent and free to do whatever the hell they’d like. I really hope my daughter never hears about Britney’s latest misadventures. But if she does, I think it will be pretty easy to convince her that Brit is no role model. The girl really is a walking, talking teachable moment. And I believe that my daughter, like other kids, will learn her values from me, at home. Plus, she thinks not wearing underwear is really gross.
