American boy band member Joe Jonas and British actress Sophie Turner recently announced their divorce via their social media profiles as the internet forced their hand about having filed for divorce just a few days prior.
Jonas had filed for divorce citing that the marriage with the actress was “irretrievably broken” and it didn’t take long for the news around the divorce to turn ugly, with a horde of tabloids and internet sleuths spinning a web of theories about the couple’s marital woes, citing anonymous sources, past interviews, paparazzi photos, and social media posts as ‘clues’ of trouble.
Given that Jonas is 34 and Turner is only 27, multiple tabloids have attempted paint Turner as a partygoer who had felt trapped in her marriage and wanted to live out her youth, while Jonas was painted as a dutiful father, solely caring for their two young children even as his band – the Jonas Brothers – is on tour.
The public is quick to make women the villains of the piece; even in this new era of Barbie and girl’s girls, there is always room for misogyny, and the narrative, as expected, soon shifted to speculating about how Turner must be a bad mother because she is young and is allegedly a party-goer.
The mob loves to punish a woman without ‘virtue’ and there is a long history of using prominent celebrities as cautionary figures of abominable motherhood and for being ‘wild’ women.
Why do we care so much?
The public has always been fascinated with the lives of celebrities, and, with the recent use of social media, society has never felt closer to celebrities.
Given how celebrities are often online influencers and engage regularly with the public, especially couples who share their intimate love stories and their marriages, children, etc., these celebrity couples become strangers who feel like friends.
This endless social media exposure has given people the ability to become more intimately acquainted with the lives of celebrities, with some paying closer attention to celebrity relationships than they do to the relationships of their own loved ones or close friends.
Given that there are numerous reasons as to why people become so invested in celebrity relationships, Brunch spoke to a few fans about why they care so much about the relationship status of rich strangers who live across the world.
‘Like watching a hero get defeated’
Parnita Chandrasekar, a self-proclaimed “die-hard fan of ‘Game of Thrones,’” shared that she felt as though her favourite sports team had lost a very important game.
“It is like watching a hero get defeated,” she said, adding: “I was really rooting for these two. I think we all just need some positivity in our lives and everybody is looking for love and relationships while the reality of having long-lasting relationships is just too drab. We like the idea of two apparently perfect people, beautiful and successful, actually making it all the way. When we see these divorces, it feels like defeat.”
‘Illusion of perfection shattered’
Similarly, Shashi Karunathilake, who is also a fan of the Jonas Brothers, shared: “It is the illusion of perfection and when they get divorced, that illusion is shattered. It is pretty devastating.”
She noted: “Celebrities are generally very successful; at least, they are very rich and powerful and we see them as successful, so people tend to think they are invulnerable. When the lives of celebrities are revealed to be real and not too different from yours or mine – despite all their money, power, and apparent success – people who placed them in a position of adoration will lose hope for their own prospects of having a successful relationship.”
Shashi noted, however, that it was interesting to see the way that narratives shifted and how public relations teams for each of these celebrities chose to handle these big news items.
“The general public can be easily swayed with just a few well-placed images and interview snippets leaked at the perfect time; it is easy to manipulate the mob. Even though I am a fan of the Jonas Brothers, I know that since they are Evangelical Christians, they do not believe in faultless divorce, so it is evident that they have attempted to paint Sophie as some type of hussy who is unable to be a good mother. Also, I am guessing that because the two have different citizenships, there will be a custody battle for their children.”
Not so easily manipulated
Gone are the days when celebrity PR worked unnoticed – the eyes of the public have become so desensitised to PR jargon that they are now attuned to spotting a PR statement no matter how ‘organically’ the information appears to pop up.
People have become too savvy for alleged spin and clickbait strategies. Sharing her thoughts on how public opinion sways in line with carefully-placed headlines, Malshika Warnapura shared: “I think I’m supposed to pick up pitchforks against Sophie, much like how everybody rallied against Ariana Grande when she got divorced!”
She added: “That is what’s expected, but thanks to many a public scandal and accompanying apologies and PR statements, we are well aware when there’s a PR sleight of hand at play. We know that when they’re drawing our attention, it’s time to look elsewhere, where the real information is at.”
It would appear that things have changed a bit – just enough that the public at large is not quick to burn the witch and label Sophie as the wrongdoer in this relationship. While in Ariana Grande’s situation, she had allegedly cheated on her husband with her then co-star who was also a married man, Sophie has not been accused of any such alleged infidelity.
Malshika also shared: “We have a long history of developing factions in celebrity culture fandoms. As a fan of boy bands, I am more familiar with Joe Jonas than Sophie, but despite my inclination being to immediately side with my fandom and to say ‘No, the Jonas brothers are faultless always!’ and that they could do no wrong, I am able to think for myself and think that perhaps we shouldn’t form our opinions based on our fandom allegiance. There are two people behind all of this and if I must be obsessed with the supposed ‘tea,’ I’d rather not be a harmful troll on the internet.”
It’s okay to obsess, but be responsible
It’s easy to obsess over celebrity relationships – it’s not all that different from having a favourite TV show – but it is essential to keep in mind that there are real people behind all of this who are experiencing an incredibly difficult time in their lives.
Even if it’s good news, overwhelming attention isn’t an easy thing to handle. More celebrities are increasingly choosing to quietly enter into relationships – a recent example being Chris Evans, who married Alba Baptista in a private ceremony. There’s sure to be intense scrutiny on this new relationship, which is something these two individuals must now brace for.
While the line between curiosity and obsession has become blurred, with the potential to profit from perpetuating celebrity gossip culture, it’s important to take a step back and be mindful of the content we consume.
It is natural to be interested in the lives of our favourite stars, but sending them hate or invading their privacy is unacceptable. Their love lives have no consequences to our own lives, so while it is not realistic to turn a blind eye to celebrity ‘news,’ it is possible to not give into the mob.