If you could be famous, would you want to be?
In today’s episode, the All Ears English team members talk about the pros and cons of being a celebrity.
They discuss their own opinions and ideas, so listen in on the English conversation with multiple speakers and get the practice you need to improve your English listening skills, especially when you are in a group of native speakers.
The Celebrity Status
Lindsay is interested to know what it feels to be famous.
She recently watched the movie The House of Gucci.
Jessica would also want to be famous.
She thinks it would be fun to be a famous actress.
Aubrey does not want to be famous because she values her privacy.
She doesn’t want people following her or her family around.
She mentions Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds where they experience difficulty in keeping their children off the media.
She has run into famous people in New York City and she could see how worried the celebrities would be looking after their kids when they are out.
The Cons of Being A Celebrity
Famous people can no longer live a private life unless they create it for themselves.
Jessica shares that there are celebrities that move further away to a place where they could hopefully live as normal as possible.
They spend their fortune to build a life that would keep their family safe and have the luxury to be themselves.
Jessica also adds that celebrities are scrutinized for how they look when they are out in the public and doing normal things.
The paparazzi would take photos of them wearing normal clothes and without any makeup going to the grocery store.
They would not look their best and the photos would be published everywhere for everyone to see.
Aubrey would feel bad if that happened to her because she doesn’t like wearing make up and getting dolled up just to run errands.
How Celebrities Work Through the Cons of Being Famous
Through all the negativity around living as a celebrity, they find ways to keep their sanity and live as normally as possible.
Here are some of the ways that the celebrities work through the cons of being famous as mentioned by the All Ears English Team.
- Get Comfortable With Not Caring What the Public Thinks
Jessica mentions Amy Schumer who is unapologetically herself.
She doesn’t care what people think about her.
She does whatever she wants and posts on her social media account like any other normal person.
She has chosen to act and live as normal as possible.
Lindsay thinks that it may be because she has a quirky personality and does comedic roles in movies.
Michelle agrees with this and adds that Amy Schumer does have more leeway than the typical celebrity does to live their own life.
But then, there are celebrities like Jennifer Garner who usually takes on leading lady type roles but seems to live a normal life somehow.
She attends red carpet events and we could see photos in publications where she is all glamoured up.
In her social media accounts, she shows the other side of her where she is the typical mom that wakes up and cares for her kids.
She posts content around being a loving homemaker to her family.
- Speaking Up About Unfair Standards
Jessica mentions that people often have an unfair expectation of what celebrities should look like.
Aubrey shares that celebrities are pressured to always look young, especially women.
She feels terrible for some that go get plastic surgery and get addicted to it.
They go overboard at times and instead of looking better, it changes how they look in a bad way.
Frances McDormand is one of the celebrities that doesn’t succumb to the pressure of looking young.
She has aged gracefully and is comfortable with that despite the standards of Hollywood.
Jessica agrees with Aubrey and is not happy about it.
Lindsay mentions the double standard where it’s okay for men to look older but it’s not okay for women.
This also goes for who they are dating.
We can see Tom Cruise in films being paired with women that are so much younger than him and that is acceptable.
For women, if you date someone older, people see it as taboo.
Jessica is actually so happy to see older women with younger men.
Aubrey gives Oliva Wilde as an example. Olivia Wilde has recently divorced Jason Sudekis and is now dating Harry Styles who is absolutely younger than her.
These celebrities just don’t settle with the views and opinions of the public.
They continue to live their lives the way they want to despite the risk of public scrutiny.
The Pros of Being A Celebrity
Michelle asks the group if they were celebrities, how would they live their lives?
Jessica says that she would live in a small town.
She would be away from the busy city.
She would keep a low profile like Keanu Reeves and Conan O’ Brien.
Aubrey would be the same as Jessica.
She would live in a country where no one cared who she is.
She would have a life where she could take her family out and not be bothered by the paparazzi.
She would be able to go to the grocery unnoticed and not worry about being photographed without any makeup on.
All these can be done through the main perk of being a celebrity which is a fortune.
It is expensive to build a life away from the limelight. Famous celebrities are valued at several million dollars which makes possible for them to shape their own lives.
Lindsay also mentions that another perk of being a celebrity is that you get to exercise your talents and share them with the public.
Takeaway
Being a celebrity has its pros and cons.
Depending on who you ask, the good things may outweigh the bad things.
If you’re thinking of being famous, consider what are the things that are okay for you to trade off.
This topic is easy to bring up with family and friends and learn what their choices would be if they were famous.
The conversation between Michelle, Lindsay, Aubrey, and Jessica is how native English speakers discuss an interesting and controversial issue.
They overlap with each other, interrupt each other, and have different views on the topic.
You can listen in on the conversation and replay this episode, so you can also improve your English listening skills.
There are also several vocabulary words that you can pick up and use to practice.
How about you? Would you want to be famous?
Share what you would do if you were famous in the comments down below.
