Royal Purple

Issue date: 3/19/08 Section: Opinion

Bremer [Click to enlarge]

I'll apologize in advance for potentially wasting anybody's valuable time. Either it is a slow news week in the entertainment world or my blood has finally reached a rolling boil with disdain towards a certain Hollywood prankster. Or perhaps both. In any event, this will serve as my last ditch effort to rid myself of this perpetual frustration.

Stephen "Steve-O" Glover of "Jackass" fame has recently been charged with cocaine possession after police reportedly found it on him while responding to a vandalism accusation.

Now, if it weren't this particular "jackass" getting busted for illegal substance possession, it would be some other over-privileged ignorant who somehow believes they can get away with such actions when they are constantly in the spotlight. They never seem to learn from the mistakes of their peers. But honestly the only thing surprising about Steve-O's drug possession charge is that he actually has the funds to support such a habit.

I've been on this kick lately about how much easier it seems nowadays to become famous and how people will do just about anything to be recognized. Steve-O and the rest of the "Jackass" crew are the epitome of the industry's willingness to scrape the bottom of the barrel for new entertainment. Apparently, all it takes to entertain and become famous is to film yourself participating in disgusting, dangerous and ridiculous stunts that are intended to be funny. Lucille Ball and John Belushi must be rolling over their graves.

What drives me absolutely crazy is that people in this country go to school, work hard, and dream of becoming professional entertainers only to be passed up by a fool whose only talent involves stapling his scrotum to his thigh. And instead of realizing the rare and miraculous gift he's been given, he screws it up and doesn't give it a second thought. Afterall, he's given commercials, guest spots on popular TV shows, and a fat paycheck. He's on top of the world and can do whatever he wants.

While I will never truly grasp how Steve-O has any appeal whatsoever, I understand that there is an audience for his stunts and people find him funny. However, I have no respect for anyone who has been given the opportunity to do something good for themselves and insists on throwing it away time and time again on recklessness.

It's a shame that the entertainment industry and the public is willing to give someone like Steve-O second, third and fourth chances. People mess up, its true. Temptation is out there and it can be hard to resist. But we give people like Robert Downey Jr. or Drew Barrymore another shot to prove themselves because they actually have talent and something to offer that can overshadow their lapse of judgment.

But someone like Steve-O, who has no credentials or redeeming qualities, manages to find his way back to movie and TV screens because the MTV generation apparently thinks he is worthy of our viewing time. I can only hope his time is running out.

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