35 Obscure, Interesting And Bizarre Facts About Celebrities That Aren't Widely Known

To find out more about why people are so fascinated with celebrity culture and when it becomes too much, we reached out to Professor David Schmid, who is an Associate Professor and Associate Chair in the Department of English at the University at Buffalo. Dr. Schmid has published on a variety of subjects, including the book "Natural Born Celebrities: Serial Killers in American Culture."

When asked why people are so fascinated with celebrities, Dr. Schmid told us that it’s “partly because our culture teaches us, both implicitly and explicitly, that celebrities are role models and we should strive to be like them. They are more attractive and successful than us, not to mention a lot wealthier, and so we should want to be like them.”

The professor explained further: “At the same time, we realize celebrities are ordinary people (especially when they mess up, go through a divorce, have problems with drink and drugs, etc.), and so part of our fascination with them derives from this contradiction: they are both exceptional and ordinary.”

During the pandemic, we spent more time on social media than ever, and that definitely increased our level of engagement with celebrities, Dr. Schmid argues. “The internet fosters a sense of intimacy with celebrities that we find very appealing; we feel like we share in their everyday lives and feel part of a community of people who also follow celebrities. This sharing and community are powerfully attractive forces in a culture where anxiety and isolation impact so many people,” he explained and added that celebrities compensate for the unsatisfactory aspects of our own lives.

For those who’re wondering if it’s possible to become too invested in the lives of famous people, in his opinion, Dr. Schmid confirmed that’s possible. “Everyone's familiar with the consequences of toxic fandom, including cyberbullying and even turning on your favorite celebrity when they disappoint or 'betray' you in some way.”

“Sometimes, our expectations of celebrities become unrealistic, and when that happens we can easily cross over from reality to fantasy, with all kinds of potential negative consequences,” the professor concluded.