Creative Commons

Now, hearing about her trial on every channel, from local and national news listings to entertainment programming and blogs, this event has formulated more than one question in my mind. 

First, why is everyone so cruel to Lindsay Lohan? And second, why do we care so much about her life to begin with?

To address the first, I have to admit that I have been an adamant Lindsay Lohan fan from her beginning days as an adorable 12-year-old in “The Parent Trap,” and later followed her career from “Freaky Friday” to “Mean Girls” to “Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen.” 

For several years now, I’ve had to step back and listen to countless people trash talk a girl they don’t even know, completely unaware of the circumstances of her life that may have compelled her to make a bad decision or two.

And yes, maybe she has made more than two bad decisions, but how many of us can actually say we haven’t made any mistakes ourselves; and maybe not only one but rather a chain of them that spiraled out of our control? 

We’ve all made mistakes we regret or have found ourselves at a time in our lives that we do not understand or simply cannot manage. I’m not saying that Lindsay Lohan does not need help, but is 90 days in jail the right method of treatment?

Lindsay Lohan has been through the ringer, dealing with everything from constant battles with her father, power struggles with her mother and substance abuse issues with prescription drugs, cocaine and alcohol.

There are many ways to inspire change and growth in someone with family and abuse problems as profound as hers. Jail is certainly not one of them. It will not stop the people closest to her from taking advantage of her and trying to exploit her for everything she has. 

There is a person beneath the rumors and gossip and tabloids. We must stop treating Lindsay Lohan as someone to be objectified; we do not know her—or any other celebrity—even though we may think we do, and we have to stop ridiculing her or putting her down and start treating her like a real person.

Now, to address my second question of why we even care about Lindsay Lohan to begin with, I have to say that celebrities are now known to provide entertainment beyond their movies, TV shows and music. We flock toward them because of their fame, wealth, power and enormous success.

But we do more than admire these qualities or strive to live vicariously through these stars. We hope to witness celebrities as they go through hardships, embarrassments and ridicule to make ourselves feel better about our own lives. 

This stems from the same motivation that compels us to mock Lindsay Lohan, a person we don’t even know. America’s consumer culture idolizes celebrities to an almost unhealthy point, often fixating on the negative. Entertainment programs, ranging across all media platforms, update us on everything from celebrity breakups to weight gain, hoping to give us a daily dose of gossip that feeds our own egos. 

Clearly, there is another side to the story many of you may be thinking: celebrities get paid to be in the limelight. This means that they get compensated for more than just their work on film or TV; they get money for their status as a celebrity or icon. In my opinion, this is completely legitimate since celebrities are idolized and consistently looked to for inspiration. 

This does not give us the right, however, to dissect their every move and wish for their demise. None of us actually know what it feels like to be under so much scrutiny, so none of us can accurately judge the course of their lives.  

Now I’m not saying that I don’t check Perez from time to time or read People magazine now and again, but I am suggesting that when we read these publications (and we should read them in moderation) we take time to think about why we’re reading them. Maybe we’re just bored, or maybe it is something deeper. But no matter what the reason may be, it’s important to realize that everyone has their moments.

Everyone goes through the occasional hardship be it a break up or break out, but celebrities go through these experiences under a microscope—under our inspection—making it all the more difficult for them to lead normal lives. 

To reach reporter Nicole Shoohed, click here.