Britney Spears and Jada Pinkett Smith demonstrate the delicate dance of the celeb memoir
Analysis by Lisa Respers France, CNN
(CNN) — Would you want to revisit your life and your past in order to share it all, both the good and the bad?
I certainly wouldn’t, but I’m not famous nor do I have famous people problems (knock on wood). Being a celebrity is something many people dream about, but while the riches certainly make life more comfortable, what comes a long with it probably isn’t what most of us would want.
Let’s talk about it.
Something to sip on…
Both Britney Spears and Jada Pinkett Smith grasp the concept that drama sells.
Before their memoirs – Spears’ book is titled “The Woman in Me” and Pinkett Smith’s is “Worthy” – were recently released, there were plenty of tabloid treats from them teased throughout the media landscape.
The two biggest revelations from the stars’ tomes both happened to involve their celebrity relationships.
Spears shared that she had an abortion during her time with Justin Timberlake in the early aughts, while Pinkett Smith went public with the news that she and Will Smith have been living separate lives since 2016.
While both of these revelations sparked conversation, they also showed how there’s a delicate dance when it comes to the art of publishing a celebrity tell-all.
On the one hand, you have to share enough to get people excited for the book. Yet at the same time you don’t want to reveal too much, because then what is the incentive to purchase said book?
It should be said, though, that both Spears and Pinkett Smith are most probably used to a lot of attention by now.
One thing to talk about…
Another instance of a star laying it all out there for public consumption is the “Beckham” docuseries on Netflix.
I am far from a soccer fan, but I greatly enjoyed visiting the highs – and lows – of David Beckham’s stellar career. The series is really well done and filmmaker Fisher Stevens got both Beckham and his wife, Spice Girls member Victoria Beckham, to open up about difficult times.
One of those tough times featured in the doc is the decades-old alleged affair between David Beckham and his former personal assistant Rebecca Loos.
In a recent interview, Loos complained that Beckham was portraying “himself as a victim” in the series. That’s another tricky area when it comes to celebs telling their life stories – it affects others who were also there, and who are portrayed via the star’s lens and recollections.
You should listen to…
At this point I am aiming to see how many newsletters in a row I can talk about Taylor Swift.
This time it’s the fact that she’s dropping “1989 (Taylor’s Version),” Swift’s latest rerecording of her old music after losing her masters.
Yes, much of the recent attention paid to Swift has more to do with her love life than her love of music, but if you know Swift you know that there is a direct correlation between the two.
I don’t even have to sell it here because it’s Taylor Swift, the star of the moment, and her music. Enough said – except that the new(ish) album debuted Friday.
Can’t wait to watch…
Reader you know it’s true – Milli Vanilli was the duo to beat back in the day. Rob Pilatus and Fab Morvan had hits in the late 1980s/early 1990s and were flying high in the music industry.
Until they weren’t.
A new self-titled documentary traces their rise and eventual fall when the world learned they weren’t actually singing on those songs. It’s a more tender look at the pair than one might expect, given the vitriol that was spewed about the controversy at the time which resulted in their best new artist Grammy being revoked.
The “Milli Vanilli” documentary is streaming on Paramount+.
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