Can't Knock The Hustle: Reality TV Girls are the New Stars

I said before that this isn't a gossip blog.  I read some of those sites, even have a couple in my blog roll.  Is it real journalism? Of course not!  It's entertainment, just like movies and magazines.  The stuff those people report is the same as the conversation at the local nail salon or barbershop.  Ten percent truth - ninety percent speculation.

What legitimizes the stuff on those sites is when "celebrities" momentarily turn off their brains.  Men and women who make a living in the public eye often get a little too public by exposing a drug habit, a bad temper, or maybe even giving us a peek into their sex lives.  When this happens, the gossip blogs are right there to cash in.  So I don't blame them.  It's just not my steez.

Talent? There is Nunn.

You know who else is cashing in?  Girls from reality television shows.  Like it or not, but chicks like Kim Kardashian and Natalie Nunn are winning.  They've become this generations' most desirable females and it's not by accident.

Think back to a time before reality TV existed.  If you're my age it's not hard.  Those of you who can quote any Lil B. records are probably like, "What do you mean before it existed?"  In those days, you'd see pro athletes hooking up with actresses, supermodels, and pop singers like it was their job.  Rick Fox and Vanessa Williams.  Andre Agassi and Brooke Shields.  Halle Berry and Christopher Williams/Wesley Snipes/David Justice. Okay, all those guys aren't athletes, but Halle was/is fine.  If you were a man with any real star credentials, you had to have a woman on your arm of equal or better status.  It was a must!  Guys went all out to make love connections with the "it" girl of the moment.  I told you before what Toni Braxton did to the Dallas Mavericks.  Yes, it's that serious.

Fast forward to 2010, you have to ask where have all the real stars gone? Yeah A-rod and Madonna had a fling. NFL quarterback Kyle Boller married Carrie Prejean, but you probably have to ask who both of them are.  I'm talking about serious A-list relationships.

Yeah right.

You better not say Carmelo Anthony and Lala.

The closest thing we have to those star-studded couples of back in the day is Tony Parker and Eva Longoria-Parker.  They are married and both famous in their respective professions.

Which brings me to these celeb-reality vixens.  Take a young athlete in any one of our pro sports.  Somebody who's under 25 years-old grew up as reality shows hit their peak.  So it's no surprise that Natalie Nunn from The Bad Girls Club can be photographed with San Francisco 49er Vernon Davis one day and with Denver Nugget point guard Ty Lawson the next.  There's no reason she should be in so much demand, but to these young fellas, Natalie is a television star.  They could sit down, turn on the TV and there she was.  Same time, same channel each week. She has access to the same clubs and knows a lot of the same people. So not knowing any better, they pursue her.

No woman has parlayed this "microwave" fame machine like Kim K.  After showing her "skills" in a home video made with second tier R&B singer, Ray J., Kim has scored two reality shows, clothing and jewelery lines, exercise videos, and spokesperson opportunities.  She also climbed the list of most wanted accessory for athletes.  After a highly publicized romance with the New Orleans Saints' Reggie Bush, Kardashian's now linked to Dallas Cowboy Miles Austin.

Using her assets. No, really.

After all this, most Americans still have to ask, "How is she famous?"

That's just it.  She is not talented as an actress or singer is blessed with a gift.  What Kim's managed to do is keep her name on the Internet and her face on the screen.  That is indeed modern fame. 

"Real recognize real" is a saying used to explain how authenticity is mutually understood.  Apparently this current generation of stars slipped in the crack to stardom when other people left open the door.  Once they got in the house of fame, they didn't come in politely.

Unless a true crop of celebrities emerges, these girls aren't leaving anytime soon.



[images via icelebz.com, examiner.com, fabdazzle.com]