Funny misfortunes

I’m not one to laugh at another person’s misfortune, but, yeah, maybe I kind of am.

And I am not talking about people who are victims of a natural disaster or something beyond their control. I’m not THAT sick. There are a few instances where you hear about someone’s rise and fall and then shake your head and go, “What a fool.”

Over the long weekend I was watching a lot of GSN (Game Show Network) and I found myself rooting for the cocky contestants to fail. Their personalities were so obnoxious that I hoped they would lose. You know the type: they are on a winning streak, they’re doing the celebratory dance, they’re getting the audience into a frenzy and then it all comes crashing down when they lose everything.

At the end of the day, those shows are produced for entertainment value. The sole purpose is to have audiences either love them or hate them. It’s no different than when producers cast villains on those reality shows. Some people love the fact that the guy or gal is only on there for 15 minutes of fame and others are despised by the fact someone would go onto a TV show just to be seen and be completely.

Let’s swing over to the celebrity side of things. It’s one thing to have a hit TV show or movie or song and then repeat that success and see money come in hand over fist. As common folk, we see the lavish lifestyle, some people might envy it but then others are completely unfazed by fame and fortune.

Looking at someone like former TV star Tori Spelling who’s had liquidation sales… I mean, yard sales, in an attempt to raise money because she is being sued by American Express for unpaid bills. The celebrity ego is too much to allow these people to say to themselves, “Hey, maybe I should just get a regular job to help make ends meet.”

Then you have the people who do acknowledge they aren’t cutting it and go back to “real” life. I’m thinking of a bunch of former Canadian Idol winners who didn’t make it big in the music biz and have gone back to playing cafes or working a retail job. Sure, it might have bruised their ego but they didn’t think they were above “regular” work that they publicly embarrassed themselves by selling off all their possessions because that was easier than working a 9 to 5.