Sharon Osbourne has penned a self-righteous article about the downfall of society with the rise of people who are famous for nothing. She has a point in that there are many young people who strive to just be famous without having the talent or work ethic necessary to contribute something. At the same time her long essay is peppered with boastful stories about how she and Ozzy met President Bush and Andy Warhol and how well known and famous they were. Sharon and her family also starred in a reality show and she’s hosted countless reality shows, including Rock Of Love: Charm School, in which Sharon’s responded to a contestant’s criticism of her husband by jumping up out of her seat and trying to rip out the bikini-clad girl’s cheap weave. If Sharon is so opposed to being famous for nothing, why is she lending what she no-doubt considers her good name to shows like Celebrity X Factor, Celebrity Apprentice and America’s Got Talent? She’s as full of sh*t as the Tiffany boxes she sends to her detractors. Here are some quotes from the article, published in The Daily Mail. This is to promote a work of fiction she just wrote, Revenge, which is out in March. The best part is when she writes that “young people regard fame as a birthright. They have a sense of entitlement the size of one of my houses.” That pretty much sums up Sharon’s point: I’m rich and famous and you’re not. If you are, you don’t deserve it:

On kids wanting to be famous
Of course, Andy Warhol is most famous for saying: ‘In the future everyone will be famous for 15 minutes.’ These days I’d put that figure closer to five minutes.

I thought of Warhol’s prediction when I was watching a morning chat show on TV recently.
It featured a girl aged about 14. Her one aim in life was to have surgery so that she would look like Katie Price. Her reasoning seemed to be that if she looked like the glamour model, she would become as famous as her idol.

How depressing that the loftiest ambition a child of 14 can summon up is to have breasts the size of barrage balloons. It was bad enough that she regarded ‘being famous’ as a worthy goal – not ‘being talented’, you note.

When Ozzy was starting out as a musician in Black Sabbath, for him and his contemporaries fame was simply a by-product of doing something they loved, not an end in itself. Of course, they wanted to be successful and to make money, but they certainly didn’t expect it and that wasn’t the reason they were in a band.

Today, though, young people regard fame as a birthright. They have a sense of entitlement the size of one of my houses.

On “lesser” celebrities
A lot of people confuse fame and infamy – two very different things. There is now a whole army of ‘celebrities’ who are notorious rather than famous.

Take Kerry Katona, for example. I mean, what is she? Whatever modicum of talent she originally had, she is now best known for behaving badly in public. How does she add to the sum of human happiness? What does she contribute to the arts?

In 2006, I was a judge on a celebrity version of X Factor. James Hewitt and Rebecca Loos were two of the contestants, both famous, or infamous rather, for having had affairs with married people – relationships that they had milked for all they were worth.

After their execrable assault on the Robert Palmer song Addicted To Love, I suggested to Loos that for the next performance she should wear some knickers. ‘It will help warm up your voice,’ I said.

I heard my fellow judge Louis Walsh groan, and Simon Cowell wasn’t very happy but I didn’t care.

Loos and others like her are not contributors. They are on the outside scratching to get in.

Then there is the small matter of talent, something many of those who want to be famous seem to overlook. To succeed in life it helps a lot if you are actually good at something – music, writing, acting, business. It’s not enough – or shouldn’t be – just to be willing to take your clothes off in public or to get drunk in a nightclub in front of the Press.

On whether she’s being a hypocrite
Some might argue that I have contributed to the fame epidemic myself, with The Osbournes show, and by appearing on X Factor and America’s Got Talent.

The Osbournes opened so many doors for us and both Jack and Kelly loved doing it. But although we pioneered the reality show I didn’t expect the wave of copycat programmes that followed.

My eldest daughter, Aimee, is very private and doesn’t want anything to do with the world of celebrity – who can blame her? She elected not to appear in The Osbournes and my only regret about doing the show is that it meant I spent less time with her while we were filming it.

As for the talent shows, I don’t think I’ve ever given false hope to anyone who has appeared on those programmes that I have helped judge. Also, I think that now people know what they are getting themselves into when they decide to audition.

If you are prepared for it, and it makes you happy, do it. It’s a great opportunity for a very rich life experience, a chance to meet interesting people, and travel. Why not take a roll of the dice? If you win, fantastic. You’ll have one hit record – maybe more if you’re very lucky.

But don’t expect a career with the longevity of, say, Ozzy’s. He has had 40 years in the business and it’s still a struggle. (Of course, it helps if you marry your manager.)

Look at what history has taught us. Think of the people who have won these shows and where they are now. The odds aren’t great. I know the music industry inside out and it is brutal, unforgiving and treacherous.
Just as power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely, so fame corrupts and megastardom can destroy.

[From The Daily Mail]

For all you can say about Sharon, her kids turned out pretty well after they battled drug addiction and came out on the other side. We can only keep tabs on Jack and Kelly, and there’s also their older sister, Aimee, who decided not to appear on The Osbournes and has stayed out of the spotlight.

Reading this long, obnoxious treatise I’m struck by how much Sharon is highlighting her husband’s talent and longevity as opposed to the struggling young people she passed judgment on for X Factor and America’s Got Talent. It’s as if no one is entitled to the trappings of wealth and fame except Sharon and her family. We shouldn’t even criticize them for doing the reality show that she blames for this new fame phenomenon because of course Ozzy was already famous. Sharon sounds so incredibly threatened by the fact that she and her family are no longer the center of attention. Why doesn’t she use her “talent” to get ahead again? I guess she is, considering the only thing she’s known for is talking smack.