A college house-party snapshot of Michael Phelps inhaling from a marijuana pipe is the latest evidence of how a single cellphone or video image can suddenly compromise -- or destroy -- a celebrity's carefully crafted public image.
Since the British tabloid News of the World published a photograph of Phelps on its cover in which the Olympic swimming star is shown smoking from a bong during a visit to the University of South Carolina, the story has dominated sports and celebrity blogs, attracted global newspaper and TV coverage, and provided rich material for late-night comics.
The latest fallout came yesterday, when a spokesman for Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott said police in South Carolina were reviewing the incident to determine whether to file criminal charges against Phelps.
Phelps, who apologized for what he called his "regrettable" behavior and "bad judgment" shortly after the photo appeared, has received the support of several of his corporate sponsors, including Speedo, Omega and Visa. But the publicity surrounding the picture underscored the fact that athletes are now being subjected to the same technology-fueled scrutiny that has been cast on celebrities for years -- and how sports stars with squeaky-clean images are the most vulnerable and have the most to lose.
In the past, most legally public information from a house party or nightclub was not disseminated. Now, virtually everyone carries cellphones that can take photos or video, and nothing stands in the way of them snapping drunken pictures or otherwise embarrassing footage and distributing them on YouTube or blogs that specialize in images and stories of people behaving badly.
Moral of the story, you never know when someone can be taking a picture of you and where it might be posted. It's no longer just big brother watching you it is your friends and family.
Be careful at the Christmas party this year. The past of having one to many, may keep you from being elected to city council.
Click Here to visit my website!!!
Comments(8)