I Hate The Expression "B-List" Celebrity!

You know what really irks me? When someone uses the expression " B-list celebrity" or even worse, when they say "has beens"!

What constitutes a B-list celebrity? But better yet, who are the clever wunderkinds deeming them B-list celebrities? A PR person,, a journalist, some blogger who nobody's ever seen, or deems themself way too self-important, when in actuality they could be incredibly unnattractive, talentless, or just plain bitchy and unfulfilled in their personal and professional lives? These people may not have been able to have made their own brand or mark in the worlds of entertainment themselves, yet they are very busy living vicariously through the lives of their "A-listers"?

I've had the distinct privelage to have been involved in the worlds of fashion and entertainment in formulative and creative capacities and I've witnessed firsthand how difficult the arduous journey of FAME can be! Most of the people who sling that B-list label like mud, probably have never been a celebrity themselves and probably never will be! So to me, they have no credibility!

These people haven't a bloody clue as to what it really takes to be a "B-lister" in the first place. The entertainment world is a world that most mere mortals will never achieve (which is why people like Snooki and all the sexual thugs on The Jersey Shore are enigmatic to me....YIKES). Well this "Image Guru" has been in the entertainment world for far too many years to mention and may I say that it's a world without much loyalty, extremely competitive and full of ruthless and cruel rejection. "Boo-hoo" you might say......" then they shouldn't have gone into that world in the first place". Well then who the heck would entertain us all?? Try it and see where it gets you...I dare you.. but without shooting a campus full of college kids I mean, or fucking and drinking without abandon and acting like right assholes! Try the baring your soul and talent route!

B-listers must have some form of talent to even be considered B-listers (Snooki and Kate Gosselin are exceptions), but at least they have the gumption to get into the game of fame! KUDOS to you for that!

Now let's get back to the question "what constitutes a B-list celebrity"? Well to me, what constitutes a B-list celebrity is exactly what I just mentioned above....... no I take that back, they are not B-list celebrities, they are "no-list" sociopaths who will do anything to get their fat little faces in the newspapers and media wire feeds! So what?.... if a TV, film, or stage actor, or a physical performer, comedienne, or athlete hasn't been seen in years, are they considered a B-list celebrity? No I think the evil blogsters would call them "has beens" (but that's another topic for another day). You can never take away the success that they once achieved or may achieve in the future (look at Micky Rourke). In my profession, I bet on talent, much like you would bet on a racehorse. Who has sustaining power and who is a "flash in the pan" or "one hit wonder"?(which are other derrogatory expressions which I have distain for). I like these kinder and more respectful expressions instead...."veteran actor or veteran performer", "icon", "living legend", "up and comer", "hopeful", "TV personality", "promising hopeful", "natural beauty", "personality" and other such expressions.... but never B, C, or D lister. That's just crass, tacky and obnoxious on the part of the dubber!

Do we equate "B-listers" with age? Or are B-listers those performers who really were never that talented in the first place, or never made the stellar A-list category?. Is Kate Gosselin considered B-list? There is nothing particularly interesting to me about her (in fact, I find her quite annoying), but I would never call her a B-lister.... at least she captured or tapped into some sort of bitchy, motherly sentiment from the fickle American public, albeit not necessarily worthy of it! I mean she really couldn't even dance that well on "Dancing With the Stars", but she had the drive and I applaud her for her efforts, plus she seems to have a large fan base due to her highly and nauseatingly publicized marital woes! I mean, I'll give her this, Jon was a JERK, but then maybe she wasn't that easy to live with in the first place. Remember, there are always two sides to every story. Again that's another story!

But back to that stupid and tacky expression.... B-lister! Although I myself have, from time to time, used that expression (slap me... I abstain from using it now) anyone who labels people B-listers are just short-sighted, with short memories and pretty much common in my book. That kind of thinking represents everything that I hate about the entertainment/fashion industries. Fashion PR people are the biggest culprits of this expression and so are gossip columnists....oh and new-bee agents, who think their "shit don't stink" Wake up guys and gals.... if you had any more talent yourselves... you might have been the talent yourselves and not the critics. Those who can't do ....TEACH... or something like that (I was never very good at cliche expressions).

Anyway, the point of this entry is for all of the gossip columnists, blogsters, PR assts., agents, writers, journalists and whomever moniters the world of celebritydom, to please come up with nicer and kinder ways of referring to people who "once were" or "will or might bes". How about replacing "B-list celebrity" with expressions like "entertainment notable", "famed actor of yesteryear", "TV legend", "80's pop princess",, "TV personality" "up and comer", "hopeful" or anything that's more congenial and not soo bloody RUDE! Now I've given almost 10 different expressions to refer to celebrities who don't necessarily warrant a front row seat at a Marc Jacobs show (which in itself is quite subjective). It's hard work doing what many of these performers, who haven't quite made it yet, do do. (enter professionals like me!) But they may still get their days in the sun, or reach that pinnacle and coveted A-list status, given enough time, hard work and perserverance!

Now that's what America is all about... so give em' a frickin' break and stop using stupid and derrogatory expressions like B-lister... ya' bunch of clueless and short-sighted monkeys. (ha,ha)

Montgomery Frazier "The Image Guru"