There are quite a few good things about being a celebrity. The money, obviously. The glamour. The presumably interesting job. The chance to meet lots of fascinating people.
But there's a darker side too. Being in the public eye can also mean that you attract the attention of the dangerously obsessed, the sort of people who convince themselves that they're in a real relationship with you or that you deserve to be hurt or even killed.
Stars have long been a focus for the public's obsessions - and those obsessions aren't always healthy.
And poor Sharon Ní Bheolain is the latest star to become a victim of a stalker. It was revealed last week that she had been sent scary threatening messages and letters for six months, including death and rape threats. The gardaí are now investigating the case, and have already questioned a 37 year old man from Portmarnock.
What do Gwyneth, J Lo, Catherine Zeta Jones and, eh, Diarmuid Gavin have in common? Deranged stalkers, that's what.While it's good to know that the police are taking the case seriously - many non-celebs who have been the victims of stalkers have found the authorities worryingly unhelpful and powerless - it's a disturbing reminder of what women (and indeed men) in the public eye sometimes have to go through.
Of course, there was a lot of sympathy for Sharon when the stalking story broke. Most of us were horrified by the thought of such a threatening invasion of privacy. But how did the Irish Daily Mirror decide to cover the story? They printed photos of Sharon going for a walk taken by a paparazzo HIDING IN A BUSH! Because the most ethical way to cover a story about a celebrity who is being stalked is to STALK HER YOURSELF.
Understandably outraged and upset, on Tuesday Sharon took to the voice of the nation, ie Liveline, and talked to Joe. She said that in the photos she had looked like "Johnny Forty-Coats" and "a dog's dinner", which was surely a bit harsh on herself. But she says she doesn't care if she looked a bit scruffy, because why shouldn't she look like Forty-Coats when she's going for a walk?
Advertised
"I don’t set myself up as a supermodel. I’m a working journalist. I scrub up well. It is my right to throw on my slouchy pants and my Ugg boots and battered old cardigan and it is my right to scrub up when I want to without thinking there are paparazzi on the street. This isn’t the Kardashians for God’s sake. I may be on the television every night, but my lifestyle is very, very ordinary."
#TeamSharon. Who else could pull off presenting the news with a plaster on her head?And she went on to point out that she was more upset by the paparazzi shots than the behaviour of her creepy harasser.
[Being photographed by the Mirror] disturbed me more than any deranged stalker... I’ve dealt with it [the stalking]. These are people trawling porn sites day and night and probably unwell in themselves. I hope these people get the help they need to make something of their lives. The person who hid behind a bush made a conscious decision to do that and I’m assuming that he wasn’t mentally unwell. He wanted to make a few bob and he did and I think that is disgusting as one journalist to another journalist to whoever they were.
I don’t buy these rags. I don’t do anything for these tabloids. I don’t see why I should. I don’t rely on them. I don’t need them. I don’t have to deal with this kind of rubbish. I don’t see why I should. I won’t ever seek The Sun, The Mirror, The Star or any of these rags. I’ll never, ever, ever pander to them."
You tell 'em, Sharon! The Mirror's John Kierans gave a rather lacklustre defence on the radio the next day and ultimately apologised, as well he might.
Rightly or wrongly, we thought they were harmless enough … we deliberately didn't use them on page one because I sort of felt she'd been through enough. But in hindsight … I feel, certainly on my part, we made a mistake. And I would like to apologise to Sharon for that…We should not have used those pictures. We were wrong to use them.
You certainly were.
Advertised
So what did you think of the Mirror's decision? And do you think stalking is taken seriously, whether the victim is a celebrity or an ordinary person? Have you ever been the victim of stalking?
