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| OK! magazine's Body and Soul at the Beach event |
I once offered my friend Sandra an issue of Star magazine, and her face contorted as if in mid-exorcism. "How can you support that garbage? It's awful how they treat actors!" With my tail between my legs, I adopted her attitude. Sunny wasn't rich & famous, but she aligned with them; she was in their corner. I wanted that to be my corner too, so I fancied myself among the elite who were concerned about the public caring too much about their personal life. For a while it worked. I wouldn't even glance at Star in the check-out aisle at the grocery store. Instead I would judge the person in front of me, based on what groceries they picked.
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| with TMZ's Harvey Levin |
But times have changed. I met TMZ's Harvey Levin. He has moral rectitude and refuses to post smut - even if it would mean a cash windfall. He refused to post the video of David Hasselhoff drunk and eating a burger, because he felt it was a cry of help from his daughter. He had the photos of Michael Phelps doing bong hits 3 months before it went viral, but never posted it. Instead, he placed it on his office wall and showed his employees what not to post. He felt Michael Phelps was set up by people he trusted and didn't think it appropriate to smash his hard-earned Olympic reputation over some pot. His team has discovered public court documents about certain children of celebrities, but instead of banking on the gossip, he he'll call their family lawyer to have it rightfully made confidential.
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| with reality star Whitney Port |
I don't read the National Enquirer or any of the non-glossies. Nothing that focuses on redneck alien abductions, zooms in on cellulite or outright lies. Sadly, the coverage has moved from glamorous movie stars to reality TV personalities. With redneck pregnant teens and dozens of emotionally unbalanced, gold-digging "housewives" in multiple cities, my interest has waned. Considerably. So when I pick up a used copy of US Weekly, there's no self-loathing. I still adore the red carpet gowns and bon mots from stars who still have a sense of humor. Admittedly, A-list inbreeding is interesting, not to mention all the new L.A. restaurants I've uncovered while flipping through the pages. Not to worry, I still love books and am currently reading through Thackeray's Vanity Fair. The social climbing and backstabbing in Thackeray's novel are not unlike what today's reality stars do to maintain fame.
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| Our yogi. Yea, I know. Seriously. |
So when I went to OK! magazine's Body and Soul on the Beach event, I didn't have mixed feelings. I showed up at Santa Monica's gorgeous Casa Del Mar hotel and took beachside workout classes. Celeb trainer (Heidi Klum, etc.) Andrea Orbeck kicked my butt seven ways 'til Sunday with her Supermodel Sculpt class. The ridiculously handsome Yogi Cameron (ex-model) taught yoga as the waves crashed behind us. We enjoyed OPI manicures from Bellacures, oxygen facials, massages and more. Our gift bags were loaded down with goodies by Sketchers, Smartwater, Murad eye cream, Honest Tea, Trainermat yoga mats, Venus Embrace razors, Supersmile teeth whitening system, Raisinets, The Body Perfect wash & lotion, Jenny Craig snacks, Boost-It! complexion boost, Zico coconut water, Kerstin Florian day creme, Sparitual polish & hand serum, Vitamin Water, OPI nail polish, Macadamia hair oil and more.
If my friend Sandra reads this, she may shake her head and say that I've sold out. But since OK! is British, it's a little classier, the stars show up for their parties because they don't print lies, and do they throw a mean party! Sandra can try to align with the elite her way, but my way is a lot more fun.
