Celebrity Gossip?

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So, I have a question about gossip, or rather, celebrity gossip. Does it have the same moral repercussions that ‘regular’ gossip would have? That is, do the same rules apply to a celebrity that would to someone I personally know? I know these cases are often subjective, celebrity or otherwise, and gossip in any form should be avoided, but I’m confused. The subject of gossip is one I’ve been concentrating on lately, working to become better in avoiding it or situations leading up to it.

Here’s the situation: I was with my brother earlier, listening to the radio, and a story came up regarding a certain well-known figure who recently made a public statement. The statement sounded like a lie, to which my brother made a mention. Well, I have a friend that has done work in some capacity with this public figure, and he once mentioned something to me that related to this subject, the exact subject this public statement was about, and which, if correct, would mean the statement was a fabrication, or at least embellished.

On that front, I related the story to my brother, and even though I then clarified I may have the story wrong, or my friend may not have heard the whole thing or otherwise been mistaken, I now wish I just wouldn’t have said anything at all. Like I said, this is something I’ve been working on, and I now feel terrible. While I doubt my brother would say anything that would, or could, harm this person’s reputation (this is a BIG-name star), that’s not really the point. I just don’t know where I stand now. Mortal sin? Venial sin? No sin at all? I know, if you’re not sure, it’s probably not mortal; I don’t know if I’m rationalizing or somehow fooling myself though. It’s not like I don’t know anything about the subject, so…?

Any advice? Or is this best left to a Priest?
 
Gossip is never good, and a mortal sin. I don’t see why celebrities would be different. But ask a priest. I won’t pretend to know if you are culpable or not, or anything of the likes. Many times we are unaware of our sins, other times we trick ourselves into sinning. Maybe Fr. Ruggero or Fr. David will have advice on this thread.
 
I find celebrity gossip rather boring. It’s always the same. Sex scandal this, sex scandal that, plastered all over everything. I’m surprised they would even actually consider it a bad thing.
 
Spreading half truths imo is wrong. In this case, you don’t personally know the celebrity and you don’t know that the statement is 100% false. I don’t exactly know who you are talking about, but know that in some situations that goes on in the celeb’s personal life, people that work with the celeb won’t know the whole truth. They might think they do, but nope. Of course, celebrities have to lie here and there to maintain a certain image…

But sttttill, spreading half truths about someone that is damaging to the person’s rep (in this case, integrity) is baaad. I don’t know if this is correct, but a priest told us once that celebrities’ lives are public, and it’s not wrong to talk about them like " ___ and ___ are dating? She posted it on instagram" or information that is 100% true and public. But stuff like “selena gomez does not have lupus” is not 100% true and spreading it damages a celebrity’s integrity. Even if the people you tell it to are irrelevant. In the case of Selena, unless the friend has access to her health records or heard her opening a glass of wine exclaiming “it was all a ruse”, you wouldn’t know the truth, because people with lupus can still do normal things if receiving medication, and let’s be real, not many people know the illness well, so they assume stuff (used this example bc I just saw someone talking about it on twitter).

One announce they have a mental illness and everyone will suddenly announce that he has a drug addiction. Taylor Swift hangs out with a woman and suddenly she is bisexual :rolleyes:

Remember, the celebrity is also a child of God. If you wouldn’t spread information (ESPECIALLY if it’s info not many people know aka it’s not all over the news and confirmed to be 100% true by celeb’s rep or pictures that cannot be misunderstood, etc) about a friend, don’t do it. Even if it’s true, I don’t think it’s productive to talk about someone who has never met you, if that makes sense.
 
Lea101 said:
Taylor Swift hangs out with a woman and suddenly she is bisexual :rolleyes:
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They print that, because sexuality is on their minds twenty four seven.:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes: A woman hanging out with another woman. Damned if she does, damned if she doesn’t.
 
Not specifically related to your situation. I try not to gossip, even about celebrities. But I think that there is a difference of some degree between something that is public knowledge in the public domain and something that is spreading via word of mouth. I mean if Mr and Mrs Famous-Celeb get divorced and it’s all over the radio, tv and social media, one would nearly be surprised if someone else had not heard.

Also, to whoever said it was a mortal sin, it CAN be, but it depends on what you are gossiping about. Saying “John left for work this morning in his bunny slippers” is hardly grave matter.
 
LP4H said:
Here’s the situation: I was with my brother earlier, listening to the radio, and a story came up regarding a certain well-known figure who recently made a public statement. The statement sounded like a lie, to which my brother made a mention. Well, I have a friend that has done work in some capacity with this public figure, and he once mentioned something to me that related to this subject, the exact subject this public statement was about, and which, if correct, would mean the statement was a fabrication, or at least embellished.
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I used to be Catholoc and I too would worry about if something I did was a mortal sin or not. But if you worry- its not. Mortal sin would be if you turned away from God with all your heart and soul and mind. By then, you wouldnt care if its a mortal sin or venial sin or no sin. Because you wouldnt love God. Hope that helps.

Gossip between friends is one thing. Talking ahout public figures is another. If talking about someone automatically meant gossiping we would rarely have a conversation. You responding to your brother about some celebrity wont affect them, you nor him. Maybe you even did your brother good pointing out that people lie in the media 😉
 
Thanks all very much for the answers! All good things to keep in mind for the next time the temptation arises. And unfortunately, it almost certainly *will *arise.

Wherever my action yesterday falls on the sin-scale, I’m not sure. I think my best course of action is to just confess it and do my best to avoid a similar occurrence in the future. I’m actually going to try to set-up a confession time today, I’m overdue, but if it doesn’t work out, it will be taken care of Saturday.

Thank you all very much again!
 
Vera_Icon said:
I used to be Catholoc and I too would worry about if something I did was a mortal sin or not. But if you worry- its not. Mortal sin would be if you turned away from God with all your heart and soul and mind. By then, you wouldnt care if its a mortal sin or venial sin or no sin. Because you wouldnt love God. Hope that helps.
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That is not an accurate representation of Catholic belief.

Mortal sin requires 3 things:
  1. Knowledge
  2. Intent
  3. Grave matter.
There is nothing in Catholic theology that says that ‘worrying about something been a mortal sin’ proves that it isn’t.
 
I think many of us are sick and tired of the steady flow of gossip that is swirling around this election, some days on an hourly basis. May the Lord help us all withstand the next 23 days without being snippy and rude to each other. I don’t remember a time where our entire population is so on edge. When JFK was assassinated, we were mourning, this feeling is quite different…🤷
 
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