The virulent attacks launched on a besieged Tiger Woods is a study in the pleasure people take in pulling down celebrities from pedestals they place them on Pop legend George Michael in an interview to The Guardian last week, lashed out at those, including singer Elton John, who insist upon thrusting their concern on him. "People want to see me as tragic with all the cottaging and drug-taking... those things are not what most people aspire to, and I think it removes people's envy to see your weaknesses… I don't even see them as weaknesses any more. It's just who I am."
Exactly. Ok, so Tiger Woods too had his weakness; he slept around. Wouldn't every man drunk on success and surrounded by swooning women begging to be propositioned? Anyone is liable to slip once in a while.
But that one act cannot take away everything else Tiger stood for. Do a few stray romps mean he loved or valued his family any less? Do a few meaningless encounters justify the public destruction of one of the best golfing talents the world has seen? Or, the frenzied "lovecheat golfer" tirade launched by Western media?
I would agree with George Michael that at times like these the deep-seated envy and grudge the common man bears towards the successful specimen comes to the fore. Fans or followers, each one of them out there would give their eye-teeth to be in the celebrity's shoes. Every man envies him those romps and every woman is curious about his prowess. And it is this unbridled jealousy that empowers the vicious attacks and supports the moral puke that is spouted the moment a chink in the celebrity's armour is detected.
We all know Tiger as an ace golfer. But why expect that to make him a paragon of virtue or moral righteousness! Tiger, the man is not as significant as Tiger Woods, the golfer. What the man does and his acts of infidelity should be of least concern to the world that admires his moves on the golf greens. The man has to be detached from the player. The player has responsibilities towards the game and his fans, which the man doesn't need to.
Entertainers and sportspersons have a responsibility towards their game. But, unlike politicians and public servants they are not beholden to the masses to demonstrate moral fortitude! You can pull down a Prime Minister like the Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi for not displaying morally appropriate behaviour, but the same rules cannot be applied to a performer, a pop icon, star or a sportsman!
Ace achievers like Tiger are national, rather world heritage stuff and should be treated as such. There is the danger that all the moral policing, the witch-hunting by media and public outcry may have irreversibly damaged his game; it has already shattered his image and near about broken his marriage!
The witch-hunting led by international media is amazing. Channels have withdrawn advertisements of products endorsed by the ‘tainted' golf legend! Newspapers and websites have actually set up special desks with dedicated numbers that scream out, "Do you know any women linked to Tiger Woods? Call us!"
Well, considering all those publicity seeking sharks out there living for their golden moment in the sun, such an open invite may be quite irresistible, and it is quite possible that more than half the women claiming a romantic connect with the slain Tiger, are nothing but opportunists waiting for moments like these!
One cannot close one's eyes to the phenomena of fans who seek brief sexual encounters or to the more determined female groupies, who are available and in fact actively seek sexual favours or even emotional connects with celebrities and figures of authority.
I'm not saying that what Tiger did was right. But I do want to meet the one man who can swear, hand on heart, that he wouldn't ever naughty text, flirt, or even indulge in an affair with women throwing themselves at him, given the opportunity.
As mistresses spilled out of the "Woods" — waitresses, porn stars, club hosts, TV presenters — Tiger made a touching appeal after apologising for his "transgressions", "There is an important and deep principle at stake, which is the right to some simple, human measure of privacy... Personal sins should not require press releases and problems within a family shouldn't have to mean public confessions."
It is under the pressure of media and public outcry that celebrity marriages break and a man is brought down to his knees in a manner far worse than his transgression deserved. Left alone to lick their wounds, a couple may well rally round and arrive at a compromise, as most couples do, to preserve their marriage.
We did this to Boris Becker and wife Barbara when Boris had a closet interlude with Russian model Angela Ermakova. The world cried foul; media and public outcry broke up his marriage. Hugh Grant had to grovel after being caught with a hooker in his car. He pacified the public with abject apologies and was then forgiven.
There is an element of perverse pleasure media and people take in the public humiliation of a celebrity. In a throwback to times of archaic public hangings and stoning, everyone seems to gleefully reach for the first stone to throw...
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