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Originally Posted by CliffFletcher
High-powered lawyers have stressful jobs. So do surgeons. I don't see too many people expressing sympathy when one of them dies from a heart attack after decades of being a hard-partying coke-fiend.
The lifestyle of many pop stars is extraordinarily hedonistic, self-indulgent, and often self-destructive. It's sad, I suppose. But I don't regard the death of a waste-head celebrity any differently than I do anyone else who let their appetites destroy their lives. Given the money and the support they have, celebrities are certainly more responsible for their own fate than a car salesman who drinks himself into oblivion.
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Part of what makes us sympathetic to celebrities is that their personal lives are exposed to us. That's another point of stress for them. Some celebrities like the fame, and it destroys others. I can understand that. I can't imagine how horrible it would be if I had my clients coming up to me whenever I left my home and needed security to keep them away.
That being said, I have varying degrees of sympathy for celebrities, and you make valid points. I have a lot of sympathy for someone like Petty who has to take pain pills in order to control his pain from a broken hip in order to go on stage. I would have little sympathy if it was a less talented and accomplished celebrity (Ex. reality TV star).
I had the pleasure of seeing both Petty and Prince live. Like I stated before, the amount of preparation that went into their shows must have been immense. They both put on multi-hour shows and were clearly physically exhausted by the end. They both showed a mastery of their craft and hit every note. If you think that these kinds of artists can maintain their longevity by being lazy, I think you're way off. These are the most successful people in their field. I have no doubt that people like Prince and Petty give everything they have to create music and entertain their fans.
This is another part of what makes us sympathetic to celebrities. They are providing a service for us. If some random trucker died of an overdose, I probably wouldn't be overly affected. If it was someone who was working for me, I'd probably be much more affected.