This morning my Facebook Trending feed showed me a headline that set the butterflies to goofing off:

Vin Diesel: Actor Appears in Shirtless Photo during Vacation in Florida

I’m sad to say I didn’t hesitate to click on it—I mean, who wouldn’t want to see a picture of Vin Diesel shirtless? Plus, he’s in Florida; I’m in Florida… I typically don’t go for the super buff in terms of what I’m attracted to, but he’s bald, and that is right up my alley.

Only his being shirtless wasn’t the point of the “article”—the author (whoever that may be, I didn’t stay long enough to get the name) chose to focus on his out of shape appearance.

Of course with celebrity a certain amount of public attention goes with the territory, but I don’t think I’ll ever understand the lengths the rag mags on or offline will go to in order to tear someone down. And I don’t need to read the comments to know there are plenty in the public who’ll take the opportunity to jump on the bandwagon too.

When I started writing Yours Truly, Cardwell B. (aka From Poe to Know) it was because of my supercrush on Benedict Cumberbatch. But as the story went on, I started thinking about what life must be like for those whose celebrity status means constant interaction with the paparazzi and what it would mean for anyone in the periphery. Love celebrities or hate them, I think we all sometimes forget they’re real people with real lives and real loved ones who are impacted by this kind of crap.

I don’t know Vin, don’t really know anything about him besides his movies (some of which I’ve enjoyed) and he sure as hell doesn’t need me to defend him, but surely his hard work and smarts (he wouldn’t be at his level of celebrity—regardless of what one thinks about the profession—without either one) what he’s done is worth more than this.