Abstract
This chapter examines the tabloids’ treatment of famous people, be they pop or film stars, royalty, reality TV contestants, best-selling authors or politicians. A distinction is made between celebrities who have done nothing particularly commendable to earn their fame and people who are well-known for their achievements or because of the importance of their jobs. The former need publicity to remain marketable and have entered into a symbiotic relationship with the tabloids, accepting invasions of privacy and unflattering coverage in exchange for constant exposure. The latter do not wish to be in the tabloids, so papers that publish inaccurate stories about them risk being sued. The most spiteful and often untruthful treatment is reserved for political targets, and cases investigated are the Daily Mail’s hostility towards J.K. Rowling because of her defence of the welfare state and the Sun’s spectacularly unsuccessful attempt to discredit the Labour MP Diane Abbott.
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Buckledee, S. (2020). From ‘Zip Me Up Before You Go Go’ to ‘Boring Old Gits to Wed’: The Tabloids and Celebrities. In: Tabloiding the Truth. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-47276-4_8
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