Nothing catches the public’s attention quite like a good celebrity scandal. With disgust we cry out at how we are tired of hearing about these scandals and about how the media needs to move on. All the while, though, magazines fly off the racks and television rating push higher and higher. It is all about guilty pleasure and our own egos isn’t it? Celebrities are put up on a pedestal most of the time. They are rich, beautiful, and admired, and most of us envy that. So, when a celebrity scandal strikes, we like to see them brought back to the pack a little bit.

There may not be any better example out there right now than the Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, and Jennifer Aniston triangle. Brad Pitt is good looking, rich, and overwhelmingly successful in his career. Women love him and men want to be him. Well, at least most of them. Many of us feel envy for such a situation. The breakup with Aniston and sudden closeness with Jolie gives us a chance to say, “Sure, he’s good looking, rich, and famous, but he cheated on his wife!” Whether he did or not is really irrelevant. It is about the celebrity scandal and being able to shorten that pedestal just a little bit.

A good celebrity scandal is not just for movie stars and singers. Celebrity scandal is how we bring everyone down: athletes, politicians, and even writers. Aaron Sorkin’s marijuana arrest was certainly tabloid fodder for some time. The media could not get enough of the Bill Clinton – Monica Lewinski scandal. Not even Michael Jordan was immune. The tabloids couldn’t wait to get on him for his gambling first and, later, his extramarital affair. We do it because it’s fun. They get to be rich and famous, and we get to laugh at them and talk about them when the mess up. Really, it’s just a way of leveling the playing field. Is that so wrong? Certainly not.