It comes with the territory

In my opinion, when a person chooses to be in the spotlight, they are choosing to have their private lives violated. One pet peeve I have is celebrities constantly moaning and groaning about how people won't leave them alone and how they're always getting nagged by fans for a photo or an autograph. As far as I'm concerned it comes with the territory, mate, so harden up and quit whining. Then there are those who go out of their way to try and turn the media and a few fans off with boorish behaviour, but really it only attracts more attention and negative publicity.

One celebrity that comes to mind is 'Twilight' star Kristen Stewart. She of the profanity-laced interview answers, fake smile and reluctance to accommodate the media and, at times, her fans. She was in Australia recently with her co-star Taylor Lautner a couple of months ago and, just as I'd tentatively predicted, she was unlikeable and grouchy throughout. While Taylor happily engaged with fans and the media, not to mention went sightseeing with a big smile on his face, poor little Kristen pouted, sulked and cussed. One charming example was a photo taken by the press outside her hotel room. There she was, cigarette in her mouth and flipping the bird at the cameras with not one, but two hands. Classy move, Kristen. After that shot was taken the press had a field day ripping her to shreds and branding her as a classless, ungrateful brat. To her credit, she eventually took down the frown a notch and in her final days in The Land Down Under appeared to be a little friendlier with the press and her fans. But the damage has been done. Taylor was charming and friendly, Kristen was a total bitch. End of story.

Kristen has repeatedly stated that she has an intense hatred of the press, even comparing having her photo taken to being raped, and concedes that she's a shy person who hates having cameras shoved into her face. For what it's worth, I can totally relate to the feeling. I'm pretty shy myself and also a bit of a loner and so I tend to feel uncomfortable in crowds, and I know I'd probably react adversely should a bunch of morons try to take my picture without my consent. God knows I alienated myself from the entire student body when I was at school thanks to my unrelenting need to be a weirdo who carried a chip on his shoulder. But I won't go out of my way to be totally rude to people unless they give me a legitimate reason to do so, and I also think that likening the paparazzi's invasion to rape is not only dumb, but also thoroughly insensitive. Sure, the paparazzi are annoying and disrespectful, but it is their job to be annoying and disrespectful. It just doesn't make sense to me why you would behave badly towards the people who could make or break your image and possibly your career. Kristen certainly succeeded in tainting her image somewhat. Sure, she's still Bella Swan from the 'Twilight' series, but I don't think it's a good thing when people casually refer to you as 'The bitch from Twilight'.

More to the point, Kristen should have known what was in store for her when she decided to become a successful actress. When you choose to become a successful performer, you need to be prepared to wave goodbye to your privacy. Lashing out at the press is only going to compound the problem. In fact, is Kristen even remotely aware that she's doing these people a favour? Let's face it, everybody loves reading about celebrities behaving badly (hence why Lindsay Lohan is still a household name despite not doing anything of note in the last five years) and the more you give them what they want the more they're going to annoy you. I find it quite amusing how she also compares the paparazzi to bullies. If that was the case, Kristen, then why don't you repel them the same way a person would a bully? Bullies get their kicks out of annoying and/or intimidating people, but if they find someone they can't intimidate or annoy, they get deflated and walk away. Maybe if Kristen just did her best to ignore the press and go on with her life as though no one is watching then they'd back off.

Finally, Kristen should enjoy this moment while it lasts. I don't mean to sound cynical, but unless Stephanie Meyer can continue finding new ways to prolong this Jacob-Bella-Edward love triangle, Kristen's career can either stagnate of decline and should the latter happen, I'll bet she'll be missing the attention she once tried to fight. If there's one major drawback from playing the same role in a successful film series, it's that film and casting directors are always going to associate you with that character, therefore they'll either ignore you or get you roles that come closest to that character. Even if you manage to take on a new role that is the complete opposite of what you're known for, people are always going to associate you with your most famous one. Sure, Daniel Radcliffe's done well for himself on stage roles, but can you seriously watch the guy in a romantic comedy film and not remember that he's Harry Potter? It's not just in acting. Look at singers like the Hanson brothers. They were famous in the 90's for being squeaky-voiced teenage boys who sang cheesy pop songs and once they grew up and their voices got deeper and their sound harder, their career went down faster than Mel Gibson's reputation. Justin Bieber, you have been warned.

Don't get me wrong, I don't hate Kristen Stewart and I congratulate her on her career so far. But seriously, the whole 'I'm a tough lil' bitch and you piss me off at your peril' act is not only unconvincing, but it does her no favours in terms of her image and the unwanted attention from the paparazzi. She chose to be a performer, now she needs to accept that having cameras in her face and her every move photographed just comes with the territory. The best she could to is ignore them and not give them any more things to write home about.