Would you like to have pictures taken of you at random and then posted all of the tabloid referring to how fat you are? If they media is noticing it, I'm positive the "fate" person already knew they had eaten a few too many cookies. These demeaning accusations have been happening to actress Kirstie Alley for the past few years.
They make it seem like her pale yellow jacket extends behind the boxes reading "Kirstie's Rage and She has a new medical procedure..." by framing her body. This particular tabloid from 2 years ago claimed that Kirstie was fired from Jenny Craig because she was "too fat." This is far from the truth. Soon after the article was published Kirstie decided to sue for the false statements. According to a USA Today (http://www.usatoday.com/life/people/2008-02-20-kirstie-alley-jenny_N.htm) article, the vice-president of Jenny Craig, Scott Parker, said the company did offer to renew her contract but she denied. At the time Alley had hopes to start her own weight-loss brand so she had wanted to focus on that. She followed through with her plan. Just this year she launcher her organic diet program called Organic Liaison. But honestly, how many people would do further research to find all of this out? Not many. I mean, it was the breaking news on the front cover it has to be true, right?
This article violates many different ethical aspects. First off, there was no truth in the claim at all. Yes, it is a gossip magazine, but they should be required to stick to the facts and research their sources further. Alley was not fired for her weight. She wasn't even fired! She decided to change her career direction. Alley has every right to sue the National Enquirer for their wrongful accusations. This magazine also violated Alley's personal rights. Since this was published information that is hurt her reputation it is considered slander. Gossip magazine are infamous for this. It seems strange the government can allow this to keep happening on a daily basis and the celebrities can do nothing to stop the paparazzi.
Yes, Kirstie Alley has fluctuated in her weight over time. But doesn't everyone? She obviously knows it, too. She doesn't need to walk into a grocery store and see herself on the tabloid to know that she has gained some weight. Everyone has heard false statement about themselves or had the truth stretched. Either way, no one one likes to hear incorrect claims but having them published for the world to see is another. I can't even imagine how many people saw the cover of this magazine and took it for truth. The media shouldn't be able to comment on people's weight because it is a sensitive issue to many. The only time it should be okay is if they person is if their health is in serious concern (too thin or too heavy).
The National Enquirer would probably claim that they had heard this story from multiple sources which gave them reason to publish it. Another defense may be the point of their magazine is to publish stories of celebrity gossip. Gossip though, most of the time isn't true information and deals with a person's private life. The National Enquirer may also say that they had a deadline to meet and needed a story. All of these potential defenses are ridiculous. No one should ever have information published about them which is one: false and two: hurtful.
