Celebrity Infidelity Scandals Linked to Pornography?

Here’s my latest article from iibloom.com…

There has been a great deal of drama in the tabloid news lately about celebrities engaging in infidelity. Almost every show, whether it be on cable, radio or online, has at least mentioned these stories, namely the Tiger Woods saga and the Jesse James saga. Society is caught up in the drama, wanting to know each and every piece to the puzzle. Society is enamored by the infidelity of these men, men who have an incredible scope of influence. 

The interesting aspect to these stories is that these men seemed to “have it all,” yet they show us that they are incredibly empty inside. These men had power, influence, riches, everything and anything money could buy, respected corporate endorsements, celebrity status, beautiful children and incredible wives; what was missing that they had to act out in sexual infidelity? I will venture a possible scenario: could it be that these men have/had an addiction to pornography? This assertion may seem off-base and farfetched at first glance, so please allow me to explain.

When a man has an addiction to pornography, his body becomes programmed to search out the next sexual-fix, similar to someone who is addicted to a chemical drug. As this man continues to ascertain more and more fixes, he becomes desensitized to “the little things” and desires more and more, lowering his guard and accepting acts, thoughts and/or fantasies that he may once have been opposed to. The only way to fulfill these desires is to act on them, which may lead to promiscuity, secrecy, infidelity and increased sexual behavior. At the heart of an addiction to pornography is selfishness, a selfishness that disregards responsibility, relationships and ultimately, God. Could it be, then, that Tiger and Jesse were involved in the use of pornography leading up to and during their marriages, which includes their sexual exploits?

It’s not the same for every man…

Simply being a celebrity does not mean that someone is a good role model. So often in society, the media portrays men and women of celebrity stature to be role models. The portrayal seemingly stems from their time in the limelight. If people are interested in you, then obviously you are qualified to be a role model. (Wrong.) The more someone is discussed on TMZ, Extra or YouTube, the more their proverbial stock rises. A celebrity’s stock may rise because they just won an award for a great role in a movie, or because they were just awarded MVP of their sport, or possibly because of a charity event they sponsored that raised money for a worthy cause. However, a celebrity’s stock may also rise if they’ve been arrested, are getting a divorce or have just entered “rehab.”

The scope of influence that a celebrity has, especially celebrities like Tiger Woods and Jesse James, is astronomical. Young children, and even grown men, alter their lifestyles to be more like these kinds of guys, all because their lifestyles look glamorous. When the glamour fades away, and the truth is exposed, we see clearly the emptiness and hurt that remains.

No Idea Where to Take It

Since my first post about Tiger (nine days ago), an incredible amount of information has surfaced in this story.  Obviously, we’ve all seen or heard at least some details.  At this point, I have no idea where to take it.  There’s so much to talk about, I don’t care to get into it.  To me, Tiger has become another Lindsay Lohan/Britney Spears/A-Rod/John&Kate+8 tabloid star.  In light of this, I probably won’t blog more about him or this situation unless something really sticks out to me.

In response to a comment I received, I’d like to clear up a few things.  Here is the comment:

While I certainly do not condone his behavior, I think you are being a bit judgmental – especially when you state that “I won’t forget.” You are carrying a grudge against him and seem as though you are unwilling to forgive him for his transgressions. Hate the sin, not the sinner.

Tiger is at a low point in his life. He obviously has some major problems that he needs to deal with. On the news this morning, I heard reports of even more affairs and a possible addiction to pain killers.

Advent is a time of forgiveness and repentance. We need to forgive him. Tiger needs to repent. Pray that he understands the ramifications of his actions and that he is able to deal with these issues head on (repent).

I’ve discussed the topic of “judgmental” before, but I’ll clear up the confusion.  Typically, the term ‘judgmental’ is misused in our society.  Although I may receive some flack for this, to be judgmental is good… we judge actions of individuals to determine whether or not they would be good friends.  As a parent, I judge the actions of individuals to determine whether or not they can have contact with my children.  We judge decisions, records and work-ethic of political figures to determine whether or not we should vote for them.  We judge moral decisions.  We judge a great deal of things.  In this case, I was judging Tiger’s actions.  The confusion, I believe, comes when judgmental is used in place of “condemning”.  When we condemn others, we put ourselves in the place of Christ, taking the position of “you’re going to hell because of…”.  Condemning others is not our place, nor will it ever be.  Judgment is a virtue, in fact, you can read about it in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 1806, under the heading of Prudence.

I’m not “unwilling to forgive” Tiger, nor am I carrying a grudge.  My point in the previous post about Tiger was that he is in the lime light and can’t simply turn that off because he made some mistakes.  His actions (morally right, wrong or indifferent) will have lasting effects on society.  You may say I’m stretching it here, but there will be men who think to themselves, and some who actually say the words out loud, “Tiger did it, it’s okay for me to do it too”.  His influence is (was) too powerful for that not to happen.

Also mentioned was the topic of forgiveness.  Yes, we are in Advent; it’s not a time of forgiveness or repentance, as stated in the comment.  Advent is a time of preparation and expectancy for the coming birth of the Christ child.  So, let’s look at this in the context of the Tiger situation, how does Advent play a role in how we look at everything?  First off, it’s not my place to forgive him, he has not trespassed against me… that’s for God and Tiger’s wife Elin.  Next, it was necessary that Jesus came into this world, to unite us to the Father because of our failings.  Our (mankind’s) sins were so grave that God Himself HAD to take human form, lowering Himself to human status, in order to redeem us.  Tiger, the same as all of us, needs God’s grace, His forgiveness and His mercy.  In this time of suffering and struggle for Tiger, I wish him healing.  I pray for a conversion of his soul.  Tiger obviously needs God, he might not know it yet, but he needs him.  And yes, you’re right, “hate the sin, love the sinner”.

I highly recommend that we all take a break from this tabloid saga and concentrate on more important things, like manning up!

Man up!