'It makes them human': Why are we so obsessed with celebrity gossip?
It used to be headlines plastered across the front pages of magazines in bold text and exciting colours.
The checkout at the grocery store was lined with racks of different publications, all claiming they had the latest and juiciest updates.
We begun seeing updates on TV, with news channels dedicating small segments to the latest gossip to come out of tinsel town.
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The Talking Honey panel discussed why we care so much about celebrity gossip. Nine
Then, as the years went by, we started giving more and more time to it, watching along as our investment in the topic slowly grew without us even realising.
These days, it's all at the click of a button or the tap of a screen. Celebrity gossip lines Instagram and TikTok feeds, entire media companies and news channels dedicated to nothing else.
But why do we care so much about celebrity gossip? And when did we start?
Well, we might not have all the answers, but the Talking Honey panel discussed the thought process behind the success of celebrity scandals.
Shelly Horton, Nine's Entertainment Editor Richard Wilkins, Georgie Gardner and 2GB's Ben Fordham discussed why it is that we're so obsessed with the celebrity world these days.
"I love it because they live this unreal life," explains Horton. "And when there's a scandal it makes them a little bit more real, it makes them human."
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Shelly Horton says celebrity gossip has gotten meaner since her time in magazines. 9Honey
Horton also shares her experience working in gossip magazines for six years, saying that she loved 'stirring the pot', but the difference between what she wrote and what is happening today is she 'wasn't mean'.
"When I was doing my gossip, it was more like, who's having a baby, who's got a new job, who's bought a new house," she says.
She continues on to explain that she thinks today celebrity gossip has gotten meaner because of social media.
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Fordham described Horton's explanation as a 'cop out'. Nine
"I think it's because everyone has a camera [on their phones] so therefore, you're getting celebrities that are getting caught on camera where they wouldn't have been before," she says.
But it seems, the rest of the panel doesn't necessarily agree, with Fordham calling her explanation a "cop out".
To find out what they had to say, watch the video above.
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