Lindsay Lohan

The other day, my daughter came downstairs wearing my shoes. Not the younger one, whose chief purpose in life is to steal my heels and strut around pretending she’s a teacher. Or a hooker. It’s hard to tell.

No, this was the older daughter, the 10-year-old whose delicious little baby feet have somehow morphed to the same size as my own, hence her apparent need to borrow my Converse. The new ones.

Anyway, as you can imagine, I was so thrilled, I threw my arms around her and announced that now we shared clothes, we were undisputedly “best friends”. Would she also like to help herself to my GHD? When could we go shopping together?

Continue reading "You’re my mother, not my friend" »

The Lindsay Lohan story is not a cautionary tale about sexuality: to present the media coverage which has surrounded Lohan’s sentencing to 90 days behind bars as an example of flagrant misogyny is a misreading of the cultural mores underlying this particularly sad episode.

This story is really about the economy of fame, the paparazzi and media consumption; not about a male/female double standard that harks back to first year Gender Studies.

The reporting of Lohan’s legal travails cannot be read as simply being the crucifixion of a young woman who dares flout conventional female norms of propriety and hem lines. The entertainment industry has been built, since movies were black and white and daring swimsuits went to the knee, on young creatures who transgress fairly standard bounds of decency and behaviour.

Continue reading "The rise of the hot mess" »

Am I the only one a little queasy over the underlying public gloat at the jailing of master criminal Lindsay Lohan?

There it is, just beneath the surface – unspoken and insidious. It’s the patriarchal desire to see a wanton woman tamed.

Disagree? Replay the Lohan case with buttoned-down Katie Holmes in the dock and picture the reaction. See what I mean? But a boozing bisexual rootrat with a spoiled tabloid reputation and cash in the bank must be brought to heel.

Continue reading "Lohan stitched up by patriarchal virgin worship" »

Last weekend my heart sank as I watched the 60 minutes investigation into the horrific UK murder in 1993 of 2-year-old James Bulger.

The vicious murder of the toddler by Robert Thompson and Jon Venables is regarded as one of the most violent crimes of Britain’s modern history, particularly because the boys who committed it, were themselves only kids at 10 years of age. This story always leaves me deeply saddened and sickened to my stomach every time I hear about it – not just as a father, but as a human being. The fact that two young boys could be so calculated, violent and evil is hard to comprehend.

When you hear about terrible things like this, the last thing you expect is to discover is that they were carried out by children themselves. It’s terrifying. What’s equally hard to comprehend is the sentence they received – 8 years of detention and rehabilitation. Is that a suitable punishment?

Continue reading "Hard time may be the only deterrent for young offenders" »

In the video over the jump, as the judge orders a prison term, Lindsay Lohan appears to mouth the words “She’s jailing me?” to her lawyer and then the lip goes a-quiver in disbelief.

What did Lohan think was going to happen when she had a drink while wearing a court-ordered alcohol monitoring bracelet? A bracelet which, if you remember, she was ordered to wear after breaching probation - on charges of drink-driving and cocaine possession.

Surely she couldn’t have thought the judge would roll with another story like she told in May when she failed to turn up for a court appearance, which was basically that she had been stuck in France because a dog at the Cannes Film Festival ate her passport.

Continue reading "Yes Lilo, jail tends to follow violations of court orders" »

One of these women is a 55-year-old sun damaged Italian fashion designer, the other is a 23-year-old Hollywood “star”.

These days no self-respecting or self-preserving celeb is seen without a malnourished child, developing country or war zone.  Make up removed, with a shawl or ethnic beads for decoration, the ‘saving the world’ photo shoot is a must-have for their portfolio. 

This week Lindsay Lohan joins the fray as she fronts Lindsay Lohan’s Indian Journey, a BBC3 documentary about child trafficking in India. 

It’s heavy stuff.  The country’s economic boom has seen traffickers head to India’s poorest regions in search of children who end up working long hours in inhumane conditions, with some forced into prostitution. 

Continue reading "Lindsay Lohan’s stupid celebrity quest to save India" »