Amber Nasrulla's Blog
Posted by Amber Nasrulla
Somewhere in L.A. Paris is burning. (And no, I’m not suggesting her supporters started the horrific fire in Griffith Park.)
Hilton’s defense team has launched an appeal after an L.A. traffic court judge sentenced her to 45 days in county jail for repeatedly driving while her license was suspended. And why was her license suspended in the first place? Because she’d been drinking and driving.
Not only has the socialite’s team filed a notice of appeal, Hilton herself has also appealed to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger asking for a pardon. As I wrote in an earlier blog, she’s supposed to report to a women’s correctional facility by June 5.
As far as I can tell, Hilton is just getting doing what she does best – generate buzz, get into the tabloids and bask in the publicity.
There are a couple of opposing petitions on web sites – some say Free Paris Hilton, while others say Jail Her.
Still other websites are joking that the Paris Liberation Front (PLF) will stop at nothing to make sure its spoiled rich brat queen never learns her lesson, I thought it important to point out a few obvious things.
Ignoring multiple parking tickets is one thing. Drinking and driving and then snubbing your nose at the law is another and it’s time Paris acknowledged that she’s not above the law.
I was hit by a drunk driver over the Christmas holidays in 2003. Yeah it was in Toronto and it had been snowing but the moron who ran a red light and hit my car didn’t stick around to see if I was OK. Luckily I got his license plate and the OPP arrested him at around 3 a.m. His license was suspended and he was given six months of community service.
I couldn’t stop thinking – what if he’d slammed into a minivan filled with a mom and dad and their kids. What then? It wouldn’t have just been me with minor whiplash. He could have destroyed lives.
Even before that incident I could think of few things as foolish as imbibing and then getting behind the wheel of a car.
In Hilton’s case it’s doubly stupid because she can afford to hire drivers, limos, whatever, round the clock. What business was she up to that was so important that, somehow, she didn’t bother to read the letters from the court or obey the most well-known traffic laws.
It’s said that ignorance is no defense of the law. In Hilton’s case, the ignorant should absolutely not be above it either.
I think the judge should have sent her to jail immediately. Do not pass Go. Do not start a petition. Do not appeal to the governor. Be an adult, acknowledge what you did and learn from it.
Posted by Amber Nasrulla
Raise your hand if, like me, you never thought Paris Hilton would see the cold hard concrete of a jail cell.
Well, apparently pigs have grown wings and hell has frozen over because the hotel heiress was sentenced to 45 days in jail by an L.A. judge today for violating her probation. (That’s for a DUI reckless driving case dating back to July 2006. A CHP officer testified that Hilton didn’t have a valid driving license and was driving under the influence. Her license was suspended for 90 days. In February she was stopped going 70 mph in a 20 mph zone with no headlights. There’s so much more but you get the idea).
Ah, the U.S. justice system. Sometimes it really does surprise. I'm watching KTLA News with my jaw in the basement!
Hilton, who is famous for absolutely nothing – unless you consider relentless partying, reckless driving in $100,000 cars, and broken engagements cause for notoriety, and so many do – must go to jail on June 5.
The judge ruled that she will not be allowed to swap her jail time for a work release program or any electronic monitoring. He also said that she knew she was driving illegally and that her argument that she needed the car for work was not a valid excuse.
Where is she really going to serve her sentence? A county detention center.
According to AP, Hilton told the judge just before he sentenced her: “I’m very sorry and from now on I’m going to pay complete attention to everything. I’m sorry and I did not do it on purpose.”
The thing is, Hilton will be able to turn this downturn of her fortunes into money. Mark my words, she’ll write a book, crochet ponchos (oh wait, that was Martha Stewart), start a letter writing campaign to save the planet and, possibly, emulate adoption addict Angelina Jolie, and bring a convict home with her. And it’ll make her so much more interesting.
In other news, as of the end of next week, I’ll be going on maternity leave until October. Wish me luck with my first baby!
Posted by Amber Nasrulla
I love Oprah. She’s a high priestess of pop culture, philanthropy, and psychology. She takes the banal details of our lives and turns it into a scintillating talk show. But lately, I’m getting too much Oprah.
I just got the May issue of O magazine. And there she was, the glorious billionaire, with perfectly shaped eyebrows, lovely makeup, jewels and various baubles. And just a few tastefully positioned wrinkles. (Thank you Photoshop.)
Sigh. The thing is, as much as I love and admire her magazine, and her daily show, and the numerous charitable acts, the schools, the speeches, and now Oprah on XM Radio, I’m fatigued. Call me crazy but she’s taken celebrity branding into the stratosphere. And I’m feeling Oprah Overload.
For instance, would it be the end of the world to put another person’s face on the cover of her magazine? Would newsstand sales and subscriptions slide? Would we not believe the content of the articles if it was say, a headshot of, um, Richard Gere or Alec Baldwin or Mother Theresa or my Aunt Bessie.
OK, you got me. I don’t have an Aunt Bessie. But if I did I know she’d be a suitable cover subject. In my imagination she’s 89 years old and has been running nine public schools for street urchins in Karachi since the 1950s. She pays for textbooks and the children’s healthcare out of her own pocket. In the summer months she has to raise funds. The government doesn’t help.
Doesn’t she deserve a round of applause? (As you can tell Aunt Bessie is modeled after an elderly relative.)
I think Oprah has reached media overexposure. Maybe she did years ago and I’m just cottoning on to it now.
I’m sure I’ve committed some kind of unforgivable offence in the Oprah Universe and I know, I know she’s a self-help guru extraordinaire. But I think it would be nice if she went on hiatus and reminded us why we all fell in love with her in the first place. And if she stopped talking about herself so much. I think it's time for Oprah to make herself over.
Because right now, man of her shows feature conversations with stars like Diana Ross, Sidney Poitier, and Jamie Foxx and they detract from what made her so accessible in the first place. She was like a regular gal. Now she talks about her dream home in Hawai’i, her condo in Chicago, her private jet, the diamond-encrusted watch that Madonna gave her and so on.
And somehow I don’t want to listen to her anymore. Call it a case of Double Os.
Posted by Amber Nasrulla
Watching American Idol last night it became clear that the smash-hit show has jumped the shark. I suspected it a few weeks back but didn’t want to believe it.
There was Haley Scarnato dressed like a high-end hooker; Blake Lewis sliding around on stage in a red tuxedo shirt; and most disturbing of all, Sanjaya Malakar sporting peach fuzz on his upper lip. Ugh. The performances were, for the most part disastrous. And the cheers from the studio audience were deafening.
And then it hit me. This isn’t about singing anymore. Some would argue it never was. But this season, more than any other, has been about the personalities. And in that way Sanjaya and Jordin Sparks are at the front of the pack. My disclaimer: I think Jordin should win because she’s young, hip, lively, and has a solid voice. The judge favourite, Melinda Doolittle is too old-school and I don’t see her having broad appeal.
But I digress. American Idol is no longer about nurturing talent and tossing people into the pop world. It’s become about the cult of celebrity. And like I said, Sanjaya is playing the game very well. Talking back to the judges – last week he scowled at Simon and chirped “Welcome to the Sanjaya universe.” Hubris? This guy has it in spades. And last night, judge Randy Jackson could only laugh and tell Sanjaya that he thinks he’s the smartest contestant ever. He didn’t elaborate but I took it to mean the kid is about 20% talent and 80% street smarts and that’s why he’s gotten this far.
You’ll find endless discussions about Sanjaya’s hairstyles on the web – from his fake Mohawk, more of a ponyhawk really, to the slicked back look, to the fem curls. It’s the US magazine mystique – analyze his every trait, build him up, take pictures of him pumping gas (Stars, they’re just like us) and then, tear him down.
We’re not at the tear him down part yet because Sanjaya’s still, miraculously a contestant on the show. But eventually he’ll be voted off.
And when he is – I’ll be the first in line cheering that this wannabe celeb is on his way out. And then maybe American Idol can return to its role of showcasing real, raw talent.
Posted by Amber Nasrulla
I just got an invite to a party. Well an ongoing weekly party. And it’s brought on a monstrous depression. Here’s why. The party is titled, “Virgin ’80s” and will happen every Monday night at a Hollywood club called Shag.
There are Rubik’s cube contests, arcade games (remember the mind-bender that was PacMan?) and celebrity appearances. Correction – appearances by has-been celebs. This week’s rumoured host is Debbie “Deborah” Gibson of Electric Youth fame and fortune. I’m guessing she’s long in the tooth, possibly in her ’40s (hey, I’m just past the mid-’30s myself sooo…) and perhaps the sight of her will make you cry into your beer while you rock out to the sound of Purple Rain and Funky Cold Medina. So now you know where stars go when their light stops burning brightly. Reality TV or novelty clubs.
I guess it could be worse. I could be a washed-up celebrity seeking fame and fortune on, say, Dancing with the Stars. Instead I’m rapidly approaching middle age, living in Southern California 20 miles from the ocean in a townhouse that has a lovely view of the mountains. I’ve got me a good man and a baby on the way.
I get to interview film stars and television actors and directors… it’s a good gig.
And that invite to Shag? Despite it’s promise of no cover charges, no lines and ’80s tunes all night – it’s already in the deleted bin!
