Snaps to you Kathy Griffin and Patricia Heaton
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I like it when a celebrity shares some inside information, but only if it’s something most of the general public can relate to. I’m not feeling LeAnn Rimes’ pain because everyone thinks she’s anorexic.
But I digress. I can only think of two celebrities who’ve come clean with some information that I think is useful.
Kathy Griffin
You’ve probably seen the sharp-tongued redhead on Bravo but if not, she’s a comedian who relentlessly skewers A-list stars. I do cringe as I laugh because she does decimate them but, apparently, that doesn’t stop me from watching.
Anyway, she’s had her fair share of plastic surgery that she openly admits to. Right there she gains a lot of credibility with me. She’s honest about it instead of saying she just has good genes.
And while I’m on my soapbox, I also appreciated her stand-up bit about celebrities and dieting. You know the drill, most celebrities will say they eat whatever they want and never gain weight since they “just have good genes.”
Kathy calls bullshit on that and so do I. Her own method of dieting goes like this — frustration and starvation. She’s frequently quoted as saying, “I’m hungry all the time and I’m cranky.” Finally, some honesty in Hollywood.
Regardless, she’s tangled with liposuction in the past and it did not go well for her. She had some nasty complications that included a bad infection and a week-long catheter. And after she recovered she said she didn’t see any difference in her body!
What impressed me was that she didn’t go on a crusade to stop liposuction. She just pointed out that every procedure has risks and then, years later, underwent lipo again with good results. I’m positive I wouldn’t have gone through that again but I admire her for telling it like it is.
Patricia Heaton
The only other person who’s spoke sincerely, in my opinion, is Patricia Heaton. She played Ray’s wife on “Everybody Loves Raymond.” On the show her character had three kids that included a set of twins. In reality she had four kids via four C-sections and then she had a tummy tuck and a breast reduction. (It’s crazy to hear about a breast reduction in California, isn’t it?) 
You know why she did it? This is what she told People Magazine: “Vanity. I mean it. Vanity.”
Bravo, Patricia Heaton! You get a one-woman standing ovation. She owns it, gingah. She didn’t like how her body looked and so she made a change. She did not tell the world that she did 1,000 crunches every day for three months to get a flat stomach.
Total side note: I just thought of this, how much does a tummy tuck cost? Unless your doctor is willing to massage the insurance forms, all of these procedures have to be deemed cosmetic and optional. As far as I know, there’s no insurance company that pays out based on vanity.
I know. These are celebrities with tons of disposable income. Buying cheek implants is probably like upsizing that McDonald’s Extra Value Meal.
So tell me, are there any celebrities out there whose honesty you admire?
I agree with you! I love honesty especially coming out of the plastic dolls who live in Hollywood. Usually they are making the rest of the world feel bad and insecure.
Honesty is one of the only things I can say I admire about Kathy. Not a fan.
I was not a fan of Patricia Heaton when she was on Raymond but I LOVE her on The Middle.
I am not a fan of Joan Rivers but she is honest about her work. Most housewives on those horrible shows are honest about their work. I can only assume they do the show in order to pay for their work. It certainly isn’t to prove to the world they are worthwhile human beings.
I think Jamie Lee Curtis is pretty honest about her body in terms of this is how she looks and about adoption/infertility. I have a list of celebs who are honest about infertility which is another subject they like to lie about. I’m sorry but all these spontaneous twins don’t fool me. In that case, I admire Marcia Cross, Emma Thompson and Guiliana Rancic.
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Oy, is Joan Rivers still getting plastic surgery? She was doing okay up to a certain point and then she passed that point. Re: the Housewives now that you mention it there’s only one woman I can think of who looked like a crazy mess (on those shows) and she was the mother of one of the chicks in Miami. Yikes.
I forgot about Jamie Lee; I do like her and her honesty. I think she and I could be friends.
I may be in the minority here….well, I may be the only one!
I prefer the honesty of celebrities that make the most of what God gave them and grow older gracefully. I can’t stand women (and men) who are continually striving to look like they did when they were young. WE GET OLD. That’s the way of the world. Look at Judy Dench, Helen Mirren, to name just two, though I’m sure there are many more. They actually look like normal, mature human beings :)
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It is sort of a rarity to see a celebrity who just allows nature do its thing. That’s a crazy statement right there, isn’t it? Living in Hollywood and allowing your body to age. Who’d a thunk it?
I like how Kathy refers to it as having “dental work.” IAnd how she jokes about being hungry. But that really isn’t the truth for everyone. My mom gained weight for awhile, but now that’s she’s retired she’s back to her normal size six which requires very little effort on her part. I actually get onto her and tell her to eat more because we have osteoporosis in our family something awful.
I’ve heard Victoria Beckham be very honest. It was a Barbara Walters interview and she asked Mrs. Becks if she just ever ate a bunch of carbs or a cookie every once in awhile. Her response was simply, “No.”
Boob jobs start around 7 depending on the technique and the implants. Tummy tucks are gruesome surgeries so I think they are around 15. Plastic surgery is only covered by insurance if the skin is somehow causing other health problems. For example, a friend’s breast reduction was only covered if she went down two cup sizes.
I’ve read Joan Rover’s book about plastic surgery. It was hilarious.
Damn your mother and her superior genes! I really wish I was one of those people who just had a fast metabolism, but I’m not so I must despise those who do. Vickie seems so snobby, but I absolutely believe that she never eats a cookie. Ever. That’s some major will power.
I’ll have to read Joan’s book; she definitely took a wrong turn somewhere in that plastic surgery journey of hers.
Her metabolism/one of those people that can’t sit still is part of it, but she just doesn’t eat much. I think it’s more the getting full hormone. She likes to eat (I mean, we’re Southern) but I swear I’ve never seen her eat more than two pieces of pizza.
She says she prefers to drink her calories.
I don’t think I have anyone to nominate here. I just want some honesty regarding all the celebrities who gain a half-ton when they are pregnant with triplets and then slim down to skeletal proportions within weeks, all set for that bikini photo shoot.
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Yeppers. Those are the chicks who *should* say, “It was brutal and I felt the intense judgment of the media; that’s why I had to channel my inner anorexic so I could do that photo shoot.”
Hola CG,
Kathy Griffin has that bit of snark that I love so much. After undergoing the botch Lipo I doubt I’d go back for round two but I guess that proves just how much looks truly matter in this world. Not that she’s a 10 due to weight loss but she does look a lot better than the previous version of herself.
And that last point is the reason why I would never have any type of cosmetic surgery unless it was medically necessary i.e. insurance companies do pay for breast reductions when the boulders cause undue stress on the back. Granted I am overall pretty happy with the look God and my parents combined genetics gave me and don’t fully understand someone’s apprehension to their own face and/or body. I would never want to look in the mirror and not recognize the person looking back. Seems scary. No offense to anyone who’s partied with the knife but losing weight and changing your face doesn’t change who you are. If you’re unhappy with that fat ugly person you’ll probably be unhappy with the skinny marginally attractive person, you know relatively speaking….my humble opinion.
But to the point, for whatever reason I believe celebrities when they go into rehab. I will be honest with you I envision all celebrities snorting coke or abusing alcohol. Let me side note that prior comment with I believe that they are addicted to drugs not necessarily the elaborate back stories they conjure for the reasons why they’re addicted.
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I’m definitely afraid of surgery because of the potential complications. But I totally agree with your analysis on the why behind cosmetic surgery. I’ve seen tons of Discovery Health shows (before Oprah jacked up everything and took them away) that dealt with that aspect.
Some people felt great after but a lot had a high and then felt low again. And if they could afford it they had more surgery to recapture the high.
That’s funny about rehab. I always feel like that’s a PR move since no one seems to stay there for any length of time and no one seems to benefit from it.
I love Kathy Griffin. She’s hilarious and brutally honest. And I am PRO cosmetic surgery – when it’s done THE RIGHT WAY. And a perfect example of that is Patricia Heaton. Standing ovation for her, indeed.
PS: A tummy tuck can cost anywhere from $10,000 and UP. And I should know, because I had one in 1997.
meleah rebeccah recently posted..Would You Ever Consider Cosmetic Surgery?
I think it’s groovy for other people. As noted, I’m a wuss and not a risk-taker at all. It’s crazy that there are so few celebrities who can be labeled as an example of surgery gone right.
Ugh, I’d be so devastated if I had something done on my face and it went wrong.
I love that these ladies are telling the truth. It’s hard enough being a woman without other women making it look like it’s unnaturally easy! Yesterday, I heard someone say that most of us compare our behind the scenes with other’s highlight reels, We look in the mirror and wonder why we don’t look like women who have been styled, professionally made up and airbrushed to boot! So yay for the few who are willing to lift the curtain just a little!
:-)
Traci
startraci recently posted..Sundays in My City #20 — Wildflowers and Wisdom
No joke! I often wonder why women are so competitive; does it just boil down to insecurity? Why aren’t men that insecure?
I love that analogy!
I love that when Meryl Streep won her last award, she got caught saying “fuck” into the microphone. And when Oprah did that show without any makeup on. And brought out her team — wardrobe people, hair stylists, makeup artists — to demonstrate how much it takes for her her to look as she does when she’s on screen. I applauded that in a big way.
The quote that killed me was Gwynneth Paltrow’s. I love her, but in an article she said, “I never put junk food into my body. I can’t see the benefit. It certainly won’t make me feel healthier.” I’m sure my quote’s a little off, but you get the idea. NEVER?? No BENEFIT?? Get a grip, please!
Yeah, Gwynnie. She’s not making too many friends out there with her GOOP site, is she? I do like her, but I never read what she says. Maybe so I’ll continue to like her.
And David Sedaris. On NPR he was asked, how much of your stories is true? He answered, “Enough.”
Nice! I’ll have to file that one for future reference if I ever get off my ass and write something worth publishing.
I work out with publicists and agents so I hear the stories about the celebrities and laugh. The pro athletes are usually “fairly” honest about not having work done.
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Hey Jack — welcome to the VIP Lounge! I haven’t seen you ’round these parts before.
Man, I’d love to be a fly on that wall but since I live just outside of Detroit and workout at the Y there’s little chance of that happening. Ever.
I bet celebrities can write off cosmetic surgery as a “business expense” on their tax forms, and I’m not so sure I’m against that.
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You’re probably right. Kathy Griffin did say, in one of her interviews, that keeping up her appearance really is a necessity out in Hollywood and I do believe that.
I’m very fond of Helen Mirrin, and I’d totally do her if I wasn’t married. I also like Tom Arnold for his honesty, but I wouldn’t do him even if I was single.
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