They spend most of their lives in the spotlight, why must they do so after as well?

If there’s one thing the media simply cannot resist about celebrities, it is their deaths. Despite their fierce divorce battles, not-safe-for-work scandals and crazy partying antics cashing in as media gold, all it takes is for one of Hollywood’s elite to kick the bucket and all hell breaks loose.

There are countless examples of a good career gone bad, and suddenly, all is forgiven posthumously. It’s almost a guarantee that the day a prominent figure in the media dies, everything they’ve ever done is broadcast and the general public starts to “boohoo” as if they knew them personally.

I hate to sound morbid, but people die every day; there’s no reason for the often skewed, drawn-out publication of a well-known figure’s demise. No matter the cause of death, celebrities deserve the same amount of respect as any other person. On that note, I do realize there are many ways in which these stars are specially commemorated, usually in a very classy manner like a moment of silence during an awards ceremony. However, this will not make up for countless hours of discussion as well as the thousands of stories and rumors.

Drug abuse, severe medical conditions and old age are some of the most frequent causes of celebrity deaths. There are also the occasional freak accidents or murder-suicides that cause an absolute media frenzy. Anyone who’s anyone has heard of the suspicion of actor Gary Coleman’s wife as his murderer, very similar to the highly publicized doubts of others who preceded in death such as Heath Ledger, Michael Jackson and Brittney Murphy. These cases rarely get resolved in the way the media first reported it.

Let’s face it, investigative journalism has never been the paparazzi’s strong suit; if they can’t do it respectfully to a young and upcoming star, how in the world are they expected to do so when someone famous ends up six feet under? The fact of the matter is, tabloids give us what we want and, unfortunately, it’s more of the shocking, incessant details that the public craves, not an actual tribute to the years of hard work the person did.

Pop culture has become so obsessed that there are numerous websites out there documenting every detail of a celebrity’s demise. Some are even taking it a bit further by creating special countdowns and betting pools on who’s next to die. So where does it stop? We the public have collectively become a giant monster who lives off an unhealthy diet of stardom’s rise and fall and the media are only doing their job of further gorging what is demanded. It’s a vicious cycle and I don’t think it’ll ever break unless we start to come to terms with what’s really happening. Would you like it if you sweet Aunt Doris’ funeral were to turn into a red carpet event or someone she didn’t even know were to give her eulogy?

Think about it. If there’s anything we can learn from this flood of celebrity deaths, it’s that life really is too short. Simply put, don’t waste yours worrying about someone else’s.