The internet has been abuzz since yesterday, when Lindsay Lohan posted a message on her Twitter account saying ""Its official. Pregnant..." That tweet has since been deleted but in the 12 hours it took for her to confirm that she is not pregnant by tweeting, "April Fools. Where's everyone's sense of humor?," internet news and celebrity gossip sites were filled with speculation, comments, and reaction. MSN Now summed up many people's reaction with the headline "Lindsay Lohan says she's pregnant, world hopes it's April Fools' joke".
Most people assumed that the tweet was a joke, especially since Lindsay Lohan has been seen lately in Brazil partying hard and sporting both a bikini and a nasty set of bruises, before she returns to the United States for a 90-day stint in yet another court-ordered rehab facility. Responses on social media varied from comments that it had to be a prank to anger and outrage, to jokes that "at least now I won't be the worst parent out there", a sentiment repeated by many people on Twitter and in blog and news story comments.
That last statement may be part of the answer to the question, Why do we even care about celebrity pregnancies? The pop culture obsession with celebrities has been studied by sociologists and speculated on in blogs and gossip columns, and it seems to be growing in regards to celebrity pregnancies, but why?
In a 2012 Time magazine interview, Meredith Small, professor of anthropology at Cornell University, blames the fixation with celebrity pregnancies on our evolutionary drive to be care about babies,
“Emotionally, psychologically, we are evolutionary designed to respond to the look and feel of babies, and hearing about them,” says Small. “It’s so ingrained in our genes that it’s automatic.”
On the other hand, Long Island, N.Y. psychologist Abby Aronowitz, PhD's warnings in a WebMD feature article about the culture of celebrity worship and obsessive fandom sound more relevant to Lindsay Lohan,
"Prior to Marilyn Monroe, a star's life was hidden from the public. But now, instead of a glossy ideal, we see celebrity's ugly messes, including their drug and alcohol abuse, which, for many who admire these people, translates into a very dangerous message," says Aronowitz.
For those who don't admire certain celebrities but can't seem to look away from the train wrecks of their lives, the pregnancy fascination may be two-fold. We may follow them out of concern for their baby and for the child's health and well-being, and also because it makes us feel better about ourselves. After all, if you're the type of mom who means well but sometimes feels like your parenting is a little slack, it's always nice to be able to say to yourself, "Well, at least I'm not Lindsay Lohan".
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