Get off Christina's back!

Last week, breast cancer survivor Christina was photographed puffing on a cigarette on a street, which compelled bloggers and NY papers to reprimand her. But the question is... do these news outlets have a right to criticize her behavior? Personally, I say no. I'm not a proponent of smoking, but for these news outlets to ignore that smoking is a major part of the HW culture and that Christina probably started this habit when she was really young, it's ridiculous to assume that Christina could quit so easily.

And to be quite frank, Christina did not sign up to be the face of cancer. It's safe to assume that if the National Enquirer hadn't violate her privacy and exaggerated how grave her condition was, she probably would've gotten treatment on the QT. It was likely that she would've tried to go through this in a way similar to her mother. Maybe she would've disclose her condition when she was in a better place mentally and emotionally, but she really wasn't given a chance.

Christina has been the latest victim of the media turning against a celebrity for not doing what what pundits recommend. Patrick Swayze got a small measure of this treatment when the National Enquirer published pics of him smoking; fortunately for him, it died down quickly. But the most glaring example of this phenomenon is Rihanna. She was physically attacked in private and yet, her attack became a media free-for-all. Showbiz Tonight had a revolving door of female entertainment 'journalists', therapists, and attorneys practically silk-screening domestic T-shirts on her behalf. And when she did the unthinkable, the machine shifted and they called in the big gun, Oprah, to add her two cents.

Like smoking, taking back a man capable of such brutality is not a good idea, but neither is crowding a person who is going through a personal trauma for some sort of personal/professional payday. From February to now, a lot of people got a lot of television face time critiquing what frightened, emotionally compromised people should do. I hope that Christina doesn't enter their crosshairs.