Aika Kanda: Rethinking Celebrity Privacy

Surprised by the differing opinions even among celebrities.

Since I was a child, I’ve seen celebrities appearing in wide shows and in weekly magazines. So, I imagined that if I ever entered the entertainment industry and became well-known, I would likely be chased by tabloids. I was somewhat prepared for that. I thought this was the case for all celebrities, but I was a bit surprised by the reality that many people, once in that position, felt that it was really unpleasant, probably because they had such a negative experience.

Additionally, I was surprised by the perspective in point ③, “It’s like having your material stolen.” If your private life is published in a weekly magazine first, it becomes harder to use it as a topic for talk shows. (I see!) On the other hand, I thought about whether there were celebrities who are still active at the forefront of the industry, with their private lives being the main subject of their talk material. But no, they’re all known for their skilled MCing and talking techniques. I couldn’t think of a single person like that.

Although it may not be convincing coming from someone like me, the person who shared this perspective with me also has very high talk skills. Even if certain private events were published first in a weekly magazine, they would still be able to do their job with zero damage to their content. Since I’m not in a position to directly express this to them, I silently thought to their backs as they left the studio after the recording, “You don’t have to worry about that!”

This time, I reflected on the opinions of the celebrities involved regarding their privacy. I wonder how the readers of FRIDAY, a magazine famous for reporting on celebrities’ private lives, would feel and think about all of this.

Aika Kanda / Born in 1980, Kanagawa Prefecture. After graduating from the Faculty of Science, Department of Mathematics, Gakushuin University, she joined NHK as an announcer in 2003. She left NHK in 2012 and became a freelance announcer. Since then, she has been active mainly in variety shows and is currently a regular main MC on the daytime program Poka Poka (Fuji TV).

★ Her first book, Where Does the Path of the Royal Road Lead?, a collection of this series, is now a best-seller!

From “FRIDAY”, December 27, 2024 issue.