Is it any coincidence that the countries where celebrity culture is most firmly entrenched also have the lowest social mobility, and wages for company executives that have risen exponentially? (“Questioning the haul of fame”, Friday magazine , May 5).
In America the most prominent routes out of poverty are through sport (the highest-paid baseball player is on a contract worth $252 million over 10 years), winning the lottery or surviving Simon Cowell’s barbs and becoming a Pop Idol. In celebrity-obsessed Britain we can read Heat, OK! or Hello! which contain endless photographs and gossip about Jade, Colleen and Chantelle.
These so-called “celebs” - famous for being famous - are the worst role models.
As a trainee, David Beckham used to practise free kicks for hours, before Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson dragged him off the training ground. But why “bovver” to do anything when you can become a millionaire simply through appearing on Big Brother?
Richard Knights
16 The Fairway, Liverpool
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