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Beware of Mad Icon Disease
By Criss Bertling

John Lennon infuriated the faithful when he said the Beatles were more popular than Jesus, but he wasn’t the first to suggest that celebrity culture was taking the place of religion.

“In a secular society our need for ritualized idol worship can be displaced onto stars,” according to psychologist James Houran. “Nonreligious people tend to be more interested in celebrity culture and, for them, celebrity fills some of the same roles the church fills for believers, like the desire to admire the powerful and the drive to fit into a community of people with shared values.”

“Humans naturally copy techniques of high-status individuals,” according to Psychology Professor Francisco Gil-White. “It’s an attempt to get the same rewards….” Taken to extremes, the urge to copy can produce spectacles like the reality show “I Want a Famous Face.” As a result of extensive plastic surgery, ordinary people are transformed to look like their famous heroes.

Researchers believe that for many people in our media-saturated society, celebrities have taken the place of neighbors, relatives, friends and family. They feel that respect for family members has been replaced by worship of the famous. The emphasis is no longer on the value of experience but instead in knowing the 'secret' of success. Celebrities are seen as people who know that secret.

Studies now show that an innocent interest in a celebrity can turn into a debilitating mental illness. Celebrity Worship Syndrome (CSW), also called Mad Icon Disease, is milder than its schizophrenic cousin erotomania (the delusional belief that a celebrity is in love with you) but it is an illness in its own right. Sufferers are so obsessed with celebrities that their self esteem diminishes and they develop depression or anxiety. Celebrity worship becomes a substitution for real life.

Statistics indicate that as much as 1/3 of the US population is afflicted by CWS. Psychologists Lynn McCutcheon of DeVry University and James Houran of the Southern Illinois University School of Medicine conducted a study on this illness. Subjects were asked to rate statements such as, "I am obsessed by details of my favorite celebrity's life," "I consider my favorite celebrity to be my soulmate," and "If he/she asked me to do something illegal…I would…do it."

About 20 percent of respondents closely followed celebs in the media for entertainment-social reasons. They tend to be extroverts, social, lively, active and adventurous.

About 10 percent had developed an intense-personal attitude towards an idol, believing they had a special bond with the star - their celebrity worship becoming an addiction and their obsession more like religious worship. These people are often neurotic, tense, emotional and moody. When something happens to their favorite celebrity, they “…feel like it happened to me.”

At its most intense, celebrity worship is borderline-pathological, a condition found in one percent of the interviewees. These include celebrity stalkers and people who are willing to hurt themselves or others in the name of their idol, even to the point of death. These correlate with symptoms of psychosis, such as impulsive, antisocial and egocentric behavior.

Some well-known, extreme cases:

Ruth Tagg, age 35 - obsessed with a 76-year-old British comedian whose home she attempted to burn down.

Athena Rolando - broke into Brad Bitt’s LA home and slept in his bed with a book on witchcraft and a foot-long safety pin wrapped with ribbons.

Jonathan Norman - obsessed with director Steven Spielberg, was arrested outside Spielberg's house with duct tape, handcuffs and a utility knife.

Tina Marie Ledbetter – threatened to harm Michael J. Fox and kill his pregnant wife.

Robert Hoskins - scaled the walls of Madonna’s estate, leaving notes on her door threatening to slice her throat from ear to ear if she didn't marry him.

John Hinckley - obsessed with Jodie Foster, shot then President Ronald Reagan, claiming he did it to “impress Jodie.”

People tend to get interested in celebrities at times when they are looking for direction in life, especially in the teen years. That interest can develop into addiction at a time of crisis. Perhaps you know someone who seems to have an extraordinary fascination with a celebrity in a way that disrupts their life and interferes with real relationships. It can happen to anyone, even you. Be care to keep your focus on the One True God, the only God, the only One worthy of true worship.