“Ray J,” (William Raymond Norwood Jr.) is not only a singer and songwriter but apparently also an actor! His new hit reality series For the Love of Ray J features a large group of beautiful women competing for his “love.” Each week one woman is sent home and off the show. The group of women becomes smaller and Ray J becomes closer to finding “the one.” Watch the introduction of the show and see that Ray J discloses that he has had, his share of fun and relationships with ALL sorts of women, and NOW he is ready to settle down with only one. There are a couple of things I’d like to point out about this show. One is the power that Ray J seems to have over these women, both physically and emotionally. Secondly, apart from its strong sexual content and provocative nature, I’d like to analyze the reasons behind the show’s popularity.
A question I would like to present is: Would any of us know anything about Ray J’s hit series, had his sex tape with Kim Kardashian never been released first? My answer would be no. Ellis Cashmore in his text Celebrity Culture discusses the good and bad gossip that impacts celebrity status and popularity. Cashmore highlights certain celebrities such as Paris Hilton and Hugh Grant who, after being scrutinized in tabloids about each of their scandals, rocketed to fame. Although Hilton and Grant may have attracted negative attention for their actions and were condemned for it, they came out of the mess even bigger stars. Cashmore reiterates the point that more times than not, negative attention is better. After her sex tape scandal, Hilton was offered jobs left and right. Prior to this, she was only a heiress to the Hilton fortune! I don’t even remember seeing her in a magazine or knowing who she even was!
Ray J’s fame further supports Cashmore’s arguments. After Ray J and Kim Kardashian ‘s sex tape was released and circulating in the media in 2007, his popularity sky rocketed. Prior to this, Ray J could barely be considered a well known R&B singer. Most of his albums proved to be duds. However following the sex tape, two seasons of his reality show “For the Love of Ray J” have become one of VH1’s top shows. Now dozens of women are competing for his “undivided” attention
That brings me to my next point. If you were to ask my personal opinion about these women I would tell you the're pathetic. The things that they will do just to get a hug, or a kiss from Ray J, is astounding. All of the sudden Ray J is a sex Go
d in bed, and women seem to be crawling on their hands and knees for it. What is interesting is that the show can’t be filmed over more than just a few month time span, however all of the women featured are madly in love with him, and they claim this love is real. At the end of each episode, when Ray J calls each contestant up to the stand to either receive a wine glass (indicating they’ve passed one round of elimination), he asks “ Are you here for the Love of Ray?” and the contestants will reply with a variety of different forms of “Yes.” What it most important to point out is the power that Ray J has over these women. They will literally do anything for him: spitting on other contestants, fist fighting, backstabbing, or lying; whatever it takes.
What is this magnificent power that celebrities such as Ray J have on people, that makes them throw any type of morality, out of the window? Money and fame. I think we can all agree that most likely, the majority of the women (if not all of the) are not there because they truly love Ray J for “who he is” but rather love his status and money.
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