The Lure Of Fame

Back in February, Newsweek writer Jonathan Darman posted an on-line article entitled The Quiet Dignity of Rielle Hunter. In it, he pointed out that although everyone from Elizabeth Edwards to Andrew Young to Rielle's friend Pigeon O'Brien had been talking publicly about her, Rielle herself had remained silent and out of the limelight since the scandal broke in August, 2008. At the time, I wondered if her child support financial agreement with John Edwards included some kind of I-will-not-talk-to-the-press clause, but whatever the reason for her silence, it struck me as the right thing to do, not only for her own dignity but also to protect the privacy of her daughter. That all changed a few weeks later when the GQ article came out, accompanied by pictures of Rielle posing suggestively in bed in her underwear.

Reaction to the article, and in particular to the pictures, was pretty negative, which caused Rielle to call Barbara Walters and complain that she didn't think they'd actually publish the underwear pictures, and now, in an effort to set everyone straight on who she really is, Rielle is talking to Oprah. The interview is scheduled to be shown on Thursday and yes, my VCR is already set to record it. This puts me in the position of simultaneously snarking on someone for going on television to spill their guts at the same time I'm making sure I don't miss a word of it.

Snarkiness aside, I really am curious about what Rielle hopes to accomplish by doing this second interview. The GQ story didn't exactly enhance her reputation, but instead of retreating back into her dignified silence, she seems to think that if she just keeps talking eventually everyone will understand. The fact that that's not likely to happen is only part of the reason why I think the Oprah interview is a mistake. I also think she's seriously misunderstanding how fame and the media really work. Oprah's running the interview on the first day of the May sweeps period, which tells you everything you need to know about what's in this for Oprah. As far as what's in it for Rielle, who knows.