Document Type

Book Chapter

Publication Details

Ommundsen, W. 2007, 'From the altar to the market-place and back again: understanding literary celebrity', in S. Holmes & S. Redmond (eds), Stardom and Celebrity, Sage Publications Ltd, London.

Abstract

For over two weeks in April 2004, the Melbourne Age carried daily instalments of the latest sex scandal surrounding soccer super-star David Beckham: revelations of affairs with a former employee as well as with an Australian model; the reaction of his equally famous wife, Victoria; the views of a great many 'close' associates of the various parties; and speculations by celebrity-watchers. One day, however, the Beckham spot was given over to another story: 'Rushdie Takes Bride No.4 in Hindi Wedding'. The main point of interest here was the rumour that the actress bride, Padma Lakshmi, would defy Hindi tradition by wearing a white sari. These rumours turned out to be unfounded, as 'the girl from south India bowed to 5000 years of tradition and dressed in dazzling purple' (The Age 2000: 7). There was a photo of the couple, both dressed in cream, and an acknowledgement of their age difference (of 25 years). The Rushdie affair was mentioned in a humorous aside: 'At one point, Rushdie knelt - a posture that even the late Ayatollah Khomeini was unable to achieve with his 1989 fatwa after the publication of The Satanic Verses' (The Age 2000: 7).

ANZSRC / FoR Code

2005 LITERARY STUDIES

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