"That's how she rolls. Just when you least expect it, Mariska throws you a curve. Over the years, I've come to expect nothing less from the hardest working—and needless to say, hottest—perp-buster on TV." That's from the "blog" of T.V. star Mariska Hargitay, which is written solely by people who are not Mariska Hargitay (but who may know her!). "Preorder your 'XO, M' t-shirts!" reads another "blog" post. It turns out that a lot of celebrity blogs aren't blogs at all, but just a collection of markedly amateurish press releases. But! At the other end of the spectrum, some celebrity blogs are deeply personal, like Al Roker's. He recently wrote a moving eulogy of his mom there! Its gravity is only slightly undermined by the cartoon of Al in a prop plane buzzing around the screen. So what else do famous people do with their personal webjournals? Our Intern Mary applied her analytical tools to the most recent posts on 48 of these sites and came up with some findings.
METHODOLOGY: We started with this list of 66 blogging celebrities, added a few faves, eliminated the Huffington Post bloggers, and excluded presidential contenders, because that shit is bananas. Here's the raw data:
- David Beckham - recent soccer game (self promo)
- Zach Braff - movies and playlists
- Mark Cuban - dancing
- No Doubt - recent recordings (self promo)
- Moby - indecipherable poetry
- Meredith Vieira - getting a mammogram
- Fred Durst - indecipherable rant
- Barbra Streisand - Rush Limbaugh - PR release
- Jeff Bridges - recent casting (honorable mention for rad site design)
- John Mayer - OJ Simpson watch
- Rosie O'Donnell - "feel alright" video
- Margaret Cho - Rosie O'Donnell
- Dave Barry - Fun pets
- Jamie Oliver - pubs
- William Shatner - ShatnerVision
- Alyssa Milano - Upcoming gigs
- Dave Navarro - The fastest Asian-American in the world
- Julia Sweeney -long-winded narrative of regular events
- Donald Trump - purely self promo
- Tom Green - video: hiding in a suitcase
- Kevin Smith - long-winded narrative of regular events
- Mariska Hargitay - purely self promo
- David Byrne - sexual selection and creativity
- Curt Schilling - purely self promo
- Anna Kournikova - purely self promo
- Roseanne - Karen Finley (awesome)
- Kanye West - the "illest" shoe award
- Billy Morrison - the Bahamas
- Jason Mraz - whining about jetlag
- Kathy Griffin - Catholic Chuch
- MC Hammer - "Look University"
- Pamela Anderson - purely self promo
- Al Roker - eulogy to mother
- Brian Williams - purely self promo (N.B.: Usually not self promo, actually quite good, we just caught him on an off moment)
- The Dixie Chicks - purely self promo
- Anderson Cooper - the GOP (written by minion)
- Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen - purely self promo
- Victoria Beckham - purely self promo
- Bare Naked Ladies - photo of a ship
- Deepak Chopra - genetics
- Michael Moore - purely self promo
- Tommy Lasorda - baseball
- David Duchovny - purely self promo
- Jackie Chan - purely self promo
- Kirstie Alley - weight loss
- Neil Gaiman - writing
- Ru Paul - "THIS SHIT IS BANANAS!" (bonus points: old school blogger!)
- Mark Hoppus - purely self promo








Comments
MAJOR oversight: [www.melaniegriffith.com]
I want to answer the explicit question here- nothing. Celebrities blog about nothing.
I had Shatner Vision. Everything had four stars, and no one would tell me their names.
@leMaldeTete: The exclusion of Melanie Griffith from ANYTHING can NEVER be considered an "oversight." It is called "a good decision".
@leMaldeTete: Thanks for the heads up about Melanie Griffith. I'd wondered how she'll communicate now that her mouth is frozen.
Wait, what? Ru is blogging Stefani's trademarked phrase. Reciprocate, Gwen! I expect a post on "Work it, girl," stat.
i'm still waiting for AC to blog about his Sesame Street and Conan adventures.
@TheHonJudgeSmails: Have you been to Avalon?
I'm loving that "photo of a ship" is a category. It would be hard to chart my love for Intern Mary.
@leMaldeTete: Naturally. It's where I go when I need to "meditate" on "world peace".
The Zach Braff blog makes me want to bludgeon everyone in my path.
rosie's blog
is
probably
the worst
have you ever
seen
a dog, or
a seal
who looks sad?
exactly.
You forgot Blair, Intern Mary, but I still want to buy you a drink!
[www.lisawhelchel.com]
"Coffee talk" my ass, it's holy jesus talk.
@TheHonJudgeSmails: Goddess bless.
what we blog about when we blog about love
@lkate78: Are you sure it's the blog - and not the Braffmeister himself - that induces you bludgeon?
BTdubs, awesome Gibbler avatar.
Kevin Smith's blog isn't too bad. At least he admits his ramblings are long-winded and inconsequential - it's called "My Boring-Ass Life". Truer words? Never spoken.
@leMaldeTete: May She keep and protect you.
@TheHonJudgeSmails: to bludgeon!!!
RuPaul has been blogging forever, and his blog is often hilarious as well as bitchy. Imagine that from a drag queen.
On another note, I sure dig me a Gawker pie chart.
It's true! I was a hot mess until I found the fill-in-the-blanks-letter-to-my-inner-self, so helpfully provided by Melanie Griffith on her blog! Now, all my problems are solved. Thanks, Melanie!
Dear Inner Self,
If it is your will, please reveal to me in a dream tonight the positive way to (insert problem here) in order to become closer to you.
With love and respect,
(Insert your name)
Jamie Oliver is one of my all-time favorite celebrity chefs. Mostly because of his hair. Look what he has to say on his blog about his friend's pub!
"A big shout out to Aaron at The Cock at Beazley End! Can you believe that the pub turned 1 on the 10th of October? ...With Christmas being just around the corner check out the site for Aaron's Christmas menu and also keep the Cock in mind if you are planning any special Christmas parties."
Special Christmas parties, indeed!
When I first saw the chart, I wanted to know who blogged about "pubes." But then I saw it was actually "pubs," which sounds a lot less interesting.
I enjoy David Byrne's egghead blog, even if he does shade into Being "That Guy" sometimes. You know That Guy.
And yes, I know That Guy is just trying to be David Byrne without earning the right or being generally affable. But still.
@MisterHippity: ZOMG mee 2
@CodePink: During Christmas parties, my cock (not to be confused with My Cock) is always at the top of my list. And all the ladies are encouraged to check it at least twice.
Isn't the very existence of a blog shameless self-promotion in and of itself?
@CodePink: I hope the C*ck is decorated with glittery balls.
Check out Roseanne's video plea to "Draft Al Gore." You'll have to endure scintillating political commentary that includes "you know, they ran Al Gore out of town, you know, on a rail," but you'll get to see a shrunken, almost chastened Roseanne Barr. When did she become a Munchkin?
@CodePink: I am certainly putting Jamie Oliver's cock on every holiday menu of mine.
@Tiny Banquet Committee: I need an insulin shot after reading Whelchel's syrupy Jesus 'n Scrapbooks blog. And her husband's FUG.
@Queen of the Passive Aggressives:
Deck the balls!
@CodePink: Cum they told me...
@LolCait: There you are! Where've you been all morning? I was ready to call the New York's Finest and file a missing person's report.
@LolCait: This
is how
you think
when
anti-depressants
limit your rant
to how
much you can
remember
of your rant.
I just spent more than an hour on Jeff Bridges' site. I think I'm a little in love with him now.
I remember being deeply and inexplicably charmed the one time I went to Bruce Willis' blog and found his detailed recipe for the best pancakes ever.
I thought "blog" was internetese for "shameless self-promotion."
I hope the 2% of photos of a ship were mega-yachts, otherwise it's just too blasé.
@picardia: the yippee ki yay mother fuckin flapjacks? yum. yes.
@ehkca: I know, right? I had no idea that the cuter Bridges was all that. Does he really handwrite his posts? That's the sweetest thing ever.
@MisterHippity: @iplaudius: Me3, Me3!!
Tommy Lasorda has also blogged about how he didn't like it when a mascot (the Phillie Phanatic) beat up a dummy in a Dodgers uniform, so he went out and slammed the Phanatic to the ground. Good stuff.
Will somebody please, please tell me why all of Valerie Bertinelli's Jenny Craig blog posts arrive with a date that's a good six weeks prior to the posting date?
[www.jennycraig.com]
I mean, does it take THAT LONG to edit them? Do they have to be translated from Schneiderese or something?
And I'm not the only one who keeps tuning in to Val's posts in a desperate bid for some sort of closure regarding her split with Eddie, am I?
Oh, and you must've caught Julia Sweeney on an off day. Usually she's flying the atheist flag, and boy is she pissed. LOVE. HER.
What celebs blog about — GawkerLohan's new boy airs his dirty laundry on MySpace — D-ListedPrince William scores!
I actually wrote my doctoral dissertation back in 2004 on celebrity-run blogs. Yep. You can get a phd in this stuff :)
I'm baffled by what sort of "upcoming gigs" Alyssa Milano might have, but I'm afraid to look.
@ehkca: oh agreed, i spent a good amount of time on his site today. the fact that he seems genuinely EXCITED about "getting a gig" is so refreshing. it's like he actually LIKES to act. love him.
Great piece but I really wish you would have credited the original source, Celebrity Cowboy's 66 Celebrities that Blog. [www.celebritycowboy.com]
@DebNg: I see that you did. I apologize.
@LolCait:
Rosie
your poetry
makes want
to
kill
again
And don't forget Star Trek actor Wil Wheaton --
his entries would fall under Writing...
[wilwheaton.typepad.com]
and Trent Reznor has a blog too --
I imagine his is self-promotional for music, though he has been known to go on a good rant now and then...
[www.nin.com]
I knew it! As soon as I saw "Illest Shoe Award," I was all, that's my Kanye. And it was.
Comment on this post
Reply by EmailLogin with your username and password below. Or comment on this post via email.
Forgot your username or password? New User?