Why Kristen Stewart's public apology is far more disturbing than her (and Rupert Sanders's) apparent transgression.

It could be argued that director Rupert Sanders and actress Kristen Stewart owe an apology to a handful of people.  Obviously they are in respective deep trouble with Robert Pattinson and Liberty Ross.  They certainly owe an apology to Saunders's two children, and perhaps some kind of apology to certain studio executives at Universal and Summit/Lionsgate, since their allegedly adulterous actions will certainly have some kind of impact on the respect fortunes of Snow White and the Huntsman (with a sequel now in doubt) and Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn part II (which may well increase in interest ala Mr. and Mrs. Smith).  But other than that, neither of these people owe any of us a damn thing.  I am less troubled by the apparent adultery (or attempted adultery?) than I am by Kristen Stewart's public apology, seemingly specifically intended for Mr. Pattinson but released out into the open for all to see as a kind of public mea culpa.  I don't blame Ms. Stewart for this instant press release so much as I blame a media/popular culture that demanded a public apology for an inherently private indiscretion.

In an earlier time, perhaps before TMZ and the utter explosion of the gossip/tabloid industry, this private indiscretion may have remained mostly private.  Oh sure, the 'cheating' couple may have been found out by interested parties, but other than the scorned 'victims', it wouldn't have been anyone else's' business.  But in today's hyperactive pop culture, not only is Stewart and Sanders' illicit hookup(s) public knowledge, but the parties, purely by virtue of being a well-known entertainer and a filmmaker, are now held accountable on a public stage.  Stewart will now be judged not just by those to whom she is directly accountable, but also to the moral wags of society, never-mind that she has forever fought the idea of being a role model purely due to appearing in a popular franchise.  Her personal problem is now not only public business but so acceptably public that the immediate recourse is a public apology.  It's none of my damn business what Kristen Stewart and/or Rupert Sanders do in their private life, nor is it any of my business how Robert Pattinson and/or Liberty Ross choose to react to this revelation.  But in this current media-saturated age, not only our the private indiscretions of celebrities fodder for public consumption, but the celebrities in question are absolutely expected to offer a public reaction as well.

I have obvious moral qualms with the story on principle (a 41-year old married father of two hooking up with a 22 year old woman isn't exactly the pinnacle of morality).  And I have genuine annoyance with the idea of Rupert Sanders being given $175 million and a shiny new franchise despite no films or television under his belt and not only delivering a sub-par product but jeopardizing the very franchise he was entrusted with maintaining due to carnal yearnings. Even though the plan was always to ditch Snow White and focus on Chris Hemsworth's Huntsman, such a move would now be a PR disaster, basically firing the 'other woman' (who was the main financial draw for the first film's success) while keeping the equally culpable male director on-board for the sequel.  But aside from my personal inside-baseball/studio politics take, this really isn't my business.  We have a talented actress (along with, in my opinion, a less talented director), who never wanted the blinding limelight of tabloid celebrity (the vast majority of her films are little-seen indies), not only unwillingly forced to make her personal life utterly public, but now being forced, by virtue of our current 'everything is about ME too!' culture, to publicly apologize for a what appears to be a momentary private transgression as if we readers of US Weekly or viewers of TMZ are personally affected.  

This incident, beyond whether or not said knowledge affects our willingness to buy a ticket to future projects involving either party, is not my damn business nor is it yours.  Whatever my personal feelings towards the parties happen to be, I am far more unnerved by a current tabloid culture that demanded that Kristen Stewart apologize not just to the scorned parties but to you and me.  We have no legal standing in this matter, nor do we have any standing upon which to claim real or emotional damages.  In short, our culture has no right insisting that Kristen Stewart apologize to us.  And the fact that she believed otherwise says something quite troubling about us.            

Scott Mendelson