Michael’s View:

Celebrities and their private jets are all the rage to bash right now. So you’re Julia Roberts, you drive a Prius, and then you get on a private jet and fly 4,000 miles to your destination. Should you have maybe taken a regular carrier like US Airways and helped conserve fuel? Absolutely. Are you a hypocrite and a terrible person? No, but there’s room for improvement.

And right there is today’s green bipolar disease. It’s so easy for all of us to preach about eco this and that, but in reality we all still have vices; we all still have areas we can’t quite back up with our talk. For those of us in the spotlight, however, working to at least get a message across and demonstrate some level of committment is better than doing nothing at all. You drive a Prius, you represent a company working to change fuel economy, you promote alternative energy, whatever. Every now and then, you’re going to get bashed for not following through 100% on your message. TMZ is blindly smashing these celebs without looking at the big picture of change these people actively seek to cause on a massive scale. We’ll admit that private planes are a big problem — but how about the celebs that do absolutely jack for the environment and still break all the rules? Attention must be paid — but the energy should be directed at those doing nothing rather than the ones actually attempting.

Rebecca’s View:

First of all, I’m going to assume that the points presented in the TMZ post are accurate, which may or may not be true. I’ve been slamming celebs myself this week on the same topic, and I wondered what would it be like for J. Lo to ride commercial? A commenter on TMZ writes, “I flew business class from Ireland to Chicago, and sat just in front of a star of far greater magnitude than any mentioned in the article…Paul Newman. He was not only gracious to all who said hello to him, but was generally not bothered by anyone.” Now, I’m not sure that I agree that Paul Newman is a start of greater magnitude…perhaps in talent…but I don’t run across a lot of photos of Paul Newman walking his dog and taking out his trash.

I agree with Michael in the fact that it is tough to be 100% green. It’s no easy task, and what little things each person can do really does make a difference. But I wouldn’t go so far as to imply that flying around the world in private jets is a “vice”. Peanut butter is a vice, not a fuel-guzzling, carbon emissions creating monster.

As a “green” celebrity, I think it’s your responsibility to ride commercial whenever possible. Georgie boy, a private jet from LA to Tokyo, are you kidding me? With multiple flights from multiple airlines heading to every destination across the globe, I almost can’t think of an instance when it wouldn’t be possible to ride with the rest of us.
It’s time for celebs that walk the walk for the environment (and drive the hybrid) to fly commercial.

Michael’s Response:

I agree that Clooney’s choice was outlandish. His rep said that he had little control over some of his transportation options day-to-day. While that may be true, you’d think a private jet flight from LA to Tokyo might appear a little large in the upcoming datebook. I just do not agree with TMZ’s tone of the article. It’s almost a “shoot first, then dig a little deeper” type of attack. Once again, while ‘Razzi is here to slam those that are going against the green, we’re also attempting to show both sides of the argument. I just feel like TMZ is saying, “these people are hypocrites so don’t bother listening ever again to anything they say.”

Rebecca’s Response:

Oh Michael, I can’t stay mad at you! It’s possible what you say is true. The reference that TMZ uses for Julia Roberts‘ private flight goes all the way back to My Best Friend’s Wedding (1997). With Clooney there also is no mention of timing of that flight. J. Lo…well, I just reported on that this week, so I think that one is reasonable. (Though I have to admit, I didn’t know that J was a Prius driving treehugger, and have never heard her try to “preach” the green gospel.) Michael, I guess your point is that TMZ didn’t fabricate facts, but might have manipulated them to create a story…and through this story, they are discrediting people that, as far as ecorazzi is concerned, are do-gooders.

I’ll leave it at this: Julia, George, Brad, & Leo, you are still official ecorazziers, but if we see more of this private jet riding in the future, we’re going to need to have a talk. Jennifer, the jury is still out on you.

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About Michael dEstries

Michael has been blogging since 2005 on issues such as sustainability, renewable energy, philanthropy, and healthy living. He regularly contributes to a slew of publications, as well as consulting with companies looking to make an impact using the web and social media. He lives in Ithaca, NY with his family on an apple farm.

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