The Secret Social Superpower: Why Gossip Is Essential to Human Bonding

The appeal of celebrity gossip is a specialized extension of these fundamental motives. Public figures, though absent from the immediate social group, serve as exaggerated proxies for real-life individuals. Their high-stakes lives, lavish successes, and public failures provide rich material for social comparison and moral judgment without the immediate social risk of gossiping about an acquaintance. Their stories allow the public to collectively define and reinforce societal values and norms on a grand scale.