[andrew r]

From smh.au.com via the Sun Herald:

Christine Sams, January 14, 2008

Christina Ricci might have enjoyed a romantic break with Kick Gurry in Sydney over the festive season, but she was still aware of the goings-on in Hollywood, particularly in relation to troubled stars, including Britney Spears and Lindsay Lohan.

Ricci, 27, expressed sympathy for Spears and Co, saying the media scrutiny surrounding their private lives was too much.

"I really think the scrutiny is what makes these girls go to the extremes they go to," Ricci said.

"People break up or have divorces and then realise they go a little crazy, usually for about a year. But if you have somebody documenting it the whole time and people judging it, it might make it worse - it might lead to other dangerous things.

"I think that's something to consider when people think about the current 'train wrecks'. What they're going through at the core is something we all go through, but the scrutiny of it, the magnitude - the world stage that they're on - I think it's just making it worse."

Ricci says when she was younger, partying with other well-known stars, there was noticeably less intrusion.

"The thing that was different [when I was younger] was that we didn't have paparazzi following us to clubs," Ricci said. "We got to go to parties all over and nobody would take pictures.

"You could do something really outrageous and it might end up in a gossip column, but there weren't photos. That's instead of waking up the next day and knowing the entire world is waking up and seeing pictures."

Ricci said the shame of being seen that way in public perpetuated the problems experienced by many stars. "That kind of shame ... you're embarrassed, then you're ashamed, then that leads to more abuse, more drinking and more self-destructive behaviour," she said.

Ricci, who stars in the film Penelope, due out later this year, said she was determined to make films that helped women and young girls feel better about themselves.

I guess it's Christina saying how the media interest has now changed, more than her supporting Britney. I'll post the pic up in another thread.

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