Column: The celebrity spotlight, brighter than ever, still shines on Tiger Woods

Chicago Tribune

13-05-2025

The conversation, one recent night at a cozy west suburban restaurant, turned surprisingly quickly from the new pope — 'Did I tell you that my best friend's cousin went to grammar school with him, a different class but the same school?' — to professional golfer Tiger Woods, whose recent new girlfriend has the gossip machine rolling again with another bit of recent 'news.'
'Did you hear? He was at the White House,' said one of the people at the table.
Four other people shook their heads, no, but I had heard that Woods had visited the White House on Thursday, and saw various outlets spread the headlines — 'Tiger Woods Visits the White House After Going Public with Vanessa Trump Romance' via People magazine — and a photo of Woods with Sen. Jim Banks of Indiana.
Not much more to say on that count, we turned to other topics. But later I was thinking how so many people enjoy devouring our celebrities. And how easy it is, with an ever-expanding gossip industry.
There was a time, not so very long ago, that newspapers carried what were called 'gossip columns,' giving readers columns about the bold-faced comings and goings, failures and triumphs of movie stars, mobsters, politicians and other notables. This form was popularized in the 1930s by the mean-spirited, score-settling Walter Winchell in New York, where he would become the first nationally syndicated gossip columnist, and here by the Sun-Times' Irv Kupcinet for more than 60 years.
I always appreciated the way Kup described what he did: 'My lesson in journalism was not to be mean, not to try to undo people, but to help people. I pride myself in not abusing people, not using the column to ridicule people. I stayed away from being nasty as much as I could. Unless somebody really deserved it.'
Times have changed. For some time, Vanessa Trump was mostly relegated to the celebrity shadows. There were some whispers as early as last fall about her relationship with Woods, but things exploded on March 23 when Instagram delivered it in the form of a photo: Woods in a white polo shirt, his face basically without expression. On his left, the lovely blond Trump in a tank top and jeans, smiling. Their arms were around one another, a white wall behind them, strands of ivy climbing. And there was this caption: 'Love is in the air and life is better with you by my side! We look forward to our journey through life together. At this time we would appreciate privacy for all those close to our hearts.'
Good luck with that. It's almost delusional of Woods, who wouldn't know privacy if he could find it. He has been on television since he was trotted out for a 36-second spot on 'The Mike Douglas Show,' putting against comedian Bob Hope. He was 2 years old then and since has been sports news, front page and tabloid fodder. Or as Elizabeth Nelson put it in a fine recent New York Times essay, 'Celebrity is always a distorting proposition, but in Woods's case, the distortions have been practically psychedelic. … Friends have asked how I can root for him after so many episodes of unpleasant behavior. What can I say? I still root for Mick Jagger, too.'
Woods' Instagram post also includes a second photo of Woods and Trump relaxing in a hammock. It had, last time I checked, more than half a million likes and more than 10,000 comments. Some commenters expressed happiness for the twosome, while an almost equal number said they didn't care but were still compelled to comment.
There are many theories on why many of us are so attracted to celebrities. There is a condition that some have labeled celebrity worship syndrome, defining it as an obsessive-addictive disorder where people become overly involved with celebrities' personal lives. It's characterized by an intense fascination, often leading to unhealthy behaviors such as the compulsive seeking of information, and, at its very worst, stalking. It's not a formally recognized mental disorder, but it certainly is familiar and creepy.
OK then, back to Woods. In the wake of his Instagram post, the media poured forth a stream of facts, among them that Trump is 47 years old and Woods is 49; she is Donald Trump Jr.'s ex-wife, thus President Donald Trump's former daughter-in-law; she and Trump Jr. were married on Nov. 12, 2005, at Mar-a-Lago, divorced in 2018, and have five children (Kai, 18; Donald III, 16; Tristan, 13; Spencer, 12; and Chloe, 10); and on and on and on.
In other news, I hear that the company run by Barack and Michelle Obama, Higher Ground, is 'in talks' to produce a biopic about the golfer based on Kevin Cook's book, 'The Tiger Slam: The Inside Story of the Greatest Golf Ever Played.'
Who knows? You can find gossip about the Obamas, too.