Celebrities, politicians: Are their screw-ups staged?

Gradually, I've become only more convinced that gaffes made by politicians and celebrities -- from Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande to Donald Trump -- are planned for one sole purpose: to garner as much publicity as they can possibly get.

The conventional wisdom in Hollywood and the political arena seems to be that any attention is better than no attention. We are assailed by so much information on a daily basis -- advertisements, videos, social media content -- that these people figure the only way to grab our attention is to stir up a little drama and controversy.

It's well-documented that the stories that garner the highest ratings are those that tend toward the negative. There's something about murders, sex scandals, and celebrities throwing shade at each other that keeps many people coming back for more.

Thus, it comes as no surprise that Donald Trump's surging in the polls following controversial remarks he made about Mexicans, or that the doughnut shop where Ariana Grande was recently caught licking donuts and saying she hates America tripled sales shortly thereafter. It's very possible that Grande got a hefty cut for the publicity she brought to the shop.

There are always those who take it a step too far and end up irreparably damaging their career and image, like Bill Cosby.

Still, it seems that in order to stay relevant and in the public eye, politicians and celebrities resort to being a little naughty every so often. They know the media will jump on anything juicy that will help them ratchet up their ratings. In their view, getting atrention for the wrong reasons may not be a bad thing.

Do you agree? Are many celebrities' and politicians' blunders planned out just so they can draw attention?

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