Last week, Jessica Simpson's "The Price of Beauty" debuted on VH1 to mediocre reviews. The blonde songstress who has become more famous for her ridiculous chicken of the sea comment and who she has dated than her pretty cool shoe collection (just my opinion) or any other talent she may possess, set sail around the globe with pals Ken Paves and CaCee Cobb.
The premise of the reality beauty series was to bring exposure of what beauty means in different cultures to those of us here in the states. While I believe this is honestly something many women would be captivated by, I think what could be an amazing show is undermined by Simpson's ignorance at times. And by ignorance I don't mean not understanding the cultural differences, because hello, that is what the show is about--but instead I mean making absurd comments that devalue what the show intends to do.
Giggling with monks, happy endings and the like, takes away from the good meat of the show--the different extremes women have gone to across the globe to achieve what is expected and acceptable in their society as beautiful. And while in the short term, these Jessica-isms may seem cute and drive buzz around each show in the first few weeks, in the long term it will be what makes the show meet its demise.
Obviously the episodes have already been filmed, so we can only sit back and watch it play out. However, if I were Simpson, I'd be out promoting the show by partnering with charities and drawing attention to women's causes to demonstrate my true committment to raising the awareness of the price of beauty, but that's just me.
*Photo Credit: Access Hollywood
