Matthew Steeples asks: “In becoming ‘prison porn’ what does the case of Jeremy Meeks tell us about society?”
The countless articles that have been written about the “hot mugshot guy” Jeremy Meeks fail to miss the point that here is a previously jailed individual awaiting trial for multiple felony weapon charges.
I am not suggesting that journalists and the 221,000 members of a Facebook group celebrating Meeks have been hoodwinked but in fawning over the so-called “attractiveness” of this individual, they are in fact also celebrating crime.
Meeks has yet to be convicted on this occasion but has form given that he was previously served a 9-year sentence for grand theft. On this basis, for the Daily Mail, for example, to title their article “Jeremy Meeks shows off his smouldering model good looks” speaks volumes about the fact that society is prepared to turn a blind eye to crime if the look is right.
“Handsome” Meeks, it transpires, now has two Hollywood agents and yesterday his lawyer asked for him to be allowed to wear designer clothing at future court appearances given he has supposedly been offered deals by a number of big name brands. Though one of his agents, Gina Rodriguez, told the Daily News that he could earn between $30,000 and $100,000 per month from such endorsement deals, the judge rightly refused this request.
“Jeremy Meeks is a violent criminal but the ladies are all trippin’ over their panties for him. The world is unfair to ugly folks” commented one Twitter user named @RamzZy_ last night. He is sadly right: Jeremy Meeks is a sad indictment on us all.
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