Celeb surgery: do we want or need to know?

This morning the internet is abuzz with the latest celebrity scandal: Jane Fonda admits to having plastic surgery after claiming she wouldn't have any more. This is big news, because whenever a big star has cosmetic surgery, the media has a field day. People speculate about what was done, magazines enlist experts to weigh in on which procedures the believe were performed, and reporters even flat out ask the celebs to own up. But does any of it really matter?

Sure, gossiping about who has done what to their faces and bodies makes for a juicy topic of discussion. In today's star-driven culture, haven't we all spent a moment speculating about whether a celebrity has gotten a new nose, a boob job, or a little botox? And the more popular or famous a celebrity is, the more we concern ourselves with their appearance. If comedienne Kathy Griffin gets a ton of plastic surgery, no one really cares or notices. But if Angelina Jolie has a procedure done DROP EVERYTHING! Last week tabloids were even speculating about the pinched muscles on her neck, which may or may not have been the result of cosmetic work. Just as much as star-wattage plays a factor, so too does the severity of the surgery. Remember when that photo of Rupert Everett's new face emerged last year? We're still sad just thinking about it. But here's a question for you: do you respect a person more or less if they actually own up to the procedures they've had done?

Initially, I would think, yes. We like knowing the truth and feeling as if celebs are not deceiving us. Look at Dolly Parton. She's happily discussed her implants, her lifelong addiction to peroxide, and recently said, "I am not [a natural beauty]. Never have been." We found her words refreshing, but this may be because we love Dolly, and because she has proven herself to be a great talent and lovely person. Now let's think about Heidi Montag, a self-proclaimed plastic surgery addict. She sat down with People magazine and went through her procedures one-by-one, admitting to everything. The photos were fascinating, though also very scary. But do we respect her more for publicly discussing her surgery? We don't. In fact we sort of wish we never saw those before-and-after photos. Perhaps because of the sheer amount of what we would deem unnecessary procedures performed, but also maybe because we view Heidi as a disposable, annoying reality TV show star. Incidentally, 46-year-old actress Lisa Rinna, who has had so much work done on her own face, lips, and breasts, she said she looked like a "freak," claims she hid Montag's issue of People magazine from her children since she felt it set a bad example for them. Not to judge, but if they wanted an inside look at the world of cosmetic surgery, couldn't the kids just look at their own mother? Perhaps Rinna realized this too, as she had "no comment" this weekend. US Weekly probed her for a follow-up to her diss on Montag, but Rinna said, "I am no longer speaking on that subject ever again." Clearly celeb surgery is a very touchy subject.

Back to Jane Fonda. The 72-year-old actress took to her blog today (even Jane Fonda blogs?!) to discuss her new face:

"[Producer] Bob Evans complimented me on my new, short haircut and I said, 'Thanks. I just had some "work" done on my chin and neck and had the bags taken away from under my eyes so I decided it would be good to get a new hair cut so people will think it's my new hair.' He thought that was so funny he actually toasted me for doing what he said he'd never heard anyone do before: admit they'd had work done. I was planning on blogging about it anyway so who cares?"

Back in 2000, Fonda vowed to never have any more surgery, but she says, "I got tired of not looking like how I feel and I wanted a more refined chin line like I used to have so I changed my mind." And while she's happy with the results, she's not entirely proud of going back on her word. "I wish I'd been brave enough to not do anything but, instead, I chose to be a somewhat more glamorous grandma."

We love Jane Fonda, respect her as an actress, and are happy she's still around. Fonda recently said she's working on a new workout video, which is pretty awesome, especially given her age. But do we care about whether or not she's had more work done? Not really. Has our opinion of her changed since last month? Not really. Do we have more important things to concern ourselves with than which celebrity has had botox? Certainly. But will we stop noticing or discussing celebrity plastic surgeries? Probably not. [Extra][US Weekly]