Celebrity prom date trend is getting creepy

The bizarre trend of mere-mortal teens tweeting prom invites to celebrities—and sometimes getting yeses—reached a whole new level of creepiness this week when “Basketball Wives” star Evelyn Lozada, 37, actually went to a prom with a 19-year-old Michigan boy, Anthony Nelson.

Not only did she go, according to TMZ, she paid for her trip from L.A., posed for photos in the family driveway, got excited about the corsage from Anthony, and treated her date to a fancy dinner and a pimped-out ride in a Denali. Plus, she wore a clingy red dress that both shrink-wrapped her booty and neglected to cover about a third of each breast, which helped make for some disturbing photos and news coverage. But her odd blogging excitement about the night didn’t help, either.

“Unfortunately, I couldn’t attend my prom when I was in high school because I was pregnant with my daughter Shaniece, but this was such an awesome experience and I was so honored,” she wrote on EvelynLozada.com. “I want to thank Anthony and his mom Shanthia (Shawn) Hayes for opening their home to me! Anthony’s entire family and friends came by his house to see him off to prom and it was amazing, he even bought me a corsage!!! I’ve never had a corsage! You guys don’t understand how HAPPY I was!!”

Um, okay Evelyn. Please try to contain yourself.

Why is this okay? And I don’t only mean the half-naked, old-enough-to-be-your-mother date at a school event. (Can you imagine if that were a 37-year-old man and a female student? Wouldn’t happen. Good.) I mean, why do teens feel like they can mix it up so easily with celebs, just because they all have Twitter accounts? When did that wall come down? And why are these famous people letting it happen? I’d like to think they have enough going for them already without also having to get approval from horny teen boys.

But then there was Arianny Celeste, the gorgeous UFC ring girl and May Maxim cover girl, who also accepted a prom invitation. This one came from 18-year-old Conner Cordova, who cheekily (brattily?) asked her to his own spring dance with an invitation posted on YouTube. “We’re talkin’ dinner, limos, and these sweet moves,” he says, with awkward dramatics, before dancing on the edge of a fountain and then adding, “So, think about it. Got till April. And I’m gonna keep on bugging you.”

Kinda stalker-ish, right? But wouldn’t you know it, because Arianny said yes.

The practice has only gotten more popular since stars like Mila Kunis, Justin Timberlake, and Kristin Cavallari accepted invitations to go to military dances last year. Those are sweeter and more understandable, though, because they’re more earned. The rest just feels like entitlement. Which it is, according to Christine Monnier, professor of sociology at the College of DuPage.

"Social networking platforms have a leveling effect and tend to make hierarchies disappear," DuPage told USA Today in a recent story on the trend. "They are only one link away from that celebrity."

At least Kate Upton had the fortitude to turn down her online suitor, Jake Davidson of Los Angeles. Though she had originally tweeted that she’d check her schedule, she later updated that her dance card was already full for that evening, but that being asked “made me feel really great.”

Kat Stoeffel of New York Magazine recently hit the nail on the head with what’s so off-putting about these online invites. “The more news coverage these perennial stunts attract, the more I cringe for the young man or woman who is putting him or herself out there, as his mom might say, in such a frivolous, Googleable, and college-application-tainting way,” she wrote. “But there is also something pernicious about these teenage power plays. Like the over-the-top marriage proposals immortalized on hidden cameras and Good Morning America, these social media campaigns turn what should be a sincere question into an exercise in emotional extortion.”

To wit: Davidson may not have gotten to go to his prom with Upton, but he did get another gorgeous woman to say yes. It was Nina Agdal, the 21-year-old Danish model and Sports Illustrated "rookie of the year," who wore a floor-length green halter gown and posed for pics with the young man—who looked beyond thrilled. Because, you know, those Sports Illustrated hotties are all interchangeable anyway, right? And besides, it's not about the experience, it's about getting the Instagram photos.