Marina Hyde exposes crazy world of celebs

The Guardian writer Marina Hyde - author of the 'Lost in Showbiz' column, among others - has written a book, and it's not one that Sharon Stone (pictured), Jude Law or Brangelina will want to read. Celebrity: How Entertainers Took Over The World And Why We Need An Exit Strategy is an impassioned complaint about the power that famous faces wield in the modern world.

As Hyde writes, "Once upon a time, you see, the entertainment industry was an industry which made entertainment. Its workforce was required to do quaint things like show up to movie sets, or make music or go to wild parties. Today, that brief has expanded slightly. It now includes proselytising for alien religions, attempting to negotiate with the Taliban, getting photographed in a manner that basically constitutes an unsolicited gynaecology examination, and being brought in to fix the Iraqi refugee crisis. The celebrity situation is out of control and we need to start looking for an exit strategy. Entertainers have vastly exceeded their mandate."

Examples that she gives include Stone holding a joint press conference with Israeli prime minister Shimon Peres, and saying she "would kiss just about anybody to bring peace to the Middle East", US Congress inviting Elmo, a Sesame Street puppet, to address them, and Jude Law returning from filming a documentary in Afghanistan and saying this: "Obviously, the situation was too complicated for us to sit down with actual members of the Taliban. But we were led to believe that the effects of our conversations with the right people filtered through to them."

Speaking today with Andrew Marr on BBC Radio's Start the Week, conversation turned to the campaign to end poverty in Africa. Hyde conceded that Bob Geldof knew his stuff. But Bono, she suggested, was a different matter. "Your lifestyle can undercut the moral seriousness of your mission," she said, pointing that while Bono continually lobbies the Irish government to increase their aid budget, he “then declines to pay taxes in Ireland”.

After Hyde claimed that Bono arranges his tax affairs in the Netherlands, Marr, mindful of the legal implications, went on the defensive. "I should say I don't know about Bono’s tax affairs. I don't know if that's true or not", he said.

Hyde responded: "This is true and you're welcome to check this out."