Reality stars not welcome on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (for now)

By Sean O'Neal | August 25, 2011 | 3:40pm

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Responding to a query on the Hollywood Walk of Fame Facebook page, which exists, a spokesperson for the organization that recognizes outstanding achievement in showbiz and the willingness to give them $30,000 has averred that, no, the faces of reality television will never be granted stars along its boulevard of studio-purchased dreams. “Someone asked if we give reality show characters stars?” wrote the Walk of Fame’s vice-president of public relations Ana Martinez. “Hell to the No!” she replied, ironically echoing a phrase popularized by Being Bobby Brown character Whitney Houston—who famously declined the opportunity to have a star dedicated back in the '90s, reportedly because she didn’t want people “walking over her name.”

Should Houston change her mind someday, she could still get in on the small technicality of also being a hugely popular singer, similar to the allowances made toward other all-around “personalities” such as Judge Judy and Vanna White, whose longevity in the industry and assorted philanthropic work have earned them the prestige of seeing their names regularly trampled on by tourists and peed on by the homeless. Of course, none of this is definite, as Martinez later tempered her remarks to CNN, saying, “It’s just not on the radar for us right now,” thus leaving the door open for future admission of, say, the cast of Jersey Shore once reality television completely usurps all other forms of entertainment.