In this time and day of the twenty-first century where there is an elaborate system established to report the work of public figures, the idea of privacy is beginning to blur into the lines of public exposure, and the ones at stake are the public figures - be they celebrities, politicians or athletes. Actions undertaken in private are what they are - private. However, with intense scrutiny from the media, these actions are no longer private, and are subject to criticism and judgement from the public who crave these news like flies crave honey. The issue at hand is the matter of whether these public figures should be responsible, criticized and even punished for acts that were meant to be conducted in private. The very concept of privacy for public figures is practically non-existent, especially when the media watches over them like hawks do their prey. Hence, I disagree that public figures should be held accountable for the actions, even actions undertaken in private. While public figures wield great influence to our society and are even labeled as role models, often the public forgets that privacy is entitled to everybody, and that as long as they perform well in their job, there is absolutely no reason for the public to be this interested in their private lives.

Article 12 of the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights states “No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and reputation.” Clearly stated above is that privacy is a basic human right entitled to everybody, even public figures like celebrities. Yet take a look at Chinese actress Zhang Ziyi. Photographs of the actress in a red bikini shocked her fans and sparked a debate about China’s moral values. People forget about the context the actress was captured in. It was in a moment of freedom for the actress, when