Editor's note: Roland Martin is a syndicated columnist and author of "The First: President Barack Obama's Road to the White House." He is a commentator for the TV One cable network and host/managing editor of its Sunday morning news show, "Washington Watch with Roland Martin."
(CNN) -- When basketball legend Michael Jordan talked to the press after a Chicago Bulls or Washington Wizards game, fans never got to see the superstar with sweat dripping from his brow or a towel wrapped around his waist after emerging from the shower.
Consciously aware of his image, Jordan would dress in a side room and not in the main locker room with the other players. So when he emerged, he was suited and booted. Some players would walk around naked, oblivious to the strangers standing there; others had towel wraps on, even dressing with members of the media standing not 10 feet away.
Maybe Jordan should put in a call to Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge and the wife of Prince William, and give her a lesson or two on what you need to do in this media-obsessed world -- now that photos of her breasts have been published by a French newspaper.
Brits are aghast at the breach of protocol, and Buckingham Palace is threatening legal action. Good luck with that. They are better off sitting Kate down with the same person who had to counsel Prince Harry after his butt-naked romp in a Las Vegas suite.
Royals to sue over nude photos
Look, I'm not the least bit insensitive to the shock and horror of the young married couple seeing magazine photos of themselves sunbathing on private property in France. Yet my mama and daddy always taught me that if you don't want someone to see your private parts, then don't show them in public for someone to see.
UK royals want criminal case over pics
Prince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, are carried as they bid farewell in Tuvalu on Wednesday, September 19. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge -- on a tour marking the diamond jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II -- are visiting Singapore, Malaysia, the Solomon Islands and Tuvalu. See more of CNN's best photography.
Photos: William and Kate visit Far East
Over decades now, we have become accustomed to the crazed antics of the paparazzi invading the personal space of celebrities. Pantyless shots of Lindsay Lohan or Paris Hilton getting out of cars? Check. No-talent celebrities like Kim Kardashian starring in sex tapes to pave the way to the land of riches? Check. Cell phone videos of celebs doing whatever to whomever they want in nightclubs? Check.
Our culture not only has accepted it, we revel in it. Seriously, do you think all of those celebrity magazines and websites with photos of stars walking to the store to get coffee lose money? No. We live in the age of voyeurism, and the long lenses of the paparazzi satisfy our insatiable desire for the garbage.
"Mindless entertainment" is what I've heard folks call it. Just mindless is how I'll classify it.
Irish tabloid publishes topless royal photos
It would be great if celebs could be themselves. And it's terrible that folks can't drop the pretenses and have dinner with friends without thinking someone has a phone video camera on them and is capturing private remarks. But that world left us long ago, and it's not coming back. As long as photographers can reap six-figure pay days, and websites can rack up millions of page views and charge advertisers more money, every boob shot of a celeb will be shown.
Call it despicable and degrading, but it also creates a situation that requires common sense. Kate, unless you know for sure that no one else's prying eyes -- or camera -- will see you, don't sunbathe naked.
All of the screaming and righteous indignation won't do a darn thing to stop the next celeb or royal family member who chooses to show up in his or her birthday suit. Blame the photographer all day (and it's a job I would never want). But if she never takes the top off outside, we're not having this discussion.
Right, Michael Jordan?
Follow us on Twitter @CNNOpinion.
Join us on Facebook/CNNOpinion.
The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Roland Martin.
Loading weather data ...
© 2013 Cable News Network. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Local participants watch as the duke and duchess conclude the portion of their trip in Tuvalu on Wednesday.
Prince William plays a local game called Te Ano on Tuesday, September 18, in Tuvalu.
Prince William opens a coconut with a machete as Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, watches on Tuesday in Tulavu.
The duke and duchess visit the University of the South Pacific in Tuvalu on Tuesday.
Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, visits Nauti Primary School on Tuesday in Tuvalu.
The royal couple are carried from their plane to a welcoming ceremony in Tuvalu on Tuesday.
The duke and duchess dance with ladies at the Vaiku Falekaupule ceremony for an entertainment program on Tuesday in Tuvalu.
Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, prepares to dance at the Vaiku Falekaupule ceremony on Tuesday.
The couple enjoy a traditional dinner at Tausoa Lima Falekaupule on Tuesday in Tuvalu.
Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, waves goodbye to onlookers as she and Prince William board a plane to leave the Solomon Islands from Honiara on Tuesday, September 18.
Prince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, are carried from a boat to their plane Tuesday in Honiara, Guadalcanal Island in the Solomon Islands as they continue their tour of the Far East.
Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, and Prince William speak with traditional weavers during a visit to a village in the Solomon Islands on Monday, September 17.
Prince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, meet young well-wishers during a visit to the Coast Watcher and Solomon Scouts Memorial on Day Seven of their Diamond Jubilee Tour in Honiara, Solomon Islands, on Monday.
Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, and Prince William travel in a traditional canoe during a visit to Tuvanipupu Island in the Solomon Islands on Monday.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are greeted by dancers as they visit Tuvanipupu Island in Honiara on Monday.
The royal couple visits Tuvanipupu Island in Honiara on Monday.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge learn more about poverty and village life in the Solomon Islands.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge visit Burns Creek, a troubled community on the outskirts of Honiara, the capital of the Solomon Islands.
Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, inspects an honor guard as he arrives at Honiara International Airport in the Solomon Islands on Sunday, September 16.
Britain's Prince William and his wife, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, wave to Solomon Islanders as they leave the airport aboard a truck decorated as a canoe in Honiara on Sunday.
Britain's Prince William and his wife, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, are greeted by Solomon Islanders on Sunday.
Prince William makes a speech at the Government House in Honiara on Sunday.
Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, and Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, visit Assyakirin Mosque in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Friday, September 14, Day Four of the royal couple's tour of the Far East.
The royal couple visits Assyakirin Mosque in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Friday.
The royal couple put their shoes on after visiting the KLCC Mosque in Kuala Lumpur on Friday.
A crowd takes photos of Prince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, as they walk in the KLCC gardens in Kuala Lumpur on Friday.
Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, visits Assyakirin Mosque on Friday.
Catherine talks to Sultanah Tuanku Haminah binti Hamidun, the Raja Permaisuri Agong of Malaysia, during an official dinner hosted by Malaysia's sultan.
Britain's Prince William speaks with Linges Warry Apparad, a 14-year-old with leukemia, at Hospis Malaysia Thursday in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Catherine meets leukemia sufferer Zakwan Anuar, 15, at Hospis Malaysia on September 13, 2012.
Britain's Prince William and his wife, Catherine, meet Richard Robless, council member of Hospis Malaysia, in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday.
Schoolchildren wave Malaysia national flags as Britain's Prince William and his wife Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge, arrive at the Hospis Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur on September 13, 2012.
Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, and Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, visit Kranji War Cemetery Thursday in Singapore.
Britain's Prince William and his wife, Catherine, lay a wreath to pay their respects to WWII dead at the Kranji War Cemetery in Singapore Thursday.
Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, glances back at war graves as she leaves Kranji Commonwealth War Cemetery on the third day of her Diamond Jubilee Tour of the Far East with husband Prince William on Thursday, September 13 in Singapore.
Catherine signs the visitors' book at Eden Hall on Wednesday.
The signatures of Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, and Prince William, Duke of Cambridge (not pictured) mark their visit on Wednesday.
The royal couple visit Gardens by the Bay on Wednesday.
The couple look out over a balcony at Gardens by the Bay on Wednesday.
The duke and duchess pose for a picture with children as they visit The Rainbow Centre in Singapore.
Prince William and Catherine pose with 4-year-old Maeve Low as they tour the Rolls-Royce Seletar Campus during the Diamond Jubilee tour at Seletar Aerospace Park on Wednesday, September 12, the second day of their Diamond Jubilee tour in Singapore.
The duke and duchess applaud as they visit The Rainbow Centre.
Bystanders crane for photos of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge during their visit to Strathmore Green, a precinct in Queenstown, a residential district of Singapore on Wednesday.
Catherine and Prince William watch a performance by the Sunda Pajajaran group on Wednesday.
Prince William speaks to a child in the crowd on Wednesday.
Prince William, right, and wife Catherine are welcomed by a lion dance performance on Wednesday.
Prince William and Catherine tour the Rolls Royce plant on Wednesday.
Catherine greets a child during a visit to The Rainbow Centre, a children's learning center, on Wednesday.
Catherine, Britain's Duchess of Cambridge, meets children at Gardens by the Bay on day two of her Asia visit with husband, Prince William, Wednesday in Singapore.
Britain's Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, meets children at Gardens by the Bay Wednesday in Singapore.
Catherine, Britain's Duchess of Cambridge, arrives at Gardens by the Bay Wednesday in Singapore.
The royal couple is greeted at the airport on Tuesday.
After their arrival Tuesday Catherine and her husband, Prince William, visit the Singapore Botanic Gardens.
Catherine leaves Singapore Botanic Gardens after visiting on Tuesday.
William stops to speak to an honor guard on arrival at the Istana, home of Singapore's president and working office of the prime minister, during the Diamond Jubilee tour on Tuesday.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge meet Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at the Istana for a state dinner on the first day of their Diamond Jubilee tour in Singapore. See more of CNN's best photography.
|