Gatecrasher: How I Helped the Rich Become Famous and Ruin the World

by Ben Widdicombe

A smart, gossipy, and very funny examination of celebrity culture from New York’s premiere social columnist. Ben Widdicombe is the only writer to have worked for Page Six, TMZ, and The New York Times—an unusual Triple Crown that allowed him personal access to the full gamut of Hollywood and high society’s rich and famous, from billionaires like Rupert Murdoch, Donald Trump, and the Koch brothers, to pop culture icons Kim Kardashian and Paris Hilton. Now, in Gatecrasher, New York’s premiere gossip-turned-society writer spills the sensational stories that never made it to print. Widdicombe has appeared at nearly every gossip-worthy venue—from the Oscars and the Hamptons, to the Met Gala and Mar-a-Lago—and has rubbed elbows with a dizzying array of celebrities (and wannabes), and he whisks us past the clipboard and velvet rope to teach us the golden rules of gatecrashing, dishing on dozens of boldface names along the way. Widdicombe shares secrets for how to crash the parties, climb the ladder, avoid the paparazzi, or make small talk with Henry Kissinger and Anna Wintour. Endlessly fun and extremely telling, Gatecrasher makes the unnerving argument that Paris Hilton conquering pop culture two decades ago lead to Donald Trump winning the White House. “As the gossip pages go, so goes the country,” he says.

Genres: Memoir, Nonfiction, Biography, Celebrity, Pop Culture, Biography Memoir

301 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 7, 2020

Reviews

[Christina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I lived and partied in NYC in the late 1990’s - 2000s, and I read both Page Six and Gatecrasher faithfully, so I gobbled up this delicious book immediately. This is a dishy and intelligent analysis of our celebrity culture which also explains (literally, in its own chapter) how Paris Hilton gave us President Donald Trump.

There are more fantastic stories in here than I can count, from the nostalgia of 90s celebs and their antics at that era’s hotspots (Courtney Love! Twilo! Moomba!) to post-9/11 New York stories, to the current celebrity obsessed culture that is now the norm. It is fascinating to hear about Widdicombe’s vastly different experiences at the Post, the News, TMZ and finally the New York Times. What a life he’s had, and, as always, since his days at the Post, his writing is hilarious, irreverent and infectious but with a certain moral center. This is a great celebrity gossip book but also a lovely book about New York and a life well lived. Highly recommended.

Thanks to Simon and Schuster, Ben Widdocombe and NetGalley for the advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

[Patrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ben Widdcombe is a good writer. His description of normal everyday people grabbed me and brought me into this book that was ostensibly going to be about the wealthy and ultra wealthy. This isn't the kind of book I would normally read, so I was skittish as I started. I have nothing against reading the latest gossip, but I'd rather do that as a five minute read while waiting in a doctor's office, not while I am sitting down next to an imaginary fire place with the crackling light from my e-reader. But, this book is more than who slept with who where (although, there is some of that in here, too. Scandalous!) but interesting insights into real human beings, sometimes celebrities, other times people working somewhere in New York City.

This is Widdicombe's New York life story. The celebrities and gossip are happy after thoughts. He doesn't hold back in either self praise, nor with self criticism. For example, he didn't skip writing about Weinstein nor did the author absolve himself in relation to failing to get the full story at the time.

I enjoyed Widdcombe's insights into people and situations that were seen as throw away anecdotes, but stuck with me after I read the book. I'd read a book that told the life story of the Baron, or even more pages about working in the hot dog stand. He had the ability to make all of his workplaces come to life. From newsrooms to art galleries.

The one weak portion of the book is Widdicombe's attempts to tie Paris Hilton's rise to fame as emblematic for everything that has happened since then. Now, I understood his arguments, and maybe even agreed with them. But, I didn't feel like he provided nearly enough evidence to make the case. It felt more like someone saying "Let me add an interesting thesis to the book to try to tie everything together.", than a fully formed argument.

And as a note: I got this book for free. That didn't affect my feelings for the book. It just made me read it earlier than I might have otherwise.

[Yuli · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's not a "Devil Wears Prada". It's a buffet of anecdotes, with surprising guest appearances like Pope Francis... and a chat between Trump and a beggar on a New York subway.

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a good book. I could not put it down. I think it was because I could relate and was interested in all that the author had to say. The author began his own column and was later able to write for other columns. He spoke about attending Ivana Trumps wedding. All of the Paris Hilton, Lindsey Lohan, and Brittney Spears times that I remember seeing on TV, he spoke about being right there. There were his almost interview with Epstein and other times that I remember hearing about. It felt like you were there right with him.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

"One dreams of the goddess Fame -- and winds up with the bitch Publicity." -- Peter de Vries

Return with us now to those thrilling days of yesteryear when the economy looked like it would forever rocket upward; when fashion dominated the gossip columns, and designers became as famous as the stars they clothed; when the line separating politics and show business began its long process of dissolving; and stock traders and petrochemical barons and their heirs and (especially) heiresses, rich beyond dreams of avarice, decided they needed to be celebrities, too.

In the '90s, a young undocumented Australian journalist in New York, Ben Widdicombe, looked around, decided he wanted to be a part of it, and launched a career that took him from a hobby website, "Chic Happens," about parties he'd talked his way into, to bylined gossip columns in the Daily News and the mighty New York Times, with stints at TMZ and Page Six in between. As of 2020, when this memoir came out, he was still in the business, so he's probably not telling absolutely all here, but it'll do nicely.

Widdicombe isn't quite his Daily News colleague George Rush's equal as a writer and philosopher of gossip ("Scandal: A Manual," q.v.), but he's very good, and has a way with a phrase that I didn't remember from his column there.

"The thing about writing a daily gossip column on a print deadline," he notes, "is that the bus leaves every day at six p.m., and somebody has to be under it." Or, describing the scene when Ivana Trump married Riccardo Mazzucchelli at her ex's place in Florida, Mar-a-Lago: "There were 24 bridesmaids ... and 24 groomsmen. Each group filed down a different side of the twin staircase in the garden, like two columns of ants headed to the same picnic."

There are plenty of funny stories about Paris Hilton, the early Kim Kardashian, Trump, the Murdochs, Ben Affleck and J.Lo, among many others, but what's notable is the attention Widdicombe pays to the publicists who provided the key link in the gossip supply chain, controlling their clients' images (or failing to), being fired by disgruntled clients and finding new ones, and -- a crucial theme in "Gatecrasher" -- sensing that members of the 1% now wanted to be as talked-about and idolized as movie stars. The PR specialists adjusted their businesses accordingly, and the country, as keen observers have noticed, is still feeling the effects.

All that and Widdicombe's memories of the pre-gentrification Meatpacking District, where taking my dog for a walk meant keeping her away from the open bins of discarded cow parts and the slicks of fat coating the sidewalks.

Next up to complete the trilogy of Daily News gossip autobiographies is "Fame: Ain't It a Bitch" by testosterone-fueled columnist A.J. Benza, who quit to make it in Hollywood and ended his final piece with a word of consolation to the agency that represented many of the city's top models: "Don't cry for me, Wilhelmina." Ah, memories.

[Emily Miller · Rating 3 out of 5]

Listened via audiobook. I was disappointed that I was bored throughout many parts of this book. I’m not sure if it was the book itself that was boring or the narrator having a monotone voice that I found boring. I did enjoy the author discussing the early 2000s gossip like Paris Hilton and Britney Spears and the Benifer drama to name a few. I also enjoyed that the author explained how juicy gossip was when it appeared in magazines or newspapers before the boom of social media where gossip occurs instantly. The authors overall timeline of his life moving to NY and finding his way into gossip columns was interesting to listen to so as I found parts of the book boring, other parts I enjoyed listening to.

[Leslie Zemeckis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Funny -
Gossip 1990s celebrity stories from the Big Apple - witty and well written

[Judith · Rating 1 out of 5]

I couldn't finish this book, although I love celebrity stories and stories about NYC. This is the dullest laundry list of people and places you are likely to encounter in your life. He talks about each and every apartment he lived in and every job he held, as if these details add to the story of his encounters with celebrities. He talks about celebrities and people you've never heard of as if they are one and the same. And by the way, with no apparent irony, he mentions Paris Hilton as "the most important person of the twenty-first century". And that's an interesting bit.

[Charlotte · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you live in New York, and have for years, you'll likely find this book entertaining. At a minimum you'll enjoy the familiarity of stories taking place in hot spots and notable locales in your city. Similarly, if you've read gossip columns for the past few decades and consider yourself in-the-know when it comes to the tabloids, you'll probably want to read this book. At a minimum, you'll enjoy the familiarity of the names being thrown around as the author lists people he sees at events.

That being said, I live in New York, keep up with celebrity stories and was still disappointed by this book. Perhaps I had expectations that were too high but I think the larger issue is that the book isn't sure what it wants to do. Does it want to tell Widdicombe's story as an immigrant making it in the US? Does it want to spill all of the tea on celebrity stories that filled tabloids over the years? It's tough to tell since he didn't do quite enough of either to make it worth the read.

[Kara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gatecrasher is a mixture of news, pop culture, gossip, and memoir. Ben Widdicombe has worked in journalism for some two decades, covering the rich, famous, and infamous. This book roughly follows the trajectory of his career - moving to New York from Australia and his time at Page Six, TMZ, and the New York Times. There are many interesting digressions and asides detailing various celebrity encounters - some which he reported at the time and some that are newly revealed in this book. I was thoroughly entertained. None of his observations uncover anything that a seasoned gossip-watcher. would not already know. The particulars may be new - I lol'ed at Tom Cruise slipping on the floor at Prada - but he does not necessarily offer new insight into the minds of lives of his subjects.
I found Widdicombe's defense of gossip as real-time history or a kind of contemporary anthropology to be intriguing. The author has spent most of his professional life in the gossip world, and surely has had to defend that choice at more than a few dinner parties. To illustrate this point, he draws a line from Paris Hilton and the rise of the "heiress trend" to the election of Trump in 2016. This argument was so compelling. And, Widdicombe lays out a timeline of gossip events and news items that show this trajectory in a way that would. make most people sit up and pay more attention to "gossip" as "news" - or at least appreciate it for what it can tell us about trends in public opinion. I wanted this to be more fully developed.
This was a fun and interesting read. The most interesting portions felt tantalizingly brief. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone with an interest in gossip or how pop culture impacts politics and "culture" culture. Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy to read and review.

[Phillip Oliver · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author recounts his career as a gossip columnist for the past two decades and the rich and famous personalities he has encountered along the way. Before entering the world of gossip, the author moved to New York from Australia. His days were spent working various odd jobs like selling hot dogs at a sidewalk food stand and at a photography gallery. Nights were spent partying at clubs as well as crashing parties. His early days in New York City are vividly described and sometimes fascinating. He recounts the early days of the Internet and how he and his partner started an online column called "Chic Happens". He later went on to work for Page Six and TMZ. There are a few amusing and interesting anecdotes along the way like when Jerry Lewis insinuated to him that he wrote the majority of "Profiles in Courage" for Kennedy. It is fun to hear about who was nice and who wasn't (Anna Wintour and Joan Collins!). Unfortunately, these little tidbits are few and far between. Instead, the majority of the book focuses on people I'd rather not hear more about (Paris Hilton, Kim Kardashian, and most of all, the 45th). I hear enough about these jerks on a daily basis and unfortunately this book centers on them.

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Society" journalist Ben Widdcombe takes us on a two-decade romp through Manhattan's party culture. The author candidly, and unabashedly, unmasks his playbook for entry in to the world of the rich and famous---or, perhaps just those who aspire to be either rich or famous.

There were few surprises in his memoir, unless we count his willingness to chronicle his ups and downs in the profession. I admire the author's self-effacing candor; he makes no effort to justify "gossip" as high-culture or of anything other than what it is. Perhaps the most interesting revelation in his book is his choice of the "Most Influential Person of 20th Centure Culture. I won't spoil it for you by revealing who this is !

Netgalley provided me a complimentary copy of this book in return for a candid review.

[Krista · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is filled with astute observations, erudite analogies, and plain old fashioned good gossip. Widdicombe offers a frank look at his profession that does not provide pat answers to the questions about morality or utility. His often acidic description of people had me rushing to google pictures of the people he described. He has a gift for creative description, no doubt honed over a career dedicated to helping readers envision a series of glittering spectacles they could never hope to witness themselves. Recommended for fans of The Devil Wears Prada and Sex in the City

Netgalley provided me with an arc in exchange for an honest review.

[Melissa Persing · Rating 4 out of 5]

A witty look into the ways people became celebrities. From sex tapes, to the “jizz” covered walls at the Huffington Post, to politicians and their philanthropic friends. There was more substance in this book than I expected from a book based on Ben Widdicombe’s career in gossip. Although the book focuses on celebrities and their publicity making machines it touches on economic issues, religious bias, and ageism. Even though I don’t know anything about New York society it was an interesting look into the gossip world.

Thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for giving me an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Nicole Palumbo Davies · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was expecting a book from a gossip columnist to be a breezy, dirty lark, but Ben Widdicombe is actually thoughtful, intelligent, and clear-eyed about the world he writes about. "At its best, gossip uses truth to the hold the powerful accountable for their actions, preferably with humor. It is the modern equivalent of the jester in the royal court," (p 53). He never aligns himself with the people he's writing about. He makes rich friends, but doesn't seem to delude himself into thinking he is one of them. He also makes a strong case for Paris Hilton being the most influential person of twenty-first century America, and allows Trump to again prove himself to be an asshole.

[Sherrie Howey · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author moved to New York from Sydney where initially, he held a number of low level jobs. He began attending parties without invitations(gatecrashing) by dressing and acting as if he belonged. He later worked for Page 6 and then the Daily News as a gossip columnist.
Many of his anecdotes were so funny and I really appreciated his honesty. It was interesting to learn that so many of the gossip tips were called in, mostly by people wanting to see their name in print. This is a well written memoir, filled with plenty of celebrity stories and was a quick, enjoyable read.

[Kiara · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent, soapy dish on the New York socialite scene by a gossip columnist who knows it well. Widdicombe is a great writer; his turns of phrase are cleverly crafted, and a few of the stories in here were funny enough to make me laugh out loud. I also liked his examination of celebrity culture in the internet era, although I do wish that he had elaborated a bit more on the broader ideas mentioned here about fame and shame in wealthy circles. However, this book was a lot of fun, and I devoured it in short order.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Started off slow for me. I was expecting to dive right into the parties and gossip and had to wait 50+ pages. But it’s worth the wait. I have always loved various authors descriptions of New York throughout the decades and the author did not disappoint. His career scope broadened and I liked how he included all sorts of “celebrities” and scenarios and how publicity played a role in popular consciousness.

[Sarah Buron · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a quick, easy read that had me constantly Googling different names, similar to how I felt reading Elton John’s memoir. There was lots of interesting name dropping from an insider‘s viewpoint. Thanks so much to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Widdicombe's career as a gossip columnist is a page-turner in "Gatecrasher." His clever writing and insider stories captivates you from start to finish. He's a well-trained journalist who analyzes the fame game so well, breaking down -- for example -- exactly why a reality star is currently leader of the free world. This is a proper a study in pop culture!

[Jeannette Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this trip across NYC, into the homes of the rich and famous, or sometimes just the opening of a new store. You can measure the state of the country's economy by what is being served at a given time. The writer has hilarious descriptions, making me laugh out loud.
He blames it all on Paris Hilton. Interesting thesis, but he pulls it off.

[Tahlia Fancy · Rating 2 out of 5]

The New York references are fun if you’re familiar with the city and the last 40 pages are the most interesting. Other than that, the celebrity sightings and gossip stories are pretty weak and not worth reading about. It took me ages to get through this book because of how slow the beginning/middle is. Unfortunately disappointed with this read.

[Lisa Caccamo · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to love this book.......and there were chapters that I did love, but as a whole it just dragged on a bit and I found myself skimming. The writing style was great, but some of the subject matters were just not as interesting and juicy as one would expect in a book about behind the scenes of some of the most influential people!

[Lisa R · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the wordplay in this book. “More Beyoncê than seance-y”. Also since I’m a major Real Housewives fan I loved the chapters on Tinsley Mortimer. This book really brought home to me the fact that the United States probably wouldn’t be in our current mess if we didn’t worship celebrities in this country. Trump has
no place being president.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun tidbits on the rich and famous. My favorite line came from when the author first met Trump when he was dating Melania: "She was a closed book, and he was a comic book." LOL! The book focuses mostly on the 1990's and was published in 2020, so nothing on current celebrity, socialites or billionaires.

[Janeen · Rating 5 out of 5]

The authors vivid description of life in New York City and all his experiences coupled with his astute great wonderful writing brought it to life for me . His insights are spot on. Not a dishy gossipy memoir this book was more a slice of life about the well to do and the social climbing and tales of the rich and famous with just a couple of bon mots of celebs and influencers to keep it tasty.

[Joe J · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ben is a tabloid journalist and tells his origin story to the genre and how essential his role has become in the current society where everyone wants their 15 minutes of fame and how different things are now with the rich and famous compared to what it used to be like for society elite in the past.

[David Meyer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the writing style. While I don't really care about celebrity gossip, the process behind it was interesting, as was getting a feel for how the author felt about the topic after spending so much time in his career.

[Susanna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointing. I was expecting to read about some good gossip. What I got was mostly a biographical account of the author's life.

Although a humours read, if you're reading for the gossip, you'll be disappointed.

[Barbie Bookworm · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some insights into the mind-boggling, embarrassing, horrific rise of Paris Hilton, the Kardashians, Teflon Don, and the like. Not a nourishing read - leaves a bad taste in your mouth. Bad behavior and a lack of shame . . . it will get you everywhere. Oh, may karma reign supreme.