Toxic

'Illuminating.' New Statesman

'Ditum's prose is never overwrought, and she treats pop culture with a rare seriousness. She is right to do so. The women who came of age in the noughties are entering middle age, with all the agency that brings... Ditum's reframing of an era, suggests that the uproar over (Russell) Brand may have been just the beginning of a reckoning.' Financial Times

'Ditum gets the tone right: critically engaged, well-researched, colourful without seeming exploitative... a serious book of reportage.... For readers interested in real celebrity journalism.' Irish Times

'Furious and funny.' Guardian - BOOKS OF THE YEAR

'(A) pageturning exploration of a time when new technology and old misogyny collided and the concept of privacy collapsed.' Daily Mirror

Britney, Paris, Lindsay, Aaliyah, Janet, Amy, Kim, Chyna, Jen. Nine iconic women whose fame in the early internet years of the century came at a price. In Toxic: Women, Fame and The Noughties, journalist Sarah Ditum describes how each of the women changed 'celebrity' forever, despite often falling victim to it, during what we now view as one of the most hostile eras in which to be female.

Through Paris' ambivalent relationship with her blogger namesake Perez Hilton; to Britney's paternalistic governors; Jen's attempts to control her career and image; and Janet's betrayal at the Superbowl, these celebrities of The Noughties were presented with the riches of early social media and market opportunity, as long as they abided by the new rules of engagement. Some of these high-profile women were hypersexualised and 'upskirted' by the press; some were shamed by their advertising sponsors; others were contracted by shady management companies and industry figures such as Harvey Weinstein and R Kelly. Together they illuminate the culture of the early twenty-first century. Toxic: Women, Fame and The Noughties is a wild ride through the millennial years.

'When I discovered Toxic I was immediately taken by the depth of Sarah's dedication, research and writing.' -- Paris Hilton Paris Hilton
A necessary and incisive feminist reckoning with the noughties. Insightful, exhilarating - and horrifying. What were we thinking? -- Caroline Criado Perez, author of INVISIBLE WOMEN
Living through the 00s, I never realised how casually cruel they were - how cruel we were - to famous women. Toxic is an incendiary page-turner that will make you reconsider the price of fame . . . and your opinion of Kim Kardashian. It's a Molotov cocktail hurled at the feet of celebrity culture -- Helen Lewis, author of DIFFICULT WOMEN
Brilliant . . . made me realise how no one has pulled back and given an overall story to the last twenty years . . . It's clever because it makes me think about now -- Adam Curtis, filmmaker
A bracing feminist appraisal of the pre #MeToo Noughties . . . explores how the media created a new and brutal environment in which the rules of engagement between celebrities, the press and public were changed -- Caroline Sanderson, Bookseller Editor's Choice
'a worthwhile, thoughtful read' -- Jane Mulkerrins BOOK OF THE WEEK, Sunday Times

Sarah Ditum is a columnist for the Sunday Times whose byline has also appeared in publications such as the New Statesman, Guardian and Elle. Her TV and radio appearances include Newsnight and Today. She lives in Bath. This is her first book.

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