Opinion: Why I want to be Lara Bingle

LARA Bingle, or Worthington, as she’s now known, has attracted criticism – yet again . But this time, I want in. Where do I sign?

BEING Lara Bingle has never appealed, until now.

Please, oh please, could I get paid tens of thousands of dollars for not doing much?

Lara Worthington, as she’s now known since marrying Australian actor Sam Worthington, has attracted criticism – yet again – but this time it’s not for the flop of her reality TV show, or being the target of a nude photo scandal involving AFL bad boy Brendan Fevola, or fleeing the scene of a traffic incident in which she injured a motorcyclist.

And it has nothing to do with her former relationship with cricketer Michael Clarke or a string of other men she’s been linked to in the past , including US performer Jason Derulo.

In latest breaking Bingle news, the 29-year-old mother-of-two, who’s landed a lucrative gig as the face of Tiffany & Co, spent only 30 minutes posing for photographs before clocking off.

Nice work if you can get it.

Worthington had been especially flown in from New York, where she lives with her husband and their two boys Rocket Zot and Racer, for the Tiffany cocktail party in Sydney. (I’m guessing she was in the pointy end of the plane.)

Being Lara Bingle wouldn’t be so bad. Picture: Don Arnold/Getty Images

But journalists who’d been promised interviews with the model were denied them because, after posing and smiling for half an hour, they were told Worthington had “entered her free time” and wanted to enjoy the rest of the evening.

Bring me a contract - where do I sign?

Celebrity endorsements are nothing new. Think James Bond and Bollinger, or the 46-year-strong “Because I’m Worth It” campaign by L’Oreal, featuring beauties including Jane Fonda.

But the cult of celebrity – which to an extent has been forced on us because almost every conceivable channel of communication these days is clogged with overpaid posers – has reached ridiculous heights.

Not only are high-school drop-outs like Worthington – who first appeared on the scene in that embarrassing 2006 Tourism Australia campaign “Where the Bloody Hell Are You”? – earning the big bucks, but there is such a dazzling array of others that it’s a wonder any young people are enrolling in university.

Australian model Jordan Barrett. Picture: AAP Image/Dan Himbrechts

Model Jordan Barrett, 20, reportedly earned $100,000 for a minute’s work at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week last month.

At last year’s fashion week, model Bella Hadid, 20, was paid a reported $400,000 to be the face of Misha Collection.

And in 2013, Naomi Campbell pocketed $75,000 from Lexus for turning up to The Birdcage on Derby Day in Melbourne.

Admittedly, all of these women are blessed with extraordinarily good looks, but that isn’t stopping ordinary young women and girls from plastering silly photos of themselves half naked and pouting on social media?

Being famous is the aim, and credentials are optional.

Consider the growing number of bloggers no professional has ever heard of but who are suddenly being taken seriously by their followers on Instagram. Many of these unqualified “influencers” in Brisbane get paid thousands of dollars per product-endorsing post.

When I was Lara Worthington’s age, I was working overtime every day and never got paid a cent extra. Not much has changed.

Might things have been different if I’d been gifted gorgeous blonde locks, a killer smile and a body built for bikinis?

Who knows, but just this once, I’m thinking Being Lara Bingle wouldn’t be so bad.