Collins Slams Celebrity Magazines

Collins insists star-based magazines on the news stands feature very low standards of journalism and deliberately use picture-lead articles so the readers don't have to put much effort into reading.

The 75-year-old also blasts the tabloids' habit of featuring the same celebrities over and over, and promoting a negative image to young people by showing A-listers behaving badly.

She tells New York Post gossip column PageSix, "Our civilisation has become extremely dumbed down, with shorter attention spans. All they want are sound bites.

"The tabloid magazines are the same every week. People has the same cover as InTouch as OK! as Us Weekly as Star magazine. They're exactly the same! It must be 100 to 120 people you read about all the time. They are appealing to a young audience, or a rather dumb audience.

"(The magazines) go after those girls who exhibit more outrageous behaviour."

And Collins is convinced most of the celebrities featured are just using the publications to promote themselves.

She adds, "Believe me, those girls love it. They call in items themselves - that they were at (exclusive restaurant) Nobu, or some nightclub in SoHo. I can't think of anything more horrible than that. Publicity can be a drug."