I have allways found gossips amusing and slightly sad .The amount of negative energy and bad Karma generated amonst them must surly amount to an unhealthy state of affairs.
I read an article once that stated the person being talked about possess a certain skill or insight and understanding that the gossips simply cant aspire to hence the jelousy and envy that manifests itself and generates a lot of negative Karma that reinforces itself the more the person is talked about.
Very sad and devious people really.
:-)