Celebrities: Misguided or Malicious?

-Krishiv Vora

(references included)

Celebrities have become as relevant to our political discourse today as the media itself. It seems that every household name has some political affiliations now, even those of the extra-murky variety (looking at you, Tom Cruise). It should also be noted that public figures have a far larger reach than only their immediate followers. Historically, those in the public eye have immensely helped movements bringing acceptance to previously taboo topics. Examples include such celebrities as Princess Diana of Wales with leprosy and Freddie Mercury with HIV. [1][2] Thus, it becomes essential to ask if, today, celebrities are doing more harm than good by expressing their socio-political views on social media.

Firstly, I’d like to establish that celebrities are citizens just like you and I, and are thus eligible, entitled and encouraged to have informed opinions. They have every right to have a voice regarding the state of their country’s governance, as well as the social, political, economic and environmental issues that plague our times.

However, to share those opinions on their platform, where they have the power to reach millions of people (many of who may be naive, children, or otherwise impressionable) can have negative consequences. Celebrities and public personalities should be tactful about the things they say, and their opinions should be voiced with care. If celebrities fail to make measured statements that carefully avoid any inflammatory implications, they risk setting off a chain of volatility that often leads to online ‘brigading’.

For example, in my home city of Mumbai, a video recently went viral of a middle-aged woman shaming younger women about their clothing. The older woman allegedly said the younger women (who were wearing knee-length dresses) ‘should be raped’ for their attire.[3] While her statements were reprehensible, the girls posted a video of them shouting at the woman in public for about 10 minutes, following her around and slinging many insults at her, and getting several strangers involved. When the video went viral, the girls essentially became local celebrities, and thousands of people sent harassing messages to the older woman. Their cause was justified, but if the girls had tried to talk to the woman rationally in the spirit of educating her on the more liberal sentiment they held, we could’ve had a much more amicable end to this story.

From this story and other similar instances[4] of misguided celebrity activism, we can see what behaviour should be avoided. However, there are a few examples of celebrities doing it right. Leonardo DiCaprio[6] is one such example, but a more recent one would be that of Bill Nye, everyone’s favourite “Science Guy”. He released a short video about climate change which went viral, and young adults who grew up watching his show were especially moved by the urgency in his message. The video made headlines on various news websites and joined the renewed push for ecological efforts in 2019 that aim to save our planet.[5]

A key advantage of celebrity activism is their reach. They have a large following, and can help a cause that is otherwise less spoken about to come into public knowledge. Other than raising awareness, they can also use their platform to provide an expert/scientist’s opinion on a matter, and also help in fundraising efforts. An excellent example of this is famous ALS Ice Bucket Challenge[7], which has now become an annual trend.

Some celebrities have also become ‘megaphones’, being voices for scientists and experts to create greater outreach than what would normally be possible. This way, the statement comes from the celebrity and gains the attention that any other statement by a public figure would, but also has the veracity and backing of a professional which helps in conveying accurate news/facts/arguments. The recent political climate in the United States has spawned countless meta-analyses, the results of which have been highlighted by Jennifer Lawrence.[8] Working with the Represent.us campaign, she’s using her influence to popularise the message that major political reform has to come, and it has to come now. Her initial YouTube video has received almost one million views, which is hundreds of times more than the organisation’s previous videos. This conclusively shows that her image has successfully brought the damning message to a significantly wider audience.

The positive effects of celebrity activism that I’ve highlighted paint a rosy picture, but there are downsides to it too. While celebrities are successfully able to draw attention to issues that are otherwise underrepresented or pushed under the rug, they do tend to dilute the substance of the discussion and thus sway the discourse towards superficiality.[4] They also have to engage in this sort of activism to remain relevant in modern times, where being “just another celebrity” simply isn’t enough for them to make do. I’d blame shortening attention spans for that, but that’s another topic. It’s also worth noting that celebrities are in a different socioeconomic stratum than most folks, often being millionaires and billionaires. Given this, they often assign a greater focus to issues that plague their lives and industry, while pushing aside issues that may be more important for the general public to consider.[9] These factors cause some people to accuse celebrities of being self-centered and malicious, with the argument being that they’re using social causes as a means to boost their own image. However, I think that their behaviour is necessitated by the industry they're in, and isn't the result of any particular selfishness.

In conclusion, the answer to the question, “Should Famous People Speak Out about Social Issues?” is more complicated than a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’. Personally, I think that if done carefully, celebrity activism can be extremely effective. It’s true that some harmful practices are painfully prevalent, but most of the distinctly negative effects of this practice are due to the shoddy execution, not the idea itself. Thus, I am of the belief that celebrities do more harm than good, and when the right measures are taken, can be a remarkable force for good.

References:

[1] Ali, Monica. "Royal rebel: the legacy of Diana" Guardian, 30 March 2011, theguardian.com/uk/2011/mar/30/diana-princess-wales-royal-rebel-legacy

[2] National AIDS Trust (2006), “25 years of HIV – a UK perspective” National AIDS Trust press office, archived from the original on 22 December 2006, archive.org/web/20061222111814/http://www.worldaidsday.org/about3.asp

[3] Bhagat, Mallika. “Video of woman publicly shaming girls for wearing 'short dresses’ goes viral” The Times of India, 1 May 2019, timesofindia.indiatimes.com/viral-news/video-of-woman-publicly-shaming-girls-for-wearing-short-dresses-goes-viral/articleshow/69125363.cms

[4] Cole, Georgia, et al. "Who Really Benefits from Celebrity Activism?" Guardian, 10 July 2015, theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/jul/10/celebrity-activism-africa-live-aid

[5] Howell, Elizabeth. “Bill Nye Brings Out the F-Bombs and a Blowtorch to Talk Climate Change” Space.com, 14 May 2019, space.com/bill-nye-climate-change-john-oliver.html

[6] Lopez-Ibor Mayor, Vicente. "Stephen Hawking Was the Kind of Celebrity Activist We Need More of." Thomson Reuters Foundation News, 16 March 2018, news.trust.org/item/20180316143952-3gw4n/

[7] ALS Association. “Impact of the Ice Bucket Challenge” ALS Association press office, April 20 2015, alsa.org/news/archive/impact-of-ice-bucket-challenge.html

[8] Andrews-Dyer, Helena. “Actress Jennifer Lawrence lays out a plan to save America” Washington Post, 27 Feb. 2019, washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2019/02/27/actress-jennifer-lawrence-lays-out-plan-save-america/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.3d139875536b

[9] Martin, A.J. "Celebrities Are Not Activists, and Here's Why." University of Minnesota Women's Center Blog, 12 Apr. 2016, mnwomenscenter.wordpress.com/2016/04/12/celebrities-are-not-activists-and-heres-why/