This year has taken a turn of events none of us expected. With a pandemic hanging over us every
day as death tolls rise and millions more file for unemployment, the start of the decade is a
shadow of what everyone hoped for. Every country is battling an invisible enemy and in the
U.S., a disease that has plagued the country for centuries has erupted in riots across all 50 states.
When the video of George Floyd being slowly murdered on camera spread like wildfire
throughout social media– and with it, a sense of outrage– people took to the streets. As I
watched young people tweet out petition links and gather resources to distribute across social
media, it became clear that there’s a clear disconnect within celebrities and celebrity culture and
the rest of the world.
In these past few months, the ever-growing distance between us and them has become glaringly
obvious. We watched as millions of people followed stay-at-home orders, with the worries of
becoming unemployed, losing their businesses and not being able to afford hospital bills. We
also saw as celebrities stayed in their multi-million dollar mansions and watched us from the nice
neighborhoods of Hidden Hills and Calabasas.
The tone-deaf video Gal Gadot and her celebrity friends shared on their IG accounts was another
slap in the face, as they pretended to first, sing and second, empower us with the same old tired
song. This video missed its mark for several reasons. First, some of these celebrities cannot sing.
Second, celebrities have a lot of resources and influence at their disposal. Utilizing their
platforms and privilege to help out those in need would have made a better impression. The
assumption that a sing-along was the thing that we as a society needed from them, is what made
the video both tone deaf and an example of how out of touch celebrities can truly be.
As tragedy continues to spark anger and frustration every day and unemployment continues to
shoot to historic highs, social media seems to feel like a playground to celebrities. With Kylie
Jenner posting TikToks in her $36-million-dollar mansion and Justin Bieber exclaiming how
blessed he is, with Kendall Jenner rapidly agreeing in the background, many of us feel frustrated,
not amused. Why did we ever care about these people? Everyday on social media has felt like
watching two worlds violently collide. One IG story shows a link to help donate money to
essential workers or a list of numbers to call to open up another case of police brutality that
allowed a murderer to walk free. The next is a celebrity telling us to stay positive with the sunny
hills of Los Angeles in the background.
Part of the obsession we’ve had with the rich and famous may come down to the fact that some
represent the “American Dream” which is a scam but has been sold to millions as a reality. Some
of these celebrities have grown up in normal neighborhoods and followed their dreams to
become who they are today, so naturally, they are seen as the hallmark of hard work and glory.
To see them turn their backs and tweet out meaningless words while their bank accounts grow
more and more every day is ignorant at best and cruel at worst. Some will say they have no
obligation to say anything or help or donate, but maybe they’re so used to just looking out for
themselves that they can’t imagine someone else helping us.
As we’re facing protests and a president that jumped to call for the military on its own people,
being vocal has never been more important. Six years ago, Ferguson was engulfed in flames and
celebrities turned a blind eye while the media vilified protesters. Today, nothing has changed
except everyone is paying attention to who isn’t talking and who isn’t donating. In a fight where
more than 10,000 protesters have been arrested, bail funds are in need of donations and positive
vibes from another A-lister are not going to do anything. While it’s understandable that people
don’t have to make everything public and we’ll never know just how much our favorite artists
donated to the cause, people that admire them and watch them and listen to them every day need
to see their vocal support. An IG story from a Jenner that faked her tax returns but is still richer
than most of us will ever be is not helpful.
The now-infamous IG story from Virgil Abloh shocked twitter for how laughable it was. The
first Black designer of Louis Vuitton who recently had an exhibition at the High Museum in
Midtown Atlanta posted a screenshot of his donation of $50 to a Miami bail fund. I’ll let you
have a second to process that.
The poor gesture would’ve been better off on his Close Friends story than with the millions of
young people that follow him. The $50 bill now has a new name though, a “Virgil.” Aside from
the twitter jokes, all of this begs the question: Where are famous people when their communities
need them? The disillusionment with celebrity culture is only going to keep growing as we
realize that we are the only ones that can look out for each other. In the aftermath of all of this,
the people we praise and shower with admiration need to be the people that have been fighting
for our lives and not the people that watch from the sidelines in silence. The health-care workers,
the protesters on the frontlines, the organizers, the people that care.
If you can’t donate or attend the protests, here are some ways you can help:
Petitions:
Ban the Use of Inhumane Rubber Bullets
Get educated:
What to Do Instead of Calling the Police
Playlist of videos that donate to BLM: