She just doesn’t deserve it.
Recently, in my media class, my professor suggested that anyone who simply makes themselves “available” in today’s celebrity climate can rise to fame, regardless of whether they actually possess talent. He then elaborated on this premise with influencer examples from Charli D’Amelio to Addison Rae, using their digital path to relevance to argue that their success is undeserved.
As he went on, you could almost feel the arguably much more pop-cultured female students in the class shift in disconcertment. Sure, Charli D’Amelio was known for renegading on TikTok, and Addison Rae was the subject of countless memes, but both had also received their fair share of accolades and opportunities. D’Amelio recently ended a Broadway dancing stint, and Rae was nominated for Best New Artist at the 2026 Grammys.Â
Time and again, I have seen influencers’ successes, especially those of young women, called into question. Their accomplishments and dedication get overshadowed by debates about whether they deserve success. To understand this conversation better, I think it’s prudent to consider two key factors: the rise of the Internet celebrity phenomenon and the gendered expectations placed on women in the spotlight.
The Internet Celebrity Phenomenon
On the surface, one can quickly conclude that, with the rise of the Internet, the journey to celebrity status has drastically shifted. Before the Internet, celebrities were elusive, almost untouchable figures, accessible only through the projects that made them famous. Today, one post can earn you thousands of followers overnight.Â
This new, much quicker path to fame has cultivated the mindset that modern social media fame is often less valid. If, theoretically, anybody, at any time, could become an influencer by exposing themselves to the Internet, the resulting success seems less grand and deserved. There also seems to be a noticeable shift in mentality. While pre-social media celebrities may be regarded as talented professionals, modern-day influencers are regarded as lucky, untalented vessels for entertainment.
However, upon closer inspection, celebrification may not have undergone the complete overhaul many believe. According to Columbia Professor Sharon Marcus, the concept of celebrity has changed over the last 200 years, from 19th-century theatrics to the Hollywood Studio system to the rise of the Internet. However, as Marcus explains in TIME, the core of celebrity culture has remained, stating, “Twenty-first-century social media platforms and 20th century entertainment industries simply capitalized on a much older phenomenon spawned by a nexus of popular journalism, commercial photography and newly rapid forms of travel.”
In other words, the Internet merely evolved a cultural phenomenon that has existed for hundreds of years. It facilitated the same processes that have always existed, media merging with the individual, and gave us an output of celebrities that represent the current state our society is in. We’ve always judged how celebrities got their fame and how they conduct themselves. However, when these judgments are disproportionately aimed at young women in the influencer space, it is worth discussing whether gendered nuances may also be at play.
Possible Gendered Expectations
It’s no secret that media and fame are often shaped through a gendered lens. For instance, according to Politics Society at NYU, when “A 2025 study from Brigham Young University analyzed 44 Oscars red-carpet interviews”, they found “that female celebrities were disproportionately questioned about their fashion, physical appearance, and romantic relationships, while male celebrities received more questions about their work.” The findings also suggest that individuals in the spotlight are evaluated not only on the quality of their projects or content they create, but also in how they conduct themselves as people.Â
Perhaps this heightened sense of criticism is what drives many to question the success of young female influencers specifically. For example, instead of researching Charli D’Amelio’s projects and skills, someone may jump to the conclusion that she is famous only because of factors like appearance and availability. In this way, D’Amelio may become a victim of unwarranted criticism for being “talent-less” and thus undeserving, simply because she fits the archetype of a young woman in the spotlight.Â
Ultimately, as with any celebrity, female influencers should not be immune to criticism. However, we should also evaluate how much they deserve their fame based on the merits of their accomplishments and skills, without allowing our judgments to be clouded by gendered expectations and unfounded assumptions about how they became famous.Â
Conclusion: Beyond Celebrity Culture
At the end of the day, we’ve all criticized a celebrity at some point or another and wondered how on earth they got where they are today. It’s undeniably fun to gossip about pop culture and use it as fuel for a silly conversation.
What is concerning, however, is how quickly we forget the line between those in fame and those who aren’t. Beyond the thousands of followers and entertainment, celebrities are often seen as surreal human beings who shape cultural discussions and subconscious expectations. If we normalize overlooking talent because a celebrity fits a box, where do we draw the line? Sooner or later, judging an influencer’s fame with 5 million followers could look like judging a peer’s success with 500 followers.