Thought: Should celebrities share their personal lives, opinions, and feuds on social media?
Photo Courtesy of Gianna Cilluffo ’22
Nic Staley:
Imagine you and your friend are having a debate and things end badly. You two just cannot see eye to eye, and resentment starts to build. Now, imagine that your friend goes to social media and posts twenty tweets claiming that you are an awful and abhorrent person. For regular people, that kind of behavior would be considered odd, and your friend would receive backlash from the community. This is why I am confused that people think it’s acceptable for celebrities to slander each other and air their dirty laundry on social media. In no way, shape, or form am I saying that celebrities should not share personal opinions on world issues, but when they use their status and influence to defame others in petty insignificant fights, I roll my eyes and scroll to the next post. When celebrities do this, they are not only attacking an individual, but also the other person’s entire fanbase. They flood their foe’s comments, not realizing that the user on the other side of the screen is a human being too. I’m also not saying that celebrities have it rough by any means, but someone, no matter their wealth and status, will be hurt by thousands of barraging comments. Social media creates a barrier where tone and personality cannot be effectively communicated, leading to misinterpretations and allowing feuds to escalate. Putting your beef on social media has never worked and I still don’t understand why celebrities believe that they will get their point across or get what they want by doing it online, rather than in a civil, private manner.
James Austin:
“Overexposure” isn’t a thing, overcaring is. Many people overcare, and if someone’s bombarding you with needless celebrity updates, you are allowed to tell them to stop or block them. I don’t mind reading a funny Joel Embiid tweet, salivating over what Gordon Ramsey’s been cooking, or admiring what Seth Rogen’s made in pottery class. And I don’t understand why you should find an issue with that either.
Now, when I generalize the term “celebrity” in this piece, it should be noted that I consider the majority of them to be the artists of our time. I am operating under the assumption that we should value the creative process and separate artistry from a normal occupation. Additionally, I want my audience and my associate, Nicolas Staley ‘22, to understand that I am not suggesting it should become a social necessity to follow all of these celebrities’ tweets and posts. Nor am I suggesting that it become a social faux pas to not be caught up on the latest of Ye’s (Kanye West) instagram ramblings or have an encyclopedic knowledge of Hollywood’s laundry list of revolving-door couples. I am merely a social libertarian who is fine with a trial-by-choice approach to entering the world of one’s admirers.
People like to obsess over, scrutinize, and chastise celebrities for what they do on the internet with little to no remorse. For reference, watch any number of Jimmy Kimmel Live’s “celebrity mean tweets.” However, the appeal in social media accounts is an up-close and personal view of a HUMAN. Not a figure or an idol, but a person. There is this pervasive fallacy that celebrities should act as role models. But why? To use every Tik-Toker’s favorite word, these people provide “content”—an idyllic escape from the troubles of the everyday man’s monotonous life—not government-issued life lessons.
People like to claim that these celebrities are conceited and live in a bubble, to which I respond: so are a lot of people! Who hasn’t had to roll their eyes at extended family members or friends-of-friends and think “who taught you that living this way is okay?” Nevertheless, we tolerate them, and ignore them when we can. You can do the same with celebrities. No one has to read the gossip pages. Furthermore, it’s expected that artists are eccentric. This is not something that arose with social-media celebrities or came into view when “traditional” celebrities went on social media. Of course someone with Mozart’s talent will be riddled with praise their whole life and inevitably have an ego bigger than George Clooney’s vineyard. Michelangelo had the same types of beef Drake does, and I bet if Oscar Wilde was alive today, “I have nothing to declare, except my genius” would be the narcissistic tweet he typed after arriving in a public debt. I’m sure I’ll be criticized for invoking the sacrosanct names of the past and comparing them to today’s celebrities because there’s some supposed “difference.” There isn’t. Art is art, and the elitists of the world shouldn’t categorize talent based on preference.