Why are Celebrities Bad Role Models?

Why are celebrities bad role models? Is your fav problematic? Celebrities breaking the hearts of their fans is nothing new, but the mode of heartbreak has certainly changed. Earlier, celebrities used to devastate people by marrying their sweethearts, get drafted for war, retire, or break up the band.

Today, fans lament their favorites when their perfectly constructed façade cracks through old Tweets, controversial statements, or insider scoops. Maybe there is a lesson in there somewhere.

Stand on My Ground

When the long-drawn Israeli-Palestine conflict remerged, millions around the world flooded the social media with outrage and condolences for Palestine, which has been seen at the receiving end of brutality by an advanced nuclear nation, though it was the aggressor and perpetrator of terrorist attacks.

Wonder Woman star Gal Gadot, arguably the most famous Israeli artist right now, posted on Twitter calling for peace on both sides and an end to this war. Several people took offence to her statement immediately, stating that her words denied the culpability of Israel.

Some even pulled up her stint as a fitness instructor in the Israeli Defense Forces to further back their claims.

The thing is, you cannot expect a celebrity to go against their country. Gadot may face censure from powerful politicians, and it may become difficult for the actress to manage her Hollywood career if she stops getting support from her country.

As for her IDF stint – military service is compulsory for everyone in Israel, men and women. So it wasn’t so much as Gal Gadot showing a nationalist streak as it was her doing what is legally required of her. So this explains it.

Kpop star Jackson Wang has been accused of abandoning his homeland

A similar situation was seen in the East with kpop star Jackson Wang, who belongs to Hong Kong. Due to his strong business interests (and possible concerns for safety), Wang has repeatedly sided with China, despite the country’s brutal crackdown and oppression in Wang’s native state.

His lack of empathy with Hong Kong has devastated his fans, but others have pointed out that Wang simply made a calculated business decision, as brutal as it may sound. To expect celebrities to simply do what is right is to ignore the fact that they are, like other people, bound to their interests, their communities, and their ideals and agendas.

Idolizing celebrities as political and moral strongholds will never pay well, because there will be one thing or another that you and them will not see eye to eye on – and suddenly, you feel that they have betrayed you, when in reality, they have just stuck to their own ideals.

Imagine – A World Without Their Nonsense 

Gal Gadot has ignited media fire in more ways than one

Unfortunately, this is not the first time Gal Gadot came into negative media since the start of the pandemic. Way back in the early days of the lockdown, many celebrities including Gadot had created a rendition of John Lennon’s song Imagine as a message of hope. It was completely tone-deaf, in more ways than one.

The poorly sung song felt more like a slap to the general public, as celebrities sang from their mansions and yachts and ranches, still fully manicured and polished even as people lost lives, jobs, and their ways of life.

Nothing has made it more apparent than the Covid-19 pandemic that celebrities live in their own little bubble, where travel restrictions don’t matter because of private jets, and their access to private little vacations, public healthcare be damned.

There is a wide chasm between how the rich live and how the rest of the world live, and it was so very visible in the the aftermath of the pandemic.

Live and Let Go 

When people as kind and seemingly relatable as Ellen DeGeneres turn out to be secretively horrible, there is a clear lesson to be learnt, especially on social media where star culture seems to be the norm. Idolizing people as role models, especially celebrities – who are by design out of touch with reality – will only lead to eventual heartbreak.

The issue is not just of celebrities being tone-deaf or problematic. It is also an issue of the unrealistic expectations that are placed on the celebrities.

Sure, celebrities should lend their voice to important causes. But we should learn science from the scientists, politics from politicians, i.e. we should learn something from people who are leading that life or are living in those situations, and rather we should learn kindness and compassion from each other and not from these celebrities.

To look for all these things in a millionaire who is used to being fawned over is just going to lead to problems, because outside of massive platforms, most celebrities do not have the knowledge or expertise to comment on most matters.

So instead of relying on celebrities to speak up, do it yourself. Sure, you may have a small impact – but will you really? When was the last time you changed your opinion because a celebrity pushed a narrative?

And when was the last time you changed your mind because you came across a compelling piece of information shared by a close friend or a family member? You might be surprised at what really shapes you.

It’s time for us now to stop celebrities influence us so much. They are already plugging both entertainment and products. Maybe it is best to let their musical renditions just echo in the silence.