How COVID-19 Has Exposed the Uselessness of Celebrity Culture We’re not really all in this together

By: Holly Gilvary

If you hadn’t heard the term “celebrity culture” before 2020, you’ve certainly heard of it now. As an aspect of society that encourages people to idolize celebrities, celebrity culture has been a growing topic over the past year.

Almost everyone has participated in celebrity culture. I’m certainly guilty of it: I had a One Direction stan account on Twitter that I ran religiously for about four years. Celebrities—and their lives—offer the average person a break from their reality and the opportunity to indulge in someone else’s drama. That being said, there’s no harm in watching “Keeping Up with the Kardashians” or stalking your favorite music artist’s Instagram if it serves as a mental health break or a form of entertainment.

But the problem lies in the fact that celebrity culture has gone too far—and this has been greatly exposed by COVID-19.

At the beginning of the lockdown in the United States back in March, we quickly began to see the difference in how celebrities were dealing with the virus and how the rest of us were. Many celebrities, whether they were talk show hosts, actors, singers, athletes, or reality TV stars, took to social media to communicate to the public that “we’re all in this together.” But as the world read these statements as captions under selfies or on Instagram stories with pools, lush furniture, and roomy homes in the background, we started to question: Are we really all in this together?

When compared to the average person, the pandemic has barely affected celebrities. No one likes to be stuck inside or prevented from getting together with loved ones—but celebrities have both the means to stay healthy (or receive treatment) and the status to let them sidestep rules and safety precautions. At the same time, essential workers across the country put themselves at risk every day so that they can pay their bills. Poor and lower-middle-class people are struggling to pay their rent while receiving little help from the government. Meanwhile, celebrities tweet empty messages like “Stay safe!” and “Make sure to vote in November!” before turning off their phones and returning to their luxury lifestyles.

This isn’t to say that the industries celebrities work in need to be abolished: film, television, music, and professional sports all serve as sources of culture, entertainment, and much-needed mental escapes for the average person. They’re all wonderful things that we have the privilege of enjoying in our society; however, we don’t need to put celebrities on pedestals to do so, especially when many celebrities prove that they will always side with those in their tax bracket rather than the masses calling for justice and equality. Idolizing celebrities distracts from the fact that at the end of the day, they don’t care about the rest of us. Just as they were easily able to stay home when the coronavirus hit the U.S., celebrities will always be the first ones in the clear when anything bad happens—while the majority of Americans are left to struggle.

It’s easy to get sucked in to celebrity culture, especially with their abundant presences on social media. However, it’s important to keep in mind that we can appreciate music, art, sports, and films without idolizing the people who are making or participating in them. Celebrity culture is, at best, utterly useless—and at worst, it’s a major distraction from the rampant inequality that plagues this country.