Is the downfall of celebrity idolization upon us? | Khadija Mbowe

“People of influence” The cat: you called?

75K could literally change someone’s life.

Celebrities were cute when “we” were able to buy homes with Tuscan kitchens and be soccer moms in Escalades. When a college degree meant you would be safe from poverty. When $75k was “peak happiness” for a family of 4, and Disney tickets were $50. “A time before overtime”. Now people are terrified; AI is taking jobs and other jobs refuse to pay living wages, rent and mortgage increases are pricing people out of homes and homelessness is becoming illegal. Young people are dying of stress. And the government thinks we need to stay ignorant about the rest of the world while it funds wars but won’t help our own country’s crises. Celebrities are more like meat shields for the rich, we are eating them but the real issue is the companies and the government who use them as collateral.

It's incredible how easily we go along with the idea that traditionally "feminine" interests like fashion are obscenely shallow and vacuous, especially in regards to costly high-fashion focussed products and events. We never have that energy for "masculine" interests and pursuits which are significantly more extravagant in monetary terms. Eg. the Super Bowl (where tickets cost tens of thousands of dollars) and football generally (both the US and the UK versions) and basketball. Literally worth Billions PER TEAM. These sporting events are way out of the reach of the average person in terms of cost. Yet we all treat these interests as inherently valuable and important.

I'm crying😭 $75 000 converted to my country's currency is R1.3 million ??! That is INSANE

We used celebrities as sensationalist escapism from our struggles, to live vicariously through them. Now that we see they are part of the reason why we struggle, we have stopped seeing them as comfort separate from harsh reality, but as a mirror of reality.

The weirdness of politicians being considered celebrities and the amount of money they make, trade, and hoard is another aspect.

I’m an Israeli Jew (born/raised) who left Israel at 18 for Australia. 34 and still in Oz. I left because I did not want my presence and my tax $$ to support the persecution and violence toward Palestinians. Here in Australia I work in part with Indigenous Australians & their healthcare. I was raised with stories from my grandparents, and the persecution & violence they experienced leading up to and during WWII. So many relatives I would never get to meet because they were murdered for being Jewish. It’s why the survivors fled to Israel. I refuse to participate in the hypocrisy and crimes against humanity. I know that not everyone can do what I did, what I did was kinda wild and I am privileged. But the protests, the talking to your representatives, and the Digitine are ALL VALID. We can do multiple things to show the world that we will not tolerate this bs anymore. Politicians and celebrities needed a wake up call. I support all of you, in all the actions you take to say ‘this is not ok!’

Not just celebrities in modeling, influencer and acting field, we should think about the sports field too.

The author of The Hunger Games wrote the books during the Iraq war, Suzanne got inspiration from flipping the channels seeing death and destruction VS rich and glamour.

For so long celebrities have prided themselves on being out of touch, but now with cost of living crisis the flaunting of wealth and being politically aloof isn't as socially acceptable as it was before

As a girl who’s originally from Palestine I was so pissed by those celebrities who can literally donate the whole amount to Gazans who needed to evaquate for treatment it makes my blood boil

A single MET Gala ticket could take aclare of student loans and put a down payment on a house. What a time to be alive

Imagine not blocking celebs and just divorcing yourself from social media entirely

"if you're doing a digitine and you don't know who your local representatives are ..." this sums up this new activism era. it's a sport

I’m a teen and I just finished reading the hunger games and once I was done, I got so scared because we are turning into the hunger games, I’m not even trying to joke. Gosh some of these people need a wake-up call

No one should ever put anyone else up on a pedestal

As a french person, the way it was reached at school was that Marie Antoinette definitely didn't say let them eat cake but the whole story is so believable as it embodied the outoftouchness of royalty. As servants were alerting the queen of the dangers of people's hunger riots, they told her that the people didn't have bread to eat. She is said to have responded "let the m eat brioche", an unhinged answer and first degree answer illustrating how out of touch royalty was. Marie Antoinette on top of all that spent millions on cosplaying as a farm maid and sheep keeper in Versailles when the people were dying of hunger sooooo....

"let them eat cake" wasn't as a cruel joke at the peasants, it was a display of ignorance, JUST LIKE hayley showed HER ignorance. it still stands STRONG even after misunderstandings of the phrase.

So glad you keep bringing the Congo up, such a disgusting situation. Heartbreaking.