Having opinions at any level can become tiring. When it comes to celebrities and public figures, we constantly expect them to speak up and voice their opinions about different issues, often political. While it is important for famous people to use their platforms for good, how much can we expect them to speak on different topics?
I think it is important for celebrities to speak up about issues going on in the world, but I sometimes find that people will heckle celebrities to get more than just an answer. While I agree that celebrities should voice their opinions and spread awareness to different issues, I think that pushing for more just brings out inauthenticity and fake sympathy. Not that the sympathy from celebrities really ever changes anything, but regardless, sometimes less is more.
Holding public figures and famous people accountable for their actions and own beliefs is also important, and it is difficult to accept that some celebrities are not going to have the opinions we want them to. We can hold singers on a pedestal and preach the lyrics of their music, but at the end of the day, they are still people with different thoughts about each little issue we come in contact with. Grounding yourself and becoming aware that famous people are just people and we might not like their opinions can help push celebrities off of the throne in one’s mind.
I often find myself wishing I knew the opinions of certain famous figures, especially in pop-culture. I realize that I do know many of the general standpoints of my favorite music artists especially, which is part of the reason I like them and find some sort of relatability to them. For me, knowing the views of certain public figures may lead me to respect them more.
Some people feel that politics need to be kept out of pop-culture and music. While I understand the idea that “not everything is political,” as many people say, I also believe that someone’s views can share the respect they have for others. Of course, a celebrity can say they support the LGBTQ community but still treat the people they work with poorly. Politics can be important to know, but they do not determine everything about a person, especially when they are famous and we don’t really know what they believe behind closed doors.
It is impossible to know how celebrities actually are when the camera is not on, so it’s important to understand that one celebrity should not be everything to a person. It is fun to have a famous person to follow, watch on TV, and follow their music closely if it’s of your liking, but it’s important to recognize that they can never be a perfect example of anything; they are just random people who happen to have become famous.
In regard to holding celebrities accountable, I definitely feel that there are certain things that can not be ignored. Whether that is donating money or providing some kind of help to people in need, or even just spreading awareness about humanitarian issues, famous people have such large followings that their platforms should be used for good. In today’s day and age, there are so many ways we can spread information, whether that is through news channels, social media, newspapers, books and more. Even so, some people choose to ignore or push aside the issues going on in the world. This is when I feel celebrities should speak up. It does not have to be constant or artificial, but I think they should speak up.
If a celebrity is actively contributing to something negative, they need to hold themselves accountable and get educated. On the other hand, once a celebrity voices their opinion, the public must learn to accept it. We can choose to turn away from that person and decide we don’t like them anymore, but sometimes these famous people are not going to be who we want.
We should be doing our own research, not expecting random celebrities to provide us information and awareness about different issues.
Of course it is fun to have someone in pop-culture to look up to, but the reality is that they are still people with opinions that might not fit what many people may want.
