Reality TV and celebrity gossip have long been a guilty pleasure of mine. There’s just something insanely addicting about watching the strange antics of rich people or knowing random facts about a celebrity relationship. This is definitely not a skill I’m proud of, but it does come in handy for trivia nights. Escaping to a glamorous world of travel, parties, and expensive tastes can be a welcome comfort after a day of school, work, and overall normalcy.
One thing however that has changed my attitude about this is the pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed many of the issues with our society that previously were just swept under the rug. A key problem that I keep seeing is the disparities of wealth and influence of certain groups, namely high profile musicians, actors, athletes, and other media influencers. It’s caused me to reflect a lot on why we value these people so much and how pivotal their platforms can be. This is especially true in the treatment of the pandemic and the actions that all people need to be accountable for.
Just the other night, I was flipping through Snapchat and saw a headline talking about singer Rita Ora apologizing after breaking COVID lockdown rules to celebrate her 30th birthday party. Ora partied through the night with a group of reportedly 30 people at a restaurant in London. Models like Cara Delevingne and other elites were photographed entering and leaving the establishment into the early hours of the morning. “This was a serious and inexcusable error of judgment. Given the restrictions, I realize how irresponsible these actions were and I take full responsibility,” wrote Ora in her apology posted on Instagram after ensuing public backlash.
Though Ora’s birthday bash was not featured on her social media, other stars have blatantly posted large parties and get-togethers. Back in October, Cardi B posted a series of photos documenting her Las Vegas birthday party. The pictures showed the partygoers dancing in close proximity to each with only a handful of them actually trying to wear masks.
Many TikTok stars have been able to skyrocket towards fame due to the popularity of the app throughout the quarantine period of the pandemic. Young stars like Addison Rae and the D’Amelio sisters have millions of followers, many of which come from younger audiences. Over the summer, fellow TikTokers Bryce Hall and Blake Gray were charged by LA officials for breaching COVID restrictions by hosting giant house parties. As reported by the BBC, the city’s attorney Mike Feuer stated, “If you have a combined 19 million followers on TikTok, in the middle of a public health crisis you should be modeling great behavior best practices for all of us rather than brazenly violated the law and then posting videos about, as we allege happened here.” The amount of partying going on among the platform’s biggest influencers has been noticed by high profile individuals like Ariana Grande, who called many of them out for frequenting popular Hollywood restaurant Saddle Ranch in large groups.
While it’s not reported if there were confirmed COVID cases that came from these events, it’s the irresponsibility of their actions and the wide visibility and influence they have that bothers me. Of course, regular people haven’t been perfect in following restrictions either. But when you have fan bases who look up to you, it’s definitely within your responsibility to make sure that you are careful about what you do and the messages you share.
Apart from having large media presences, the issues of wealth and fame in the COVID world are also exemplified by the problem of testing availability. We are currently at the height of football season in the U.S., a sport that garners millions of viewers each game. Like other professional sports leagues and collegiate teams, the NFL has constantly tested their players, coaches, and employees in order to ensure the continuity of their seasons. According to the Washington Post, the League had “administered 43,148 tests to 7,856” of their affiliated people. This incredibly huge number of tests is staggering to consider when so many nurses and frontline workers have never even been provided testing by their employers.
It’s instances like these that have really just made me feel disillusioned with celebrity culture and large corporations whose actions have continued to add to these disparities. The privilege given to these people allows them to feel above severe restrictions and guidelines that the rest of us are subject to. Unfortunately, some of the blame is also on us, the consumers of music, movies, sports games, and social media. I still enjoy supporting my favorite sports teams every week with my family, but by us doing that we’re also contributing to the problem. I continue to glance over Daily Mail stories on Snapchat reading about the newest celebrity scandal. But in today’s world, it’s become harder to completely disconnect from the media.
Regardless, the pandemic has again reminded me that we should not be idolizing the world of the rich and famous. They like all of us are just people, but they are people who by the virtue of what they do, are in positions where they can bypass restrictions and get away with slight damage to their reputations and still continue to make exuberant amounts of money. While this problem isn’t going away any time soon, I believe that we should take time to really think about the people we support and give platforms to and make sure we aren’t forgetting the real people who are putting in the work to keep our lives going.