Thank you for reading! Yeah, I can understand why people may be frustrated when there are folks who will never be satisfied with someone else's choices, but at the end of the day, it is problematic when this concern takes precedence
Hearty applause! I’m done for by the last paragraph; thank you so much for this enlightening food for thought and making it easy for the average person to understand. I was in a haze about performative activism and criticism against it, but I learned so much from this article, thanks to your wonderful writing!
This is probably the sweetest comment I've ever received in my time on Substack -- you have no idea how much it means to me, and I want to thank you for the support <3
Thanks for this piece! I don't follow celebrities' lives outside of their crafts, so I didn't know about this. I somewhat feel bad for Sabrina. Seems like she's in a classic ''damned if you do, damned if you don't'' type scenario.
I agree with her denouncing the usage of her song in the White House video. At the same time, I feel like her PR team should've encouraged her to simply donate (and post about it after), then putting out a story asking people to donate. The reality is that whenever celebs ask the average citizen to donate to anything, they're met with rage since they typically have millions. They should've taken notes from Oprah and The Rock when they asked people to donate to the Hawai'i wildfire crisis.
Hi Ziane, thank you for reading! That's a good point - even if she did mention donating herself, we ultimately don't know the specifics of that donation. While the internet can be a tool to spread helpful resources, I do think the primary responsibility shouldn't fall on the everyday person, and I understand why that sentiment may not bode well
this was such a great read i think i may have fallen in love w the way u write! i always found the internet’s obsession over celebrity’s political views so interesting. rlly makes you wonder why that is.
Thank you Bels for reading and the support! <3 It is, and it definitely seems like a newer development from the past decade or so. I want to say both social media and our political climate come into play. Of course, artists being political is nothing new, but I do think there is a shift, even for celebrities that people may not have expected to be political in the past
totally agree. given the political climate rn i can see why that is. i’m not too well versed with US politics bc im not from there but id even say a part of the reason why there’s a heavy focus towards these celebrities is bc ppl no longer feel in control over their own government bodies and politicians. would love to know ur thoughts on that ! 😅 <3
Honestly, I feel like that's such an accurate explanation! I've talked a bit about it, but I definitely think that's a huge part of why Chappell Roan was ridiculed for not endorsing Kamala Harris despite saying that she voted for her. It's a lot easier to control whose music we listen to rather than abolish an electoral system. To some degree, I do think Chappell could have phrased her statements more carefully, but it does come to a point where many were holding her more accountable than the Democratic Party and discrediting anyone with genuine critiques of Harris
omg yeah i remember that whole debacle with chappell. i can agree with you on that as well! people hold celebrities up to such high and oftentimes unrealistic standard and i’m starting to thing one of the reasons why is because of their link to us and our identities (i.e we stan them because they are either relatable to us/or embody an image we desire) ergo when they do something wrong/we don’t like we immediately act as such.. it’s been great talking to you ab this even just briefly!! definitely will be staying tuned for what you’ll be putting out <33
the only reason people are saying Sabrina, Olivia and others should not have said anything about their music being used for propaganda is because they feel the need to justify that their fav artists did not do the same. they feel guilty for staning people who have been quiet for years and so they call those who speak out "performative".
They act like the USA government is just another white guy with a podcast instead of one of the most powerful governments in the world.
Saying that "speaking out just gives them more attention" is just a weird 3rd person cognitive dissonance used to defend celebrities who stay quiet.
Love this piece!! I think you described everything perfectly
Thank you so much for the support, Racheal; it truly means everything! Having been a fan of Taylor's music for a while, I completely feel this. To a degree, I can understand why many Swifties can be defensive, as she has received a ton of baseless hate (especially during the 2010s) over her dating history and writing about her exes, but it often comes to a point where any valid criticism against her is automatically grouped with the invalid ones
this is such a well structured and informative piece. You’re right, people will always form an opinion whether you do the ‘right thing’ or not
Thank you for reading! Yeah, I can understand why people may be frustrated when there are folks who will never be satisfied with someone else's choices, but at the end of the day, it is problematic when this concern takes precedence
Hearty applause! I’m done for by the last paragraph; thank you so much for this enlightening food for thought and making it easy for the average person to understand. I was in a haze about performative activism and criticism against it, but I learned so much from this article, thanks to your wonderful writing!
This is probably the sweetest comment I've ever received in my time on Substack -- you have no idea how much it means to me, and I want to thank you for the support <3
Thanks for this piece! I don't follow celebrities' lives outside of their crafts, so I didn't know about this. I somewhat feel bad for Sabrina. Seems like she's in a classic ''damned if you do, damned if you don't'' type scenario.
I agree with her denouncing the usage of her song in the White House video. At the same time, I feel like her PR team should've encouraged her to simply donate (and post about it after), then putting out a story asking people to donate. The reality is that whenever celebs ask the average citizen to donate to anything, they're met with rage since they typically have millions. They should've taken notes from Oprah and The Rock when they asked people to donate to the Hawai'i wildfire crisis.
Hi Ziane, thank you for reading! That's a good point - even if she did mention donating herself, we ultimately don't know the specifics of that donation. While the internet can be a tool to spread helpful resources, I do think the primary responsibility shouldn't fall on the everyday person, and I understand why that sentiment may not bode well
what a wonderful piece of media to add to my list of media I've been consuming instead of doom-prompting xoxo
so well written! i really enjoyed reading this
this was such a great read i think i may have fallen in love w the way u write! i always found the internet’s obsession over celebrity’s political views so interesting. rlly makes you wonder why that is.
Thank you Bels for reading and the support! <3 It is, and it definitely seems like a newer development from the past decade or so. I want to say both social media and our political climate come into play. Of course, artists being political is nothing new, but I do think there is a shift, even for celebrities that people may not have expected to be political in the past
totally agree. given the political climate rn i can see why that is. i’m not too well versed with US politics bc im not from there but id even say a part of the reason why there’s a heavy focus towards these celebrities is bc ppl no longer feel in control over their own government bodies and politicians. would love to know ur thoughts on that ! 😅 <3
Honestly, I feel like that's such an accurate explanation! I've talked a bit about it, but I definitely think that's a huge part of why Chappell Roan was ridiculed for not endorsing Kamala Harris despite saying that she voted for her. It's a lot easier to control whose music we listen to rather than abolish an electoral system. To some degree, I do think Chappell could have phrased her statements more carefully, but it does come to a point where many were holding her more accountable than the Democratic Party and discrediting anyone with genuine critiques of Harris
omg yeah i remember that whole debacle with chappell. i can agree with you on that as well! people hold celebrities up to such high and oftentimes unrealistic standard and i’m starting to thing one of the reasons why is because of their link to us and our identities (i.e we stan them because they are either relatable to us/or embody an image we desire) ergo when they do something wrong/we don’t like we immediately act as such.. it’s been great talking to you ab this even just briefly!! definitely will be staying tuned for what you’ll be putting out <33
You’re such a persuasive writer and the structure of this was just perfectttt
Thanks so much for reading! <3
This was so good I loved hearing your thoughts on this
Thank you for reading, I appreciate it <3
I'm begging people to read, I don't know Judith Butler or like anyone in performance studies.
Being performative is not inherently negative. Performing activism as a celebrity can in fact be really really important.
Please I beg you, learn how to use this word.
the only reason people are saying Sabrina, Olivia and others should not have said anything about their music being used for propaganda is because they feel the need to justify that their fav artists did not do the same. they feel guilty for staning people who have been quiet for years and so they call those who speak out "performative".
They act like the USA government is just another white guy with a podcast instead of one of the most powerful governments in the world.
Saying that "speaking out just gives them more attention" is just a weird 3rd person cognitive dissonance used to defend celebrities who stay quiet.
Love this piece!! I think you described everything perfectly
Thank you so much for the support, Racheal; it truly means everything! Having been a fan of Taylor's music for a while, I completely feel this. To a degree, I can understand why many Swifties can be defensive, as she has received a ton of baseless hate (especially during the 2010s) over her dating history and writing about her exes, but it often comes to a point where any valid criticism against her is automatically grouped with the invalid ones