Celebrities leave ahead of us and we watch it happen.
A week ago, Will Smith slapped Chris Rock in the face live on TV at the Oscars. Embedded in the memory of that special awards ceremony, Forever Now: “Keep my wife’s name out of your damn mouth.”
Earlier this year, Charlie XCX called a fan “C*NT” on twitter. Kanye West (although Kanye is a whole different story) taped his face onto an Avenger’s body, across from Pete Davidson (also an Avenger): “Kanye West: Civil War” was written on it. The air was full of chaos. PR managers had apparently taken vacation. Celebs ran wild.
And who can really blame them?
Last week, Wesley Morris wrote about the Oscars incident in The New York Times and captured this special moment.
“These are the times of our lives now,” he wrote, “anyone could snap, even a man who was once one of the most popular people on earth.”
He was right.
But the plight of the struggling celebrity – who is constantly at boiling point to perform for the world – is deeply affecting the relationship they have with their fans. It spawns a flood of attitudes (just like this one), discourses, and unnecessary political discussions. The source: Celebrities, tired and heartbroken from adjusting their lives to the pandemic (just like the rest of us), want to take a break from their fandoms.
It reminds me of recent moments in conversations with musicians – a group of people I often hang out with as part of my work. One thing has irrefutably changed in recent months: how artists react to their relationship with their fans.
Most speak overwhelmingly of a general retreat. You are less inclined to please the crowd. What they seek instead is movement toward their own interests.
Masked musician Orville Peck said last month his new album is a form of liberation. “I didn’t care if anyone liked it or not,” he said rather resolutely, “I have to be good to myself and take care of myself…I have to be gentle with myself.”
“I see a lot of disappointment online. I don’t know if I’ll ever be the kind of person to tour 200 days a year again because there are things in my life that I want to enjoy right now.”
Likewise, singer/songwriter Rex Orange County formulated a similar thought.
“I feel like I’m releasing music for the first time, like nobody was listening, right?”
“As soon as I started thinking about it, it became painful for me.”
“To be honest, I’ve thought about what other people think for a long time. So it was the first time I really wrote freely and just didn’t care how it sounded or what other people would think.”
Of course, with audiences desperate for something to take their attention away from the chaos of the world, celebrities have taken the brunt of global fan bases the more they try to hide. Especially online.
Last week, revered California rapper Doja Cat found herself in the trenches of an online war: “This shit ain’t for me so I’m out,” she tweeted at the peak, “You take care.”
A few days earlier, Doja was due to perform at the Asunciónico festival in Paraguay before severe weather warnings forced the organizers to cancel. When she didn’t show her face after fans gathered outside her hotel, they took to Twitter to express their displeasure.
“Doja, about 4 years ago you started to achieve fame and all thanks to TikTok – what happened to your humility queen? I loved you,” read one tweet.
“I f***ing stopped, I can’t wait to f***ing get out and you don’t have to believe in me anymore,” she replied.
Celebrities have always been victims of fans’ wants and needs. After all, it is the element of their work that brings the bread. But why do fans think celebrities owe them anything at all?
The success of celebrity culture has long depended on the celebrity-fan relationship, and deviating from fan expectations is a game for celebrity suicide. In recent years, social media has transformed how celebrities interact, creating a more personal, intimate connection across the screen.
The likes of Doja Cat and Lil Nas X have mastered these platforms, particularly the likes of Twitter and TikTok, to strengthen that connection. Their outputs are raw and their content is unfiltered. They’re a new wave of celebrities – one who understands the nuances and power of these platforms.
But for decades, the entertainment industry has established a set of rules surrounding the celebrity, requiring them to behave a certain way in order to be successful. Because this relationship is so dependent on fans, it’s important to follow the formula.
“Consumer capitalism creates the idea that basically everyone feels their life is fine but could always be better. If you get a better job, it gets better. Or if you find the right romantic partner, it gets better,” said Peter Strumbourg, anthropologist and author of the book Caught in Play, which explains how the entertainment industry works to subconsciously shape our lives and values.
“So celebrities are people that we’ve actually stepped into that world of perfection — that world we’re always one step away from.”
Celebrities have (for the most part) always cultivated a figure of “good” — an almost mythical being who can do no wrong. They have entered both the human realm and an otherworldly, perceived utopia. In other words: a place that is both reachable and unreachable at the same time. And that’s where they have to stay for the relationship to work.
“They’re attractive, they’re surrounded by good-looking people, and everyone flatters them. Everyone loves her,” Strumbourg said.
“They live in a world of perfection, but they’re just like us. They have the same problems as us – or more. But that is the image of celebrity.”
Hand in hand with this idea goes the notion that we can be connected to this otherworldly figure. It’s the idea of the “parasocial relationship” — a term that’s become a bit of a meme lately and is often used by the media and the general public. The term refers to feeling an intimate connection with a celebrity that you have never met before.
“Once a celebrity refuses to give credit to a fan, it breaks the role that they’re an otherworldly ‘good’ entity,” Strumbourg said. “They tell the fans they’re not their friends.” And basically, that success is unattainable.
While Doja is still active on Twitter, it seems her plans to quit still stand. In one of her recent posts, it was suggested that she would pull out the last piece of content and then “dive in.”
Now that the relationship between fan and celebrity is so intertwined on social media, it’s almost impossible to make room to escape. The famous people want a break – who can blame them? It’s perhaps the clearest indication we’ve ever seen that they’re just like us.
Before the pandemic, celebs were (mostly) willing to follow the rules, condoning the give-and-take relationship with their fans that impacted monetary gains and adoration. They’ve been polished, branded, media trained – their social accounts controlled by third parties.
And throughout history, celebrities have broken out of shape – Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jimmy Hendrix, Amy Winehouse, Brittany Murphy. Many people have shown cracks in their piety and exposed themselves to the world of human frailty.
But those who have lent a helping hand have been the most successful. They’re not entirely familiar, and they’re just close enough to reality to claim what the celebrity is. Think picturesque Dolly Parton or seemingly “controlled” Anne Hathaway. If you really wanted to push the boat out, we might as well throw in Lady Gaga.
As the world still trembles under the constant shudder of the pandemic and fans look to the rich and famous to believe all is still well, the celebrity is bowing under immense pressure. And for an era in the grip of unfiltered social media connections, the distance between celebrity and fan is growing ever closer. We’re pushing the boundaries of what a star is – and who they should be.
In the end, celebs don’t owe fans anything, but if they want to be a star, they have to play by the rules.
When the rules change, it becomes difficult.
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