The Dark Side of Celebrity Worship: Risks and Dangers

On the surface, celebrities often appear as beacons of aspiration and success. However, the glamorous façade often conceals a tumultuous underbelly of controversies and moral ambiguities. The question arises: should celebrities be idolised by us, the people who will never step on the same pedestal as them? Should we place them on a standard beyond what they can accomplish as humans only to criticise their errors as if they are incapable of making mistakes? 

Celebrities have a significant influence on society. Despite this, it doesn't mean that they have a role to serve as role models or examples in their behaviours. Stars do have a specific public image-rich, beautiful, and successful. Because people who live day-to-day lives do not experience this, celebrities are seen as better than them and are expected to set an impeccable standard for others. This places celebrities on an impossibly high pedestal, leading people with normal lives to worship or destroy them as if they are separate from them. 

The negative consequences of this idolisation are a potential detachment from reality. Placing celebrities on a pedestal may contribute to unrealistic expectations and standards, creating an artificial image of perfection. It's essential to recognize the humanity of celebrities, acknowledging that they, like anyone else, are prone to mistakes and imperfections. Striking a balance between appreciating their achievements and understanding their fallibility can provide a more realistic and healthier perspective. The decision to idolise celebrities should involve thoughtful consideration of both the positive and negative aspects, emphasising the importance of critical thinking and individual discernment in navigating the complex terrain of celebrity culture. 

However, much like everyday individuals, celebrities have diverse personalities. "Celebrity" itself isn't a personality trait. Celebrities with honest, generous, and friendly dispositions tend to be more favourably regarded. People are inclined to admire celebrities for engaging in positive actions, viewing them as exemplary figures. On the other hand, celebrities who contribute nothing positive to society may inadvertently influence others negatively. While we cannot control the actions of others, famous or not, we retain the ability to choose whom we look up to. 

No matter how much we want to deny it, celebrities are humans too. Popular figures known for rising to fame as young children, like Justin Bieber and Lindsay Lohan, have faced personal struggles such as substance abuse and public disturbances that landed them in prison. As a result of their actions, they’ve been criticised and attacked by media tabloids and people who once saw them as icons. Instead of us, the people who put so much pressure on them to succeed as children, demonising them, we should recognize the mistakes they make as simple human errors and hold them to the same standard we hold ourselves when facing similar challenges. Destroying the life of a famous person due to their actions being deemed unacceptable by society is inherent hypocrisy. Proud of it or not, “normal” people do the same thing. Who are we to drag someone for their flaws as if we are perfect? Many people are quick to judge famous people as they don’t want to understand that, just like us, celebrities can make mistakes, but also realise their errors and become better people. 

Some celebrities face criticism or controversy that leads many people to see them as a negative influence on society, moral values, and the people who view them. However, people change, as they realise the mistakes they make, and they grow, transforming into better, more mature versions of themselves. Even famous people. Our perceptions of a person denoted from tabloid news, social media, and gossip may not always reflect the full complexity of their character. Despite how celebrities are portrayed as a result of their mistakes, people shouldn’t see them as fallen idols. Famous people, “drug-addicted criminals” or not, are capable of making mistakes and learning from them. 

On the other hand, the idolisation of a celebrity, or the endorsement of a big name in certain issues can lead to advantages. Celebrities serve as sources of inspiration and motivation, as their achievements and actions inspire others to do the same as them. According to a survey by the National Literacy Trust, nearly 2 in 5 (37.2%) children and young people looked up to a celebrity in 2019. Celebrities like Leonardo DiCaprio and Oprah Winfrey, who donate generously, present themselves as positive influences. This displays how idolising celebrities, especially those with a positive influence on society, can have its benefits. Individuals who admire celebrities doing good may be inspired to imitate their actions and follow in their footsteps. Millions of people in the world, celebrity or not, donate thousands of pounds to their chosen charities. Every day, homeless people are given change, blankets and hot drinks to help their situation. On a normal day, a person who looks up to a celebrity wouldn't spend a second of their day looking down and helping others. However, if a celebrity openly displays themselves getting involved in charity, more people are inclined to mirror their actions. This way of influencing illustrates how idolising a celebrity has limited perks. Celebrities can use their masses of clout and influence to bring attention to issues that are ignored, as well as convince other people to become charitable. The visibility of celebrities and the importance of their name and presence can raise awareness for important social issues and charitable causes. 

Personally, I believe that despite the actions of a celebrity, worshipping a celebrity is done by the worshippers. People who look up to celebrities like Justin Bieber as a child can tear him down when he's no longer innocent and young. We know that celebrities are human. They look like us when we peek through the makeup, money, and paparazzi. They bleed and cry and laugh and eat like we do but we refuse to see them as similar to us. We CHOOSE to idolise and worship them. WE decide to criticise them heavily and separate their experiences and errors from ours. We bring them up to tear them down. We decide to nit-pick everything they do as we want to see perfect humans. But when they fail we tear them down, through scandals and cancel culture, as if we’re not the ones who pressured them to be perfect in the first place. 

I repeat, celebrities, despite their fame, are fundamentally human. Recognising this is crucial, as it enables us to strike a balance between appreciating their accomplishments and understanding their errors. Instead of expecting celebrities to uphold our unrealistic standards of them, we should learn to dote upon them less. As a result, they don't disappoint us as much, and we don’t pressure them to be perfect. Therefore, idolising celebrities leads to many problems regarding influence, and ethical norms and leads to unrealistic expectations and feelings of inadequacy - for us and them. 

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