by Joseph Oscilowski ’22

The news has been exploding recently with big topics such as the Israel-Palestine conflict. With controversial topics such as this, we see a lot of social media activism; posting about and advocating for one’s beliefs via their social media platform. Celebrities are often unfairly criticized for not participating in said activism as they’re seen as role models that should be on top of the news. It’s time that we stop holding celebrities to such unfair standards.

What we think we know about a celebrity, however close we may feel with them, does not bring us anywhere near the reality of their life. With this, it’s incredibly unfair for celebrities to be constantly under the gun when it comes to posting about topics in the news. There’s multiple factors that go into why a celebrity may not be posting, some of which include lack of education, fear of losing their audience and/or sponsors, and a simple disinterest. Social media activism, though still good, is one of the smallest forms of activism. While fans shame a celebrity for not posting something to their story on Instagram, that celebrity may be contributing more by donating or some other form of activism without the public’s knowledge. Fans need to stop immediately jumping to conclusions and let their idols process/respond to news the way they want.