It has long been a fashionable and celebrated pastime in Republican circles to mock Hollywood celebrities for their elitist, superficial and often silly proclivities, their inability to relate to average Americans and the belief that rules don’t apply to them.
Hollywood is in fact a reviled category of people for many on the right — unless, of course, one shows up at your national convention to speak to an empty chair, or is Angelina Jolie’s estranged dad, or Chachi. Otherwise, though, to many conservatives, celebrities are bad and evil and out of touch.
They don’t have any business telling “Real America” what to do, and they possess few valuable life skills. (Incidentally, the reviled skills they do have made two celebrity types, Ronald Reagan and Donald Trump, perfectly acceptable candidates for president.)
Celebrities, according to the Fox News wing of the party, should keep their politics to themselves. They should shut up and sing, or shut up and dribble, or shut up and post strange videos about fried fish from their lavish bathrooms, in Madonna’s case.
Unless, that is, their politics are supportive of President Trump, in which case, welcome to the program, Kirstie Alley, Kid Rock, James Woods and Antonio Sabato Jr. — what are your thoughts on China’s trade policies, election fraud and pulling troops out of Afghanistan?
Ignoring these inconvenient holes in the Republicans’ argument against celebrity, they do occasionally stumble into a point. Whether it’s stuff like the college admissions scandal, or well-known climate hypocrise, or the entertainment industry’s protection of powerful predators, it’s not a stretch to say that Hollywood, like anywhere else, is filled with imperfect and questionable moral authorities.
During the current public health crisis, however, much of Hollywood has been fairly responsible about following COVID-19 protocols and precautions. Los Angeles has endured several lockdowns, movie and television production has halted, and many celebs have helped encourage others to stay home and stay safe — albeit in occasionally cringe-worthy ways.
All of which makes the rare exceptions all the more glaring and infuriating. There’s been a boomlet of bad behavior over the past few weeks, just as case numbers have been spiking here in the U.S. and around the world.
British pop star Rita Ora held a birthday party for herself over the weekend at a London restaurant with 30 people, breaking the city’s lockdown rules. She has since apologized for her “serious and inexcusable error of judgment.” Britain has Europe’s highest death toll. Rapper Lil Wayne held a “packed, maskless 22nd birthday bash” for his daughter, Reginae Carter, which was attended by fellow celebs Juvenile, 2 Chainz and “The Real Housewives of Atlanta” star Kandi Burruss, who tweeted, “Lord, we ain’t supposed to be outside. Only in Atlanta!”
A statement released by Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms scolded party-goers by reminding that “COVID-19 continues to ravage our communities — is proportionately impacting Black and Brown communities. If we are to curb the spread of this deadly disease, we all have an individual responsibility to take every precaution possible to stay safe.”
Rapper Cardi B posted images of her Thanksgiving party — “12 kids and 25 adults over the holidays. It was lit!!” After receiving backlash for ignoring holiday gathering guidelines, she initially apologized, but later tweeted that people were “trying tooo hard to be offended.”
Back in October, country singer Morgan Wallen was unceremoniously uninvited to perform on “Saturday Night Live” after he flouted their safety protocols at a large, mostly maskless party, where he was seen kissing multiple women. California Gov. Gavin Newsom has apologized for breaking his own state’s guidelines attending a friend’s birthday party at a fancy French restaurant with no masks and no social distancing.
Sisters Kim Kardashian-West and Kendall Jenner were both criticized for holding large birthday bashes for themselves amidst a deadly pandemic. And a rash of TikTokers and influencers have been slammed for holding house parties, mostly in California, despite multiple warnings to stop. To which America says, “Are you kidding me?” This year has been one of the hardest in generations for millions of people whose lives have been upended, in some cases destroyed. We’ve lost our businesses, our freedom, our security, our sense of community.
Our kids have been in and out of school; they’ve lost out on milestone events and basic social experiences. We spent a summer without camp or vacations. We canceled holidays and family gatherings. We’ve been unable to visit loved ones in the hospital or attend funerals.
But Kendall and Kim must throw themselves lavish parties? Lil Wayne can’t wish his daughter happy birthday without endangering half of Atlanta? This is why the political lectures at Hollywood award shows often ring so hollow and feel so insulting. The advice frequently comes from people who believe the rules don’t apply to them. Not even when the consequences are life and death.
S.E. Cupp is the host of “S.E. Cupp Unfiltered” on CNN.
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