Bieber on war, Streep on Trump - but should celebrities speak up or pipe down?

Whether well intentioned or ill informed, on-screen heroes are influencing public opinion more than ever before

Ben Affleck, left, speaking out against Islamophobia during a debate with Bill Maher, centre, and Sam Harris in 2014 was one of the first times an A-list actor did so on mainstream television. AP PhotShow more

At the 2017 Golden Globes ceremony, actress Meryl Streep was honoured with the Cecil B DeMille Lifetime Achievement Award. “We need the principled press to hold power to account, to call them on the carpet for every outrage, that’s why our founders enshrined the press and its freedoms in our constitution,” she said during her speech.

It was a politically charged moment in which Streep criticised the leadership of US president Donald Trump, without mentioning his name, words for which she was praised and condemned in equal measure. To some she was an elitist, to others she was brave.

To Trump, on Twitter, she was just an “overrated” actress.

Ironically, almost a year later, Streep was criticised for her initial silence about the allegations of sexual abuse and assault against disgraced film producer Harvey Weinstein.

“Your silence is the problem,” tweeted actress and activist Rose McGowan, who noted that Streep was someone “who happily worked for the Pig Monster”.

And therein lies our predicament: Is the problem a celebrity’s silence or the moments they decide to say something? Something that is subsequently consumed by millions of their fans.

Should celebrities speak up or should they shut up?

Politics, social justice, the environment, humanitarian causes, mental health and a slew of other issues, which come in and out of focus in the public consciousness, have made celebrities quick to speak up, at least over the past two decades.

Before the 2000s, it was rare for fans to get an instant reaction from celebrities on an issue as it was unfolding. Social media has completely changed that. By tapping into the zeitgeist, a celebrity can instantly become an inspiration or become an idiot on trial in the court of public opinion.

Whether praised for shedding light on pertinent topics, mocked for their tone-deaf contributions or criticised for their ill-informed views, celebrities are not going to stop giving us their opinions.

Why? Simply because they can.

I must point out that sometimes celebrities attempting to educate and inspire the pubic can be exceptionally entertaining.

In March 2020, at the start of the Covid19 pandemic, a group of celebrities wanted to … no one is sure what they were trying to do, but they created a video of themselves singing Imagine by John Lennon, while in isolation.

It was supposed to be a “moment” to bring people together during a time of global fear. Instead, the celebrity singalong, featuring the likes of Will Ferrell, Kristen Wiig, Natalie Portman, Jimmy Fallon and others, was mercilessly (and rightfully) mocked.

Aside from being self-indulgent, performative and out of touch, it was cringeworthy, off-key – and, to me, hilarious.

Have there been times when celebrities have spoken up for the good? Sure.

Angelina Jolie’s humanitarian efforts to support refugees and displaced people around the world is an example. Ben Affleck speaking out against Islamophobia during a heated debate with political commentator Bill Maher and author Sam Harris on Real Time With Bill Maher in 2014 was one of the first times an A-list actor did so on mainstream television. Leonardo DiCaprio has continuously advocated for environmental causes, using his influence to raise awareness on the climate crisis.

Despite good intentions, it’s also become common in online discourse to order celebrities to “stick to their lane”.

That lane being to entertain the public, not educate them.

After all, there are many instances where celebrities do speak up that have been decisively more harmful and definitely not entertaining. Actress Jamie Lee Curtis faced plenty of criticism after posting a photo on Instagram taken by Gaza-based photojournalist Samar Abu Elouf showing children seeking refuge from Israeli air strikes, adding “Israel” to her caption. After it was pointed out these were Palestinian children, Lee Curtis deleted the post.

Similarly, Justin Bieber sparked an online debate when he shared his support for Israel on Instagram, mistaking a photo of the destruction in Gaza for a site in Israel. Bieber deleted the original post within an hour.

Nonsensically, celebrities are also taken to task by the public for not speaking up fast enough, or at all, pertaining to current events, war, allegations against other actors and industry issues such as diversity, gender roles, cultural appropriation… the list goes on.

Let us be clear, not all celebrities are informed about topical issues. Some are reactive, while others are simply interested in staying relevant. And yet many of us wait to hear from them.

Should we care what celebrities think? Probably not, but the truth is, many of us can’t help ourselves. We’re wired that way.

Celebrities already exist as a vehicle for us to feel things. They reflect our emotions through the roles they play or the music they create. We invite their art into our lives, anchor them to specific eras of our childhood and adolescence. Who we think they are, the characters they embody, the work they create, is embedded into our own life experiences.

As sources of emotional companionship and, for some, dependency, it seems only natural that many of us would expect to hear from celebrities, to confirm that our values align, to see that what concerns us, concerns them too.

While this bond can feel whole and authentic, it is in fact parasocial – a one-sided, imaginary relationship where the public places fabricated expectations on a person they've never met.

Despite the word celebrity having strong connotations to the word celestial, subliminally connecting the celestial beings who grace our screens to us mere mortals, it’s crucial to remember that the stars of pop culture are human too.

Celebrities are flawed with the potential to make error after error, to be motivated by fear, money, fame, to be both ignorant and impassioned, uneducated and influential, and, yes, to sometimes get it right.

Are celebrities always going to speak up? Probably. However, the onus of whether to listen to and believe them falls solely on us.