Issue 26

In 2022, we have more access than ever to everyday celebrity life. Through social media we can see (and copy) their breakfast habits, their favourite coffee shops, and so much more. As this relationship develops, we naturally start to see the emergence of blurred lines as to what we do and what we should have access to in a celebrity’s life. Ultimately, the choice of what they share does not belong to us, however, consumers are growing more and more demanding in this relationship, to a potentially dangerous extent. And in many cases, when that access is given too freely, the consumer takes their own power over the content, leading to the so-called “meme-ification” of the celebrity.

MEMEIFICATION:

Some people, or scenarios, are “meme-ified” as a means of spreading information in a funny way online, that doesn’t offend anyone in the process. The real issue with this process is when the line between people and memes blurs, and those sharing the content forget that a living individual is on the other side of the screen.

Your best friend may post a photo, celebrating body types of all shapes and sizes, and be inundated with praise and support, but a celebrity posts the same content of their body and the top comments are people tearing them down, or making fun of the photograph. The difference being we consider one of these individuals as “free game” to make fun of.

POOT LOVATO:

Let’s put some context to the term meme-ification, and introduce you to Poot Lovato. Poot is the nickname given to American singer and actor Demi Lovato, based on an unflattering photograph of the celebrity that was uploaded to Tumblr in October 2015. Since emerging online, the photograph has spawned a series of photoshopped parodies and an online myth regarding the entirely fictional alter ego of Demi Lovato.

On October 23rd, Demi Lovato tweeted, then deleted, a response to the Poot meme. "Cool to see a shitty angle turn into a meme that circulates the Internet to people's amusement ha". (However they have continued to engage with the meme since online).

The joke, though mostly harmless, has in many cases been taken too far online. And is often used to demean Lovato publicly. A huge majority of the reshares of the image will be from passive consumers online who find the image funny, however, any fan of the star would be educated on their ongoing battle with eating disorders, and self-perception, so a meme specifically bullying their appearance does feel in particular bad taste, whether the intent is for comedic or not. The content isn’t contributing anything good to the social media landscape, but has continued to hang around 7 years on, even after Lovato’s own celebrity has faded slightly.

THE CELEBRITY VS THE PUBLIC:

So let’s get topical and specific. Some of the most haunting examples of this virtual tomato-throwing can be seen when looking at the recent careers of Kanye West and Pete Davidson.

Comedian Pete Davidson had been the subject of online torment throughout 2018 after his public engagement (and subsequent break-up) with singer Ariana Grande. Fans of Mac Miller used Davidson as a place to target their grief and frustration after the rapper’s passing, largely due to Davidson’s relationship with Grande, who had dated the rapper earlier that same year. Davidson’s Twitter and Instagram comments became more referential to Miller and Grande than himself, and his entire career and existence was being belittled by trolls online. Davidson has attempted to address the comments in interviews, and de-escalate the situation, "I've been doing this for like, 10 years, so like, it sucks for a six-month thing to completely take over that," he said. "Not a lot of people knew anything [about me] until I started dating her. So yeah, it's difficult, and it's definitely a little bit of a punch in the gut, and has removed fans from his gigs who would mention Miller.

In December 2018, during the peak of this harassment online, Davidson deleted his Instagram, and released a series of alarming tweets online, following a berating by the public of Kanye West online. Davidson wrote, “I’m trying to understand how when something happens to a guy the whole entire world just trashes him without any facts or frame of reference… Especially in today’s climate where everyone loves to be offended and upset it is truly mind boggling. I’ve been getting online bullied and in public by people for 9 months.” At an apparent breaking point, Davidson left the internet that night with the chilling message ““I’m doing my best to stay here for you but i actually don’t know how much longer i can last. all i’ve ever tried to do was help people. just remember i told you so”.

Celebrities and fans alike came out in floods of support online, with Davidson’s name trending number one globally on Twitter. Grande posted a public apology for joining in on the West ridicule that seemed to trigger the outrage, and reached out to Davidson publicly in a now deleted tweet to say she was downstairs in his building and wanted to give him any help he needed.

Davidson returned to social media nearly 5 months later, and has remained fairly inactive on most platforms for several years claiming to rather spend his time with friends, however has recently found himself in the center of another internet vs. the celebrity battle amidst Kanye West’s recent posts.

Now, in real time, we are watching West attack his ex-wife, Kim Kardashian, and her relationship with Davidson, by using these legions of happy online trollers to do the damage on his behalf. It doesn’t take much to see the effect West has had on dehumanizing Davidson online, a quick search of “Skete” on Twitter or Instagram results in hundreds of thousands of results poking fun at the comedian.

Of course, a celebrity’s job in 2022 has become to influence, and a huge part of our online consumption is shaped by this. So when global superstars like West or Grande make a quip or target at an individual, their fans feel as though they’ve been granted a form of permission to also take part in the joke. However we’ve seen first hand in this case alone how dangerous it can be when the public perceive an individual as a joke, or a target, more than a person. Davidson may have been through the situation and come out the other side, which has undoubtedly caused his near complete silence on the recent West situation. But the new generation of celebrities are having to deal with this younger and younger. Disney Star Joshua Bassett recently spoke out about his hospital stint following his controversy with co-star Olivia Rodrigo. His song Lie, Lie, Lie was released six days after Rodrigo's tell all break-up track Driver’s License, and following intense trolling online, he asked to be taken to the hospital, where he was diagnosed with heart failure caused by septic shock. "I felt my heart literally failing," he said. "I was like, 'This isn't just anxiety. This is bad.'" Having made a full recovery, recently he has spoken about his continued battle with panic attacks and depression, whilst still dealing with insistent trolling every single day online.

The culture of celebrity for the longest time was deeply ingrained in their unobtainable nature, in prestige. We presume that social media has allowed us to humanize these individuals, that as they share their day to day lives we begin to see them as people as less as celebrities. The rise of the influencer has often led us to believe that we as consumers want to support people we can relate to, that we see ourselves within. However the proof online would seemingly point to social media instead giving a platform to pull the celebrity to a lower state than how we perceive ourselves. By belittling the individual to the point of dehumanizing them into merely a meme, celebrity culture online has become dangerous place for both physical and mental wellbeing, and with seemingly, no where to place the blame. If a star points the finger at a fellow celebrity, should we be holding them accountable for their fans actions? Or should we be advising those with audiences to limit their social media use, or step back entirely?

Either way, the way we consume celebrity content online needs to change.