Head to Head: Large platforms useful

By Nadia Paschal

With massive amounts of money, fame and influence, celebrities in the modern age have serious sway with their followers. However, it is widely debated whether or not these cultural icons are using their platforms for the right reasons.

  Celebrities often post to their social media accounts and amass hundreds of thousands of views each time. Many times, these posts are just to promote their own products or art, but over the past few years celebrities have gotten bolder and more outspoken on their ideas and beliefs outside the realm of their chosen field.

Although global and national topics are not their area of expertise, celebrities know that with great power comes great responsibility. Their fans listen to them and want to hear what they have to say, so why not use that power they wield to do some good in the world?

Global superstar and creator of Fenty Beauty, Rihanna is just one example of someone who has stepped up to the plate. She currently has 152 million followers on Instagram and in January 2022, she shared a post advocating to support the climate justice movement. Partnered with the Clara Lionel Foundation, which Rihanna herself founded, she spread the word on how important it is to support this cause and why it matters.

The foundation also teamed up with several other organizations that focused primarily on black, indigenous, and LGBTQ+ communities.

However, celebrities can’t do it all, and they especially can’t promote every cause that exists. By choosing a topic that resonates with them, as well as their supporters, stars can ensure that their philanthropy or charity of choice is supported to a greater extent.

On the opposite end of the spectrum are celebrities who prefer to keep completely quiet, such as Khloe Kardashian. With her 310 million followers she’s garnered since her family has stepped into the spotlight, Kardashian prefers to keep these views to herself.

In an interview she did in 2016 with The Cut, the topic of politics was brought up. 

“With politics I’ve learned to keep my opinions to myself, for once in my life…nobody cares about what I have to say about that,” Kardashian said.

When celebrities adopt this mindset, they are not only doing themselves a huge disservice, but their fans as well. They know that they are considered role models, but instead use that status for personal gain.

At the end of the day, celebrities are just humans like the rest of us, although with more sway. They are able to educate themselves more and have the resources to promote the causes they are passionate about. They should be allowed to raise awareness and funds for what they deem a good cause and create a positive legacy that will live on, even long after they are gone.