How did that old commercial go? As two grocery shoppers collide, one exclaims, “You got chocolate in my peanut butter!” and the other answers, “You got peanut butter in my chocolate!”
While the result, Reese’s peanut butter cups, was delicious, such combinations are not always as successful.
Take, for example, celebrities and politics. It’s enough to get even the smoothest star into some seriously sticky situations.
Look no further than the recent ramblings of rapper Kanye West. During NBC’s Sept. 2 “A Concert for Hurricane Relief,” West broke out into an impromptu, emotional rant that culminated with West plainly stating, “George Bush doesn’t care about black people.”
Producers immediately cut away from West and a bewildered Mike Meyers to actor Chris Tucker. West’s next appearance on “Shelter from the Storm: A Concert for the Gulf Coast” had a several second delay to prevent any further political preaching.
West’s remarks were from the heart, that is clear; and I do not believe, as many others do, that his actions were aimed to stir up publicity and get his name in the papers. Like all humans, celebrities too, whether you’d like to believe it or not, do have hearts. Of course they were moved by September 11, the death of troops in Iraq and the devastation in the Gulf Coast region. Who wouldn’t be? It’s like being against children’s literacy.
But while you or I could make a similar statement over quesadillas at Qdoba with minimal media attention, a Grammy-winning rapper will, intentionally or not, make the headlines.
And that, quite frankly, is a very scary thing.
Given the nature of their “profession,” stars may automatically become advocates of any given cause. They don’t just shake their heads at the television or talk about it at the water cooler; for them, the five o’clock news is the water cooler.
It is not a new concept. Though West tops the recent list of well-meaning stars and their poorly executed attempts at advocacy, he is by no means alone. Susan Sarandon, Tim Robbins, the Dixie Chicks, Bono and Barbara Streisand (to name a few) have all come out to speak their minds on the current political climate, often with disastrous results.
We, however, are still listening.
Let’s play a game. Of the following three names, whom do you most recognize: Nancy Pelosi, George Allen or Bono?
And thus, who are you the most likely to listen to?
(F.Y.I., Pelosi is the Democratic leader of the House of Representatives and Allen is a Republican senator from Virginia.)
No, not everyone (including myself) reads The New Republic, Time magazine and The Wall Street Journal every day. So for many of the yim-yams and yahoos out there, putting a message to an easily-recognizable face is enough to motivate the average citizen to look at the issues.
But unfortunately, as in West’s case, celebs often come off sounding self-righteous, bratty and, most of all, ill-informed. This can usually be attributed to the fact that, in most cases, celebrities are self-righteous, bratty and, most of all, ill-informed.
Just because they are on television somewhere between the 6 and 10 o’clock news does not mean they themselves are any sort of authority on it. I know it’s easy for stars and viewers alike to confuse the two, but when you see Tim Robbins on his soapbox, just remember he was in “Howard the Duck” and, therefore, cannot be trusted.
So what’s the solution?
For all the politically conscious celebrities out there, do what you do best — give money and entertain.
I have no problem with charitable celebrities. By all means, write obscenely large novelty checks and adopt children from third world countries. You can even have your own philanthropic organization. Just don’t preach to me.
But if you just have to preach, do it in your art. You want to write an album all about how you don’t like the president? That’s fine. Want to make a documentary about it? Please, go ahead. Just remember, we’re not paying you to talk.
— Bobby Hankinson can be reached at [email protected].
