Right-on global celebs lose the plot with their reactions to the riots in Minneapolis - RT

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Damian Wilson

is a UK journalist, ex-Fleet Street editor, financial industry consultant and political communications special advisor in the UK and EU.

is a UK journalist, ex-Fleet Street editor, financial industry consultant and political communications special advisor in the UK and EU.

Fear of being too slow to respond is almost as bad as being caught on the wrong side of events for privileged, wealthy VIPs, as they jump onto social media to show how in-touch they are.

For those who think being a celebrity is easy – turn up, smile, go home – the events of Minneapolis should dispel that idea once and for all… it’s actually totally exhausting.

When something as divisive as the death of a black man at the hands of a white policeman (surely someone other than me remembers Rodney King?) occurs, you could set your watch by the Swiss-style efficiency that those in the public eye in these modern times switch to social media to emphasize their right-on credentials.

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And if you miss your slot, well, woe betide you. Either you weren’t watching the 24-hour news on TV, forgot to charge your smartphone or, even still unforgivably, you live in a time zone halfway around the world and events have not yet caught up with you.

Whatever your excuse. It. Is. Just. Not. Good. Enough.

So now we see reaction to the tragedy that is the death of George Floyd become something that people beat each other on the head with.

Speedster Lewis Hamilton leapt into action, attacking Formula One en masse, probably the least colour-inclusive sport imaginable apart from Real Tennis, to condemn anyone who hadn’t spoken out on the events across the Pond.

“I see those of you who are staying silent, some of you the biggest of stars yet you stay silent in the midst of injustice,” the British racing driver announced on Instagram.

What’s the presumption here? That saying nothing – either pro or anti – on Instagram proves that you’re some crackerjack racist? Surely that’s a bit of a leap.

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Then you have Lin-Manuel Miranda, creator of the hit musical theatre production of Hamilton, who, in the manner of a Stalinist-era stooge rushing to be the first to condemn themselves, on Sunday apologized for not speaking out earlier about George Floyd’s death, admitting it had been a “moral failure.”

In a video on the official Hamilton Twitter account, Miranda said: “That we have not yet firmly spoken the inarguable truth that Black Lives Matter and denounced systematic racism and white supremacy from our official Hamilton channels is a moral failure on our part.”

Can the writer and actor not see that there is a great proportion of the world that can operate just fine without moral guidance from a guy who sings and dances on stage for a living?

We get it. In the States, success suddenly burdens the high achiever with unbelievably weighty social responsibility. You made it good, ergo, you are good. You must proclaim your stand on any issue in the public realm. Whether it’s Donald Trump, racist, murderous policemen or TikTok trends.

The singer Taylor Swift lashed out at President Trump on Twitter, accusing him of “stoking the fires of white supremacy and racism,” and adding: “We will vote you out in November. @realdonaldtrump.” It quickly went to No1 in the charts of her most popular tweets. 

Sometimes these poor celebrities spend so much energy chasing what’s right and what’s not that the two collide and they disappear up their own backsides. It’s all, as Swift might sing herself, totally exhausting.

Take the loaded former sports TV reporter Chris Martin Palmer (who knew there was so much moolah in that gig?), who, tucked up safely inside his gated community home, tweeted “Burn that s*** down - Burn it all down” over a picture of a blazing building from Minneapolis, which happened to be a nearly-completed 189-apartment, affordable housing project.

But things went wrong for poor CMP shortly afterwards as the protesters neared his sacred abode and there was the ear-splitting sound of screeching brakes as he slammed into reverse.

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His next tweet was like that of a scared little girl: “They just attacked our sister community down the street. It’s a gated community and they tried to climb the gates. They had to beat them back. Then destroyed a Starbucks and are now in front of my building. Get these animals TF out of my neighborhood. Go back to where you live.”

His hypocrisy, of course, attracted the mirth of the Twitterati, with one wit pointing out, “Mobs are much more fun to follow on TV or Twitter than when they are in your neighborhood.”

But all the celebrity stomach churning didn’t stop there. Oh, no. Now we have the “my bank account’s bigger than yours” spectacle of actors and performers paying into a fund used to make bail for those arrested in the riots that have blighted Minnesota and other US cities over the last week.

Here you have Steve Carrell, Seth Rogen, Jameela Jamil, Cynthia Nixon, Ariana Grande, Justin Bieber and others all battling to stay on the right side of the debate.

Do we support these wild protests? Of course! Do we support looting, though? No! Where do the two separate? We don’t know! It’s all so confusing.

It’s such typical celebrity virtue-signaling that if it all weren’t so goddamn serious, it would be funny.

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The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of RT.

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Right-on global celebs lose the plot with their reactions to the riots in Minneapolis - RT
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