Windy Day Posted June 23 Posted June 23 not obligated but i would expect time's person of the year to use their immense platform and influence that they've been given for something good and not only when it's about themselves / their own fortune 8
KillingYourCareer Posted June 23 Posted June 23 Absolutely not. They aren't obligated to pick a side or have an opinion on the situation either.
State of Grace. Posted June 23 Posted June 23 (edited) I don't know if "obligated" is the right term, but as three major American pop stars/celebs with huge platforms, yes they should be. But they won't. It's been over 8 months. You all run to thread any "political" thing they say or do, but when it comes to this genocide it's suddenly "they have no impact! no power! they are just poor little singers not politicians! they can't convince governments to stop killing people!" as if anyone thinks they have said power. The three of them were also vocal Biden supporters if yall wanna go there, so it's not like they have always avoided politics. Taylor made a fuss about her "political awakening" in 2018-2020 and had a whole ass segment in her documentary about wanting to be "on the right side of history" and telling us "how she feels about politics". Since then its been crickets, and I doubt she'll get involved with Biden again. Even as a fan, I never even expected her "political" era to last that long, but it is just disappointing that the biggest celeb on earth and "Person of the Year" couldn't bother to say anything. Beyoncé is one of the most "political" pop stars ever and when you reference political imagery/people in your work as heavily as she has in the past decade, you should be expecting critiques when you remain silent about Congo, Palestine, etc. It's as simple as that. The official BDS movement asked both of them to distance themselves from the Israel screenings of their concerts (which had people waving the Israeli flag and dancing to their songs as Palestinians were being murdered only kilometers away) but they totally ignored their calls. Crickets. That's when I knew that they'd never say a damn thing. Gaga started out as one of the most "political" pop stars of the industry but her advocacy has recently become so corporate and whitewashed. Fans literally had to beg her to step up and speak up about the anti-trans rhetoric and legislation last year. Not that it erases her work in the early years of her career, but it should tell you why people expect and put pressure on her to speak up. She had no problem addressing the Ukraine-Russia conflict when she was literally mid-Oscar campaign. She has also previously performed in Israel which is eye roll worthy in itself. Not many people cared because....fine....she's a dumb american pop star!! And she got the benefit of the doubt for the longest time like many many many others. The tone truly started changing globally (more like in the West) after the May 2021 uprising (known as the digital intifada) because that's when the cause truly became a forefront topic on social media, so no one can get away with it now. I know for sure that she won't speak up about Palestine, and it wouldn't even shock me if she puts on her Hilary Clinton drag later this year and starts clowning herself for the senile ghoul again, unless Warner stops her from doing it. I still admire their output and talent and I thankfully don't stake my worldview and my politics on them, but it really says a lot that they couldn't even bother sharing a damn fundraiser on their *huge* platforms, which is the baaaaare minimum they could do right now. Not like they are being asked to wear a keffiyeh and go out protesting in the streets. Edited June 23 by State of Grace. 8 4 1
Petra von Kant Posted June 23 Posted June 23 (edited) idk how unpopular this is but I feel the need to mention that: Gaga, B and TS are ******* popstars they're not some represntative of the U.S goverment or some **** and I'm honestly really glad they haven't spoken about palestine: cause if they did it would simply because they don't wanna get cancelled or something everyone knows damn well they can't do anything about, and don't someone dare use the ''raise awareness'' thing no awareness is needed to be raised about palestine, literally everybody on planet eart who doesnt live under a rock knows so them not speaking is much better than them doing it simply to maintain their reputation with absolutely zero interest inside if one of them ia geneuinely interested in the situation, making an acknoweldgmenet would be greatly appreciated but that should come with the acknowledgement of the fact their acknowledgement cant help the palestinian people in any way if there's no interest, not speaking is much better than doing it as an act to flex how ''socially aware'' they area nd maintain their rep Edited June 23 by Petra von Kant 1
DiamondHeart Posted June 23 Posted June 23 not obligated, but it is shameful to be silent when you have a huge platform and have been vocal about other issues. I can admit I've lost a lot of respect to all of my faves for being silent, but that's on me for expecting something out of them. but then, I don't like seeing this used as a weapon in people's stan wars, that's disgusting. 5
Alaska. Posted June 23 Posted June 23 I think they should be as pressured to speak on it as much as sports players are currently pressured to do so
EnigmaticAndroid Posted June 23 Posted June 23 No. They're popstars, not world leaders. Are popstars in countries allied with America obligated to speak on the gradual death of democracy?
Janet Posted June 23 Posted June 23 56 minutes ago, KillingYourCareer said: Absolutely not. They aren't obligated to pick a side or have an opinion on the situation either. Calling for a ceasefire is not "picking a side". Disapproving of a genocidal regime is also not "picking a side"
Richie.Valdez Posted June 23 Posted June 23 2 hours ago, Kukai said: I've seen a lot of tik toks and tweets
KillingYourCareer Posted June 23 Posted June 23 (edited) 32 minutes ago, Janet said: Calling for a ceasefire is not "picking a side". Disapproving of a genocidal regime is also not "picking a side" The ceasefire side, albeit the most reasonable one, isn't what a lot of people want! Unfortunately many gays still expect these celebs to pick the side that wants them dead. Edited June 23 by KillingYourCareer 1 3
SleepingTigers Posted June 23 Posted June 23 No, only politicians should be obligated to say something since they're the ones in control. Those 3 can of course speak their minds but it doesn't mean crap if the politicians don't move off their asses. 1
justin. Posted June 23 Posted June 23 1 hour ago, State of Grace. said: I don't know if "obligated" is the right term, but as three major American pop stars/celebs with huge platforms, yes they should be. But they won't. It's been over 8 months. You all run to thread any "political" thing they say or do, but when it comes to this genocide it's suddenly "they have no impact! no power! they are just poor little singers not politicians! they can't convince governments to stop killing people!" as if anyone thinks they have said power. The three of them were also vocal Biden supporters if yall wanna go there, so it's not like they have always avoided politics. This entire post is spot-on, but people on this site really need to read this part. If their faves speak on an issue they care about, they make an entire show about it. When they're silent and not being portrayed in the best of light (due to their OWN behavior), suddenly the narrative changes. 1
Loca Posted June 23 Posted June 23 1 hour ago, KillingYourCareer said: Absolutely not. They aren't obligated to pick a side or have an opinion on the situation either.
justin. Posted June 23 Posted June 23 1 hour ago, Petra von Kant said: idk how unpopular this is but I feel the need to mention that: Gaga, B and TS are ******* popstars they're not some represntative of the U.S goverment or some **** and I'm honestly really glad they haven't spoken about palestine: cause if they did it would simply because they don't wanna get cancelled or something everyone knows damn well they can't do anything about, and don't someone dare use the ''raise awareness'' thing no awareness is needed to be raised about palestine, literally everybody on planet eart who doesnt live under a rock knows so them not speaking is much better than them doing it simply to maintain their reputation with absolutely zero interest inside if one of them ia geneuinely interested in the situation, making an acknoweldgmenet would be greatly appreciated but that should come with the acknowledgement of the fact their acknowledgement cant help the palestinian people in any way if there's no interest, not speaking is much better than doing it as an act to flex how ''socially aware'' they area nd maintain their rep One could argue they are NOT speaking up because they don't want to be "cancelled." This entire post is ridiculous. "So them not speaking is much better..." Speaking out against genocide is literally NEVER worse than being complicit.
Tovitov Posted June 23 Posted June 23 No, celebs shouldnt feel pressured to insert themselves into every hot button issue.
State of Grace. Posted June 23 Posted June 23 2 minutes ago, justin. said: This entire post is spot-on, but people on this site really need to read this part. If their faves speak on an issue they care about, they make an entire show about it. When they're silent and not being portrayed in the best of light (due to their OWN behavior), suddenly the narrative changes. Exactly. We all applaud them when they speak up about homophobia or other issues that touch us personally, but when it comes to Palestine (which also has queer people by the way! since many users here pretend that they don't exist), they suddenly stop thinking their faves should speak up. How about the fact that Israel has been pinkwashing their crimes for ages, and they continue using our community to justify their human rights violations, but I don't see yall being bothered by that. I mean there's a user above referring to Palestinians as "the side that wants them [gays] dead" so what can you expect from these delulu'd people who think Israel is the epitome of progressiveness. 1
smates Posted June 23 Posted June 23 No, they are not obligated. However, their deliberate decision not to speak up (because there is no way they are unaware of what's going on, so yes, at some point, they must have decided not to speak up) makes me side-eye them a bit. Fans who say, "They don't have to; they are not politicians!" or "They have no power!" etc., are probably scared that the people they idolize so much don't care about innocent lives, or maybe they support Israel. Because for the life of me, I cannot think of one reason why they couldn't speak up. It's not like they'd lose anything by doing so. 2
MidnightsAtPeace Posted June 23 Posted June 23 18 minutes ago, KillingYourCareer said: The ceasefire side, albeit the most reasonable one, isn't what a lot of people want! Unfortunately many gays still expect these celebs to pick the side that wants them dead. when will gays (me included) realize that not everything is about them? innocent people are being violently killed and burned, and you only care about whether the religion of a country that is the victim of a genocide supports who you sleep with or not? Palestinian queers are being killed too if you bothered to care. Just because their religion or government is against homosexuality doesn't mean they deserve to die???? also you're so naive to think Israel actually cares about us in the slightest. they'll kill you and I if they had the chance too. 1
Tovitov Posted June 23 Posted June 23 (edited) 32 minutes ago, KillingYourCareer said: The ceasefire side, albeit the most reasonable one, isn't what a lot of people want! Unfortunately many gays still expect these celebs to pick the side that wants them dead. You're going to be downvoted but you're absolutely right when you say "what a lot of people want". Its a complex issue and if even one of these girlies called for a ceasefire and a two state solution, you'd have multiple members trying to cancel them. Edited June 23 by Tovitov 2
justin. Posted June 23 Posted June 23 The users on this site spend so much time bragging about "influence" and "impact," but the moment people hold their feet to the flames and ask them to use that influence for good, the narrative switches up so quickly. Olivia Rodrigo asked her fans to register to vote, and the number of young voters who did register significantly increased. If someone like Taylor Swift asked her fans to write letters to their representatives supporting a ceasefire, the mailboxes of those politicians would be stuffed to the brim in a matter of days. It's sad that some people do not engage in world issues unless a pop star says something, but it's reality. There's a reason Republicans and Democrats are PRAYING Taylor endorsed their side in the upcoming election. Political pundits believe she could swing the election in one person's favor.Not that I'm a fan of either candidate, but it's an example of how much influence she and others have. It's better that they use their influence for good rather than shucking album variants and schilling pills. 6
Cyanide Posted June 24 Posted June 24 No, and that doesn't speak to what they believe behind closed doors. I don't know what Beyonce or Gaga could do that the US government hasn't been able to
thirdward Posted June 24 Posted June 24 bey really didn't think throughly about using radical imagery during the lemonade era bc it's always going to bite her ass with everything she does
supertiffany Posted June 24 Posted June 24 18 hours ago, justin. said: The users on this site spend so much time bragging about "influence" and "impact," but the moment people hold their feet to the flames and ask them to use that influence for good, the narrative switches up so quickly. Olivia Rodrigo asked her fans to register to vote, and the number of young voters who did register significantly increased. If someone like Taylor Swift asked her fans to write letters to their representatives supporting a ceasefire, the mailboxes of those politicians would be stuffed to the brim in a matter of days. It's sad that some people do not engage in world issues unless a pop star says something, but it's reality. There's a reason Republicans and Democrats are PRAYING Taylor endorsed their side in the upcoming election. Political pundits believe she could swing the election in one person's favor.Not that I'm a fan of either candidate, but it's an example of how much influence she and others have. It's better that they use their influence for good rather than shucking album variants and schilling pills. exactly they be bragging "my fave is the MOST INFLUENTIAL, THE BIGGEST, THE MOST POWERFUL, BLAH BLAH" but they be changing opinions right when topic such as this. SHAMELESS!
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