Why Celebrity “Activism” Doesn’t Work 

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the “kim, people are dying” ATE.

The line about living a life our ancestors could only dream of, while not letting their past become someone’s prologue IS TOP TIER

I think the block out is valuable because it has not only inspired influencers and celebrities to speak out but i’ve seen so many creators “adopting” families and drawing attention to their GoFundMe’s which is so beneficial & i don’t think it would’ve happened without the digital guillotine

Thank you for this important video, Herby! P.S. I urge people to say Palestine and not just Gaza, because while yes, Gaza is the place that has captured global attention, make no mistake, ALL of Palestine is being occupied and oppressed.

This reminds me of when people shamed and bullied celebs and corporations to post a black square or make a statement on BLM during the 2020 protests. And, as a black woman, I hated it so much. It seemed so performative and disingenuous. If they wanted to, they would. Now, what I did love is Jackie Aina and Sharon Chuter reaching out to beauty corporations and asking them to provide data on the black employees they had on a corporate and executive level and posting their responses on IG. Support, to me, is shown through your actions. I could care less about a social media statement after being forced to give it.

Notice how it’s only CERTAIN celebrities ppl unfollow. The ones that are already easy to hate on. Ppl aren’t unfollowing super beloved celebs that also aren’t speaking out on issues. I don’t see this as effective if you are biased in who you block

shame will never be effective in “correcting” “bad behavior” from activism to parenting I think a lot of people still use shame bc of childhood trauma. Lot to sit with and unpack themselves but you’re so right shame will never work bc it triggers defensiveness which just triggers them to double down

You opened up the video with the EXACT thought I've been saying to myself while watching these videos of other RU-vidrs talking about the celebrity ban. While I get and understand the reasoning behind it, those celebrities aren't the ones signing bills and putting policies in place that affect our everyday lives. THOSE politicians are the ones we should be giving grief and mayhem to. LOVE YOU HERBY!

I’ve been noticing a lot of poc women are on these blocklists regardless of their actions/voice on Palestine (Zendaya and Kehlani are good examples.) I wish people would be honest with their intentions with the lists, it’s dishonest to do this in the name of Palestine when you’re blocking Palestinian women who were openly threatened by Israel’s government because of their outspokenness on this topic.

I founded and ran a nonprofit for trans people for three years. Preach. I burned out so bad. There are too many needs and never enough volunteers. No one can do it all. It’s okay to just help some. Nonprofits need volunteers, board members, donors, supporters, advocates, and more. I think celebrities have little to do with it, unless they are sharing the content of advocates and activists, or donating. Like you said, we need to give the spotlight to the people who have been knee deep in it, for free, already.

"Their past doesn't become another groups prologue" Was actually too good

I absolutely support holding celebs accountable, as they have an incredible amount of wealth and power, and they’re not even speaking out on the issues that matter (Gaza, Congo, etc). I just think merely blocking them isn’t gonna do much to move the needle except maybe make yourself feel better in the moment. Let’s be focused.

Celebrities get called out for not speaking out about war etc. But when they do they are getting told to shut up.

I think we should keep the focus on the politicians signing off on this

Blocking a bunch of entertainers will not change anything in Palestine or any other country in crisis. It’s sad that some people idolize celebrities so much that they expect them to be their saviors. People need to put their energy into focusing on politicians and policies especially in other countries, if they want change

My issue with this "digitine" movement is exactly as you said. It centralizes celebrities and wealthy folk at the expense of diverting attention from actual activists on the ground doing the work, spreading awareness, and strategizing for structural/political/economic/social reform. Not only that, I get the suspicious feeling that some of these online "activists" calling for others to block celebs use suffering people as a way to get their audiences enraged and to get views themselves. To me, this is just another manifestation of cancel culture and we all know how well that works to help people who are suffering... Also don't you find it funny how during the Covid lockdown celebrities were out here doing the most singing on cringe livestreams/ tik tok videos and everyone told them to just shut up. Now people are demanding they speak up. Oh the irony.

To quote the beautiful and talented Aliah Sheffield: “I hate ego-driven activism. Yall are all losing the plot and letting your ego and jealousy overshine the true problems we need to deal with.” We need to turn our focus on those in office snapping away our rights like Thanos 😒. And/Or doing what we can do to help where we can-IF we have the bandwidth. Especially in post COVID times.

I saw someone say we need to block Oprah to stop her brand deals. This just seems like foolishness to me 🤷. Oprah can’t be my leader unless i absorb her influence…

I support it, but so many celebrities lack the RANGE to be mouth pieces or leaders. Stepping up as leaders will cause so many to do yet MORE performance. These celebrities are CONTRACTED and do not necessarily have the freedom to be both human AND product.

I mean J K R became a celebrity activist and became the mouth piece for a hate movement. So yeah block these celebrities but do it so you have time and space to PAY attention to other people, maybe follow activists instead or listen to the activist in your life and see what you can do to make thier job easier.

Little precision: most celebrities don’t pay for their tickets or outfits. Big fashion designers invite them. The same companies that be firing people for speaking up against violence. And that most of us can’t even boycott because we can’t afford to buy their products anyways. The money goes to the costume institute that basically depends on the event so it’s essential. But celebrities and companies would rather spend on causes that offer them the possibility to be seen and admired. Donating do the MET doesn’t stop them from donating to other causes. They just don’t care (or are too scared to speak). But but but, if you’re afraid of speaking up, why not just donate at least? That’s what gets me. Blocking them isn’t a bad idea at all but I don’t think depending on them for this type of change will kill celebrity culture. If TS spoke up and produced results, wouldn’t that elevate her to another level of worship? I think we need a real change in our mindset. Celebrity culture needs to die for that

Thank you, simply based off the title alone. Too many ppl think celebrities saying something is going to change the world. Like 😂 why would it. That's what politicians are for 😮

26:35 didn’t know how much I needed to hear this. Most of my energy these last few months has been devoted to my students at an underfunded elementary school. I have pushed myself into a depressed exhausted state because I felt guilt if I did not learn something new and horrific every single day. The part of me that has been to therapy was like hey you need time to heal between work, learning, and acting, or you’re just going to burn out!! But I didn’t think I could. When things are of a global scale, where I have watched video after video of people dying, it felt too selfish to rest. Every cartoon episode was followed by guilt, an hour of gaming after a long shift felt wrong. But I can’t keep that up. I show up for my students first, then family and friends, and then I seek out what activism I can perform. And as my lift changes that order shuffles around but it has to be balanced. Because when it is balanced I can do bigger moments of activism, such as physical events. And thinking of it like that made it click in my mind of what exactly you meant by sustainable and unsustainable activism. I may have more to ramble about when I finish the video but I gotta let my brain and heart process for a bit. It’s wild to realize I felt guilty before if I watched videos like this in parts… dude ur literally a teacher you KNOW tackling things in parts can be beneficial!! Lol!!! Also thx for making me smile and laugh, u have an incredible energy keep it up queen

Honestly I think it's good that people are going ahead with this movement - celebrities aren't your friends, they represent corporate interests, and so given that, they're just straight up not suited to representing a movement. That said... with great platforms comes great responsibility. I don't think its unreasonable to expect celebrities to demonstrate the values their art suggests they have. But, my opinion is probably moot because I don't follow any celebrities to be listening to them in the first place 🙊 so that's easy for me to say.

Maybe it's because I've never followed more than 3 celebrities, but I peeped that this would be a mess and would be an attention seeking exercise when I saw no Black people leading it.

Some of these celebrities don’t even bother to read the caption on the instagram post they’re sharing but you expect me to believe that they’re pivotal to the liberation movement??? I understand that a platform can have a huge impact regardless of who it’s coming from but I truly think EVERYBODY has the nuance/ education/ range to speak on issues where so much is at stake, and one wrong post can undo all the work that REAL activists have been doing for years.

I mean when Drake signed the artist4ceasefire and still ended up on that blocklist 😭

Taking down a celebrity only affects those individual celebrities, and the power houses behind them remain in power. It's like attacking an influencer/creative and yet those that pay them... the ad companies are left unaffected. Hollywood will exist for escapism and if we had no Holllywood it doesn't mean the money they have will automatically go to heal the wars and lead to peace. There are better ways to actually do activism to make fixes rather than a spectacle to pretend we are actually doing something via social media, hoping to get more clicks, likes, and views... robbing Peter to pay Paul. We may be better off without the talking heads of social media who just want to get paid too for things they think we need like different news outlets or BetterHelp. C'mon... all that energy could be used to make a system to get food too all people starving in America, but yeah this will too fall on deaf ears as we continue with creatives/influencers who put on a show to pretend they actually care. When it's all about the Benjamin's, baby.

One celebrity that I will give them their flowers is...Kehlani Ashley Parrish!!!

21:50 I agree! guilt-tripping leans to performative activism, which isn't sustainable. people need to understand liberation on a level that matters to them so they can meaningfully engage with change longterm, imo

I wonder if performative activism by celebrities can still be a good thing? Even if someone is promoting a cause for the wrong reasons (they’re afraid of losing money) is it not still helpful that they’re brining awareness 🤔

I feel like celebrities speaking on important issues leaves a lot of space for people to use their platforms to misinform. Requiring them to speak on certain issues suggests that the things they say will be correct whem we have no reason to believe thats the case

I definitely agree. I think a lot of people are fixated on instant, material actions rather than systemic changes. Which makes sense-- shit is getting dire! Isolated material actions, like an influencer providing immediate relief to a Palestinian family by bringing awareness to their GoFundMe and completely funding it with their platform... Is amazing, and will "immediately" (pending that shit clears, etc etc) help that family. But it doesn't mean that influencer will be activated to do anything beyond that, and it DEFINITELY doesn't mean their followers will care beyond the 5 dollars one of them donated, either. This is a long game, and I think what a lot of people "new" to these discourses need to realize is that to play the long game, you have to find a way for it to be sustainable. The fervor I've seen from people online is beautiful to see, but I'm genuinely concerned that when these issues don't get resolved in the coming months, some crazy nihilism is going to set in. Systemic changes take a long time, a lot of work, a lot of disappointment and anger, and a lot of failed initiatives before the world starts to truly change. I don't want to live in a world where we keep having to make GoFundMes-- I want to live in a world so full of empathy and care that the "enforcers" of our capitalist regime can't live with themselves, that the cops put down their batons and quit of their volition not because they were told they were bastards, but because they see it and feel it for themselves. You're not going to get those kinds of radical paradigm shifts through peer pressure, public shaming, etc. But you might get individual actions. And those are good too, but... They're band-aids, and I dread to think that we're in such a tough spot that band-aids at this point are good enough.

i've always stood by the idea that there's only SO much that the average person can do for these issues. advocacy is one of them! there's powers at play that, accept it or not, will do what they want to get what they want. all we can do as the public is add pressure.. that's about it. donating helps, protests help, writing emails to your local politicians help... but that's it. the only answer to these issues are the governments and other powers at play. there's been TONS of change facilitated in the past through activism and equally as much has gone NO WHERE even with activism. it just is what it is. do what you can to help.. educate yourself and others around you and THAT is enough. this isn't OUR faults, nor is it OUR responsibility. THE LEADERS OF THE WORLD are the ones that need to do something!!

my fav youtuber and fav gay person

I agree with you completely! Khadija says it best, you can always change your mind and I think we can only do that when we believe we’re capable of growth. And that courage to act on change may be amplified if empathy was practiced more commonly.

I'm about to make a rude comment (and I'm really sorry for not packaging this well): I really needed this side of the coin to kind of process the thinking that came with Tee Noir's video. There's just so much work, man... and I don't know how to have impactful, absolute change as I have not seen it modelled in history or fantasy.

While I think celebrity activism alone won't directly stop the atrocities I do believe their voices hold weight. They have influence over large sums of people. And they sometimes even impact politics. For instance, Taylor Swift has directly impacted the legislation around AI and even impacted the amount of young people that voted years back through an Instagram post. Celebrities were also showing their support for Hilary a while back. Alot of people care more about what celebrities have to say than politicians. So it think that if celebrities can influence what people care about and subsequently who they vote for, politicians will have to care. That's the way they can they can make an impact, I think.

I love this channel and here for the block out. People need to focus on things that actually matter and start fighting back for our rights.

You are my new favorite content creator. Hands down. FD signifier sent me here but your Immaculate takes and beautiful energy that just radiates through the screen is going to keep me coming back. Much love, queen. ❤

21:31 I agree for the most part. Education, empathy, and eloquence are our three biggest weapons. My thing is the balancing act. When do we swing the pendulum from MLK to Malcom X (In their most sterotypical depictions)? Obviously we have to fight back when the state comes for us directly, but what do we do against a political opponent who has influence, but doesn't listen to reason and laughs in our faces when we explain ourselves? How do we carry ourselves when faced with people like that? Empathy will work against the average person, but it feels like there are so many people who aren't the average person...

People have given celebrities so much control over their lives that they now believe that those celebrities hold the same power over everyone else. The politicians who are in the direct position to actually effect change don't care who is saying it they'll continue doing whatever they're doing unless this same energy is applied to them. Direct your energy towards the right places

Celebrities are not obligated to talk or be activists, if we go that way then we should not be mad when a famous person would express political takes that we don't agree with..celebrities are just entertainers.

Truly I think the best thing we can do is elevate people who are speaking out instead of giving our attention to people who aren’t. It’s counterproductive to try to force others to believe or speak about something they don’t believe in. There are entertainers who are also activists that deserve a platform. The block list feels like a desperate attempt to make a failing celebrity culture work in the way we wish it did.

I wish people give this energy to politicians instead of celebrities. just saying

"Part of freedom is to experience joy" yes you get it! Wonderful

This is the first time in all my years on YT that I actually clicked on the sponsored app link and downloaded immediately. Thank you! Objective journalism is so damn important

LETS GO another post your videos are so educational and entertaining

29:07 This is very nuanced and very valuable to finally understand and come to a conclusion and census. Celebrities are not meant to be political activists and meaning that yes, to the average person it is upsetting that they refuse to their voices and platforms to speak up against genocides that are happening in many countries especially developing countries such as Haiti, Brazil, Democratic Republic of Congo, Congo, Somalia, Sudan, and South Sudan. That mainly Westerners, and I mean us Westerners are so keen and desensitized to ignoring these atrocities that are happening in Non-Anglophone countries and non-Developed countries. The thing is that celebrities especially, Hollywood celebrities are not our friends or relatable they are the ELITES. The *ELITES* meaning that they have so much wealth, influence, power, and social capital compared to 99% of American citizens and even the average American citizen or ordinary people who are just living their everyday lives trying to survive in a capitalist system and country. That they come home and have no time to care about issues that affect other people from around the planet. They’ve become so tired, exhausted, burned out, and depressed from overworking or even physically sick due to late stage capitalism and “unregulated capitalism”. It starts to affect the average citizen and human-being who are not elites & will never be part of the “bourgeois” society and elite club or system that these so called “billionaires in the United States, Canada & the U.K benefit from underpaid and exploited labor of their employees by being vicious psychopaths and corrupt, lying, & backstabbing monsters who want to hoard in the wealth for themselves and become vicariously selfish while benefitting from this exploitative system that they seem to apathetic and lack emotional empathy to many people who are underprivileged and disadvantage especially immigrants from non-White, non-Western, and developing countries who may be suffering exploitation, White supremacy, post colonialism, underpaid labor, child labor & child poverty meaning these children are malnourished and underfed due to hazardous working conditions and outrageous inequality from the bourgeois capitalists and bourgeois elites. It’s so sickening to hear that in 2024, THERE ARE MILLIONS OF AMERICAN CHILDREN WHO COME FROM LOW INCOME HOUSEHOLD WITH BOTH PARENTS WHO MAKE LESS THAN A INCOME BRACKET OF $65,000

You ate with this one!!!! To understand that the system is the target. Ra--- is what has built this world. To understand that we have to educate understand how the system affects each and every one of us. This is a segment that was needed!

Hard agree-it sounds trite, but allowing people the space to change in love is the only way permanent change (as opposed to behavior modification) happens. Period. Shame based behavior modification will always result in resentment and cultural and societal backlash, which is what we are currently experiencing.

You could multiply Rihanna's net worth x100 and she still wouldn't be the richest person. You could put Beyoncé, Jay Z, Rihanna, Taylor Swift, Madonna in a room and that net worth wouldn't even be in the top 1000. I find it weird how there are 2600 billionaires yet seems like the only ones the world complains about are the same 5, self made, entertainers that THEY made billionaires from tour tickets and music

Thank you for highlighting this. It's such an important conversation. We need to find a healthy relationship of escapism and confrontation.

Celebrities should only be heard in interviews

For the most part when it comes to charitable actions, we are told to help if we can, and with the younger generations wanting to help but barely being able to, they would want their idols to do it for them. IMO they’re asking the wrong people. There are more people behind the scenes that have much more influence that can make a tangible impact, but since celebrities are seen the most, we go to them instead of politicians and lobbyists. I understand celebrities have some influence but most of the action they take will appease people instead of making steps towards progress.

That opening line is exactly how I feel. Stop expecting celebrities to speak out about everything. If i ever become famous I’ll be doing the Beyoncé method.

Timely and much needed discussion. It's all so tragic overwhelming. I usually refer to the movie title 'Everything, Everywhere, all at Once" when inundated with the news of... everything, everywhere all at once. The heaviness of it all? Yikes. Side note- this polished, iconic newscaster voice in the intro?? Chef's kiss 🤌🏾

im really glad you posted this video, ive been having a lot of the same thoughts and feelings but its been difficult for me to really conceptualize them in a way thats coherent- and this video does that, so thank you :)

Thank you for this! Just found about this channel through FD Signifier. Very excited to wade through the back-catalogue!

Love you Herby!!! Thank you for another insightful well put together video 💓

Can I just say I really appreciate the nuance and scholarly approach you bring to all your videos and your fun, silly, lighthearted, bright energy. Your truly such a light and I KNOW you’re going places ❤️

You are inspiring as always, Herby!

I love this, it becomes a lot and some people have to take a break from it because it is so stressful to see this happening. You feel like you're not doing enough when you want to just repost something and then when you're telling yourself to take a break and you feel like you're being a bad person or letting someone down. But, you're just a kid doing what you can. You want to donate but this is all the money you have until you get a job.

I kinda agree…but some of the gurls won’t move I fear. So what do we do in that event?

i love your channel so much, another great video

❤thank you for your words and work. I’m resting tonight so these words are helpful. And I appreciate your advocacy.

Finally! A balanced perspective. New subscriber here.

Fantastic video! Captured the nuances present here incredibly well. It connects with recent thoughts I have had…we need to give the word “hero” a rest but elevate “heroic.”

This is such a great video! Thank you for putting out such a thought out, well edited, emotional video while also having it brim with personality and individuality throughout.

I learn so much every time I watch hear and LISTEN to your videos. Consistent state of practice should be a State motto. If we can’t know , master or fix everything, we can always reflect and learn, at each their own pace. Thank you Herby for your work ❤

Ive been hoping for your take on this!

Another on point video!

Loved the ending because I’m big on hunger and housing crisis in the US and the end really made me feel better. I try to put resources (donating/volunteering) to help but that feeling of not doing enough is always there especially if all I can do is donate in the year

New to your channel, but thank you for making content like this we need way more people asking and exploring these questions/topics. I agree with your theory

New subscriber here! I came from FDs repost and I'm staying for sure. This was a whole educational kiki, I was just nodding along for the entire vid

Love this video i really need to hear this❤❤

the opening clip is all i needed! its SO TRUE!

I absolutely love the content, its a whole vibe!

omg this is great, and so related to the video i just filmed!! Fiq always does the best shoutouts

This has been the most balanced take on...well, everything going on in the world. Subscribed immediately. Keep up the great work 💕💕💕

The beat poetry cadence of your prose and stylish explinations just earned you a sub. 🎉

Loved this video

Instant subscribe. Thank u for ur kind and thoughtful words, this video has helped expand my mind in more ways than I was imagining! ⭐

herby, it's a pleasure watching your video !

thank you always

Great video!!! Thank you!!!!

Congratulations on your sponsorship! New person! I loved hearing your thoughts on activism v advocacy

Great video!

Just engaging for the algoritm. Thanks for your words and keep the good work. ✨️

Phenomenal video! Girrrrllll YOU did that💯👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽

I agree with you but I still think blocking celebrities and politicians on social media is a great idea. Edit: in the case of Beyoncé specifically, I wouldnt be expecting for her to chime in, if SHE hadnt raised my expectations with her own performative activism: we should all be feminist? Black Lives Matter and Katrina? Black Panthers regalia? I didnt ask for any of this but now that it's here, I now expect her to be consistent. 🤷🏾‍♀️

I love seeing the shift from "only" systematic changes to having an individualistic, empathy-lead approach to change. Nobody wants to get yelled at and people won't listen or open up to an idea when feeling "attacked'. I love that we're using and expanding on this idea more. I've never heard someone " take it that far" as to say that it is absolutely fundamental and that change won't work without and even refer to historic events. I think you're right. Political changes can only do so much. When the laws change, some individuals might too but there needs to be the education and exercise in empathy and community in order for us to stick together and have this solidarity. Thanks for this video 🧡 I'm so far gone from the celebrity world, I haven't heard of the digital guillotine. I've heard the block lists mentioned in passing without too much explanation, though. This helped me understand it bur think about it critically, of course c:

I so appreciate your voice. Thank you for sharing and doing the work. 💜

I totally agree with your school of thought on how to affect change, empathy is a powerful tool that I wish more people could harness. You are so correct about not everyone can do everything all the time. Just this weekend, I went to a Free Palestine protest/march right after celebrating my cousin’s graduation! I also went to a drag show earlier in the week and got to meet Mirage from season 16 of Drag Race and still saw several of my favorite local queens! It’s ok to enjoy life and take rest and still focus on the important issues. And you’ve earned a new subscriber! ❤

Hell yeah. Love you. New sub earned!

Great insight, so grateful to have found your channel. Real tired of friends and acquaintances who act morally superior because they made an IG post and wore a saucy activism tshirt.

This is the best, most eye-opening and thought provoking video I have seen in a long time, thank you

Thank you !! Such a well written video. My xcx tat has been validated even more

I think people criticizing the blockout are forgetting that a) there’s more of us than them b) these people don’t give a fuck about us! C) we can do two things at once