Why Celebrities Can Never Truly Be ‘Relatable’

In recent years, and thanks to social media like Snapchat, Instagram and then TikTok, celebs have been hopping on the ‘relatable’ trend in an effort to appeal to their normie fans. We laugh, we nod, and we clap when they act clumsy, awkward or do something ‘down to earth’.

But the problem is, more often than not, they’ll let you down. Sorry! They’ll fly their private jet somewhere, they’ll make a tone-deaf statement or they’ll do something that you feel isn’t in line with who you thought they were. This is the problem with the relatable celeb. They can’t win.

Think of all the times big stars have been hailed to be ‘just like us’ – Jennifer Lawrence, Chrissy Teigen, Ellen Degeneres and of course, most recently, Lizzo. A huge part of their appeal was that they were quirky, funny, and you felt like people you could go for drinks with.

Then they mention something about an extortionate purchase, do something insensitive, or worst of all, end up being accused of bad behaviour. Once upon a time, celebs were A-list, Hollywood stars who we learned about in rare candid interviews, on the press circuit and from public appearances. They were seen as ‘other’, idolised and rarely seen looking anything other than pristine.

Few celebs still hold that image, but yet, the ones who do, like Beyonce, never claim to be one of us. She mostly keeps her children out of the public eye, rarely posts online, but does what she does really well. Harry Styles rarely posts on social media, and lets his team manage his accounts. He continues to produce popular music and have adoring fans, without pretending to be on our level.

Margot Robbie is often hailed as one of the only modern versions of an old-school Hollywood star, and while she’s friendly and cheerful in interviews, she doesn’t even have an Instagram account. This is closer to the original concept of a celebrity. These stars also prove it’s possible to be successful without lipsyncing on TikTok or doing livestream get-ready-with-mes.

 

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A post shared by Lizzo (@lizzobeeating)

Thanks to reality tv, the word ‘celebrity’ became diluted, and because reality tv stars (and now social media stars) are genuinely more relatable (they’re usually not as wealthy, usually not nepo babies and mostly had a normal upbringing) we could connect with their rawness.

But when Hollywood stars and international musicians caught wind, or at least their publicists did, they tried to make it part of their brand too. You can also see how celebs, from the relentlessness of the 2000s might have wanted to inject more personality into their presence, to remind us that they, are in fact, people too!

But we run with it, we assume they’re just like us and therefore will fit right into the box we want them to fit into. Of course,, it’s important that the criticism, trolling and abuse is being highlighted, and people are more conscious of what they say online because these people are in fact, well, people. But we also end up thinking of them as one of us. Don’t get me wrong, there are celebs doing this really well.

Both Meghan Trainor and Lewis Capaldi have garnered huge fandoms online thanks to their openness and playfulness on their accounts. But for the most part, I feel a bit cynical of celebs these days. The ones who eat cereal while covered in spot cream on TikTok, the ones who tweet about funny, awkward moments.

It just all feels so manufactured, premeditated and disingenuous. Perhaps one benefit that’s come from this shift is that we don’t put celebs on the pedestal they were once on, but to think they’re just like us is setting yourself up for failure, because celebs were never supposed to be relatable.

With the level of fame, wealth and lifestyle we’ll likely never experience, we need to remember that just by being who they are, they can never truly be the relatable pal we think they are.

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• celeb