A crash course in some celebrities’ presence in the media, and how their voices can add to the public news discussion.
by Ashley Canino
When Kim Kardashian penned a few paragraphs on racism as a current and international issue for her blog, responses were mixed. While some readers responded by celebrating her hope to raise awareness of racism, others attacked the reality star for having a lack of awareness preceding racially charged confrontations during an appearance in Vienna. Whether or not her writing was strong or her recognition of racism belated, Kardashian placed her beliefs, ethics and intelligence under scrutiny for the sake of sharing something personal and important to her and chose to do so in writing. Many other celebrities have done the same, but in even broader forums, writing articles for major news outlets in order to expose injustices, support causes, or explore the topics close to them. While their fame brings wider platforms, celebrities are often spurned from the world of journalism on the grounds of having too myopic a view, so unique in their privilege and resources that their attitudes may not apply to most of a publication’s readers. Here are a few stand out op/eds by female celebrities and varied responses from women journalists
The Wall Street Journal ran a piece from Taylor Swift on the future of music, in which she is as hopeful as one would expect a top-selling artist to be. It is hard to imagine that the twenty-four-year-old pop star, who stands to earn $64 million dollars in, would be anything less than optimistic about the industry that elevated her to stardom. A short Vulture piece quickly dismantles Swift’s case for an upward marketing trend and the position that passion is the key ingredient in record sales success.
Also speculating on the future of a business, Tyra Banks supplied the Journal with an op-ed on “radical changes” she speculates are ahead for our standard of beauty and plastic surgery. Banks’ piece, like Swift’s, hinges mostly on conjecture with little regard for real market and societal trends. Forbes points out what is lacking from the article by addressing each of Banks’ claims in a real world context.
When Jodie Foster wrote a piece for The Daily Beast, she too focused on her industry, but from a human, not corporate level. She discusses the personal experiences that made her empathize with former co-star Kristen Stewart when the younger actress was splashed across tabloids during her scandalous break up with Robert Pattinson. Foster took the opportunity to point out how devastating that level of exposure can be to someone’s life, especially during a difficult time. Commentary on the op-ed, like this piece published by She Wired, helps bridge Foster’s point with a perspective on overexposure and lack of privacy a non-celebrity could appreciate.
One star did manage to hide a major life event from the press, only to reveal the story herself in a New York Times op-ed entitled, “My Medical Choice.” Angelina Jolie, after discovering she was at high risk for breast cancer, discusses her choice to get a preventative double mastectomy and how her family factored into that decision. Her fears and concerns are so relatable to women who may be at risk for breast cancer that, in a reaction piece, one Huffington Post writer considers how Jolie’s story may encourage women with lower risk to also have the extensive prophylactic surgery.
Ashley Canino writes the Pop Rivets column for The Riveter. You can follow her @AshleyCanino.
