15 Annoying, Confusing, All-Around Ridiculous Examples of Celebrity Activism

How a 24 hour Instagram freeze fixed everything, and now the world is all better.
15 Annoying, Confusing, All-Around Ridiculous Examples of Celebrity Activism

In Dave Chappelle’s 2004 special For What It’s Worth, he joked about an MTV reporter asking Ja Rule his thoughts on 9/11. What seemed ridiculous at the time has slowly started becoming the norm. And yes, celebrities have promoted various causes for decades now, but in recent years Covid, BLM, and the #MeToo movement have had celebrities speaking out a lot lately. Some of it, sadly, is frighteningly unaware and out of touch.

They tried, bless their hearts (and we mean that in the Southern way). They really tried. We’re not trying to fault anyone for seeing a noble cause and taking action, but maybe these celebrities should’ve taken a minute to think, “Is this really the best way to help the cause?” Whether they sang, wore a dress, or even abstained from social media for a whole day, they helped give us these 15 annoying, confusing, and downright ridiculous examples of celebrity activism.

Ellen “safely” made crass jokes from her mansion.

ELLEN DEGENERES COMPARED HER MANSION TO BEING IN JAIL. CRACKED While on hiatus, she aimed to show that she was filming safely in quarantine, but joked that her 10,000 square-foot mansion was like a prison. At the time, prisoners (unable to socially distance) were dying from Covid.

Huff Post

I better screenshot and post about this two digit donation.

LOUIS VUITTON'S ARTISTIC DIRECTOR BRAGGED ABOUT DONATING $50. GRACKED Virgil Abloh, the artistic director of menswear for Louis Vuitton and the founder and C.E.O. of Off-White posted a screenshot of his $50 donation to bail funds for George Floyd protestors.

NY Post

We all know actors are dramatic, but “I Take Responsibility” was too much.

THE I TAKE RESPONSIBILITY VIDEO WAS CRINGEWORTHY. CRACKED The video is aimed at white people to call out racism, but the somber tone and over-dramatic performances from A-list celebs had many cringing, and asking why they're talking instead of donating.

Daily Beast

The Kanye West Foundation had a pricey administration.

THE KANYE WEST FOUNDATION GAVE VERY LITTLE. CRACKED Started in 2007 to reduce high-school dropout rates, the charity shut down after it was discovered that, of the $570,000 raised, $0 went to charity. All of the money was used for administrative costs.

The Richest

Band Aid’s “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” did zero research.

BAND AID'S DO THEY KNOW IT'S CHRISTMAS? WAS PREACHY AND OUT OF TOUCH. CRACKED The 1984 Christmas song sung by A-list musicians was meant to fight famine in Ethiopia, but Ethiopia has a majority Christian population who definitely know about Christmas. It also peddled myths that the entire continent lives in sand without rain.

Open Culture

Imagine a world with less awareness and more action.

GAL GADOT AND SEVERAL A-LISTERS SANG IMAGINE. RE CRACKED Days into quarantine, Gal Gadot posted a video of her and her very famous pals singing John Lennon's Imagine. The internet cringed, then lambasted them for singing from their mansions instead of donating without the need for recognition.

Mel Magazine / BBC 

Lamar Odom & Khloe Kardashian’s failed charity, “Cathy's Kids.”

LAMAR ODOM & KHLOE KARDASHIAN MISUSED CHARITY MONEY. KH CRACKED The cancer research charity Cathy's Kids raised $2.2 million, but $1.3 million of it financed 2 elite youth basketball teams, and none went to cancer-related causes. Its 2011 tax return showed the charity was $256,000 in debt.

The Richest / ABC News 

Elizabeth Banks and famous pals sing acapella for Hillary Clinton.

ELIZABETH BANKS' FIGHT SONG FOR HILLARY CLINTON'S 2016 PRESIDENTIAL RACE. CRACKED Celebrities sang Rachel Platten's pop hit Fight Song to get people pumped for Hillary Clinton. Assuming that singing celebrities would drum up support was out of touch and unnecessary (and the song is actually about how hard it is to become a pop star.)

The Ringer

Lady Gaga’s Born This Way Foundation was a vanity project.

LADY GAGA'S BORN THIS WAY FOUNDATION SQUANDERED $2.5 MILLION. CRACKED It originally aimed to empower youth and inspire bravery, but the foundation took in $2.5 million, and only gave one $5,000 grant. Most was used for travel, publicity, consulting, etc., and many claimed it was all one big vanity project.

The Richest / Allure 

Wait, why is the social media for BLM just black squares?!

#BLACKOUTTUESDAY WENT so WRONG, so FAST. CRACKED Originally #TheShowMustBePaused, musicians Billie Eilish, The Rolling Stones, and Quincy Jones shared black squares. It went viral and morphed into #BlackOutTuesday, which flooded the BLM hashtag, pushing down helpful info and images of protests.

Vulture / Shape 

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