I’m willing to bet everyone has at least one celebrity crush and/or influencer to idolize and dedicate shrines to.
However, the death of fashion icon Karl Lagerfeld has unearthed a problem between society and its obsession with overlooking the extreme shortcomings of famous peoples’ characters.
Rappers like XXXTentacion and Tekashi 6ix9ine have music on the Billboard Hot 100 and are celebrated for it, but both are known for violence.
XXXTentacion was filmed beating his girlfriend and Tekashi 6ix9ine was in court for pedophilia charges and has admitted to drug trafficking and attempting to kill someone.
News flash — focusing on someone’s positives doesn’t make the negatives go away.
These men still have crude reputations ridden with misogynistic tendencies and we shouldn’t sweep that under the rug because of what they’ve achieved in their industries. A quick Google search of Lagerfeld’s past will reveal a wide array of controversial quotes centered specifically around overweight and curvy women and quotes criticizing the #MeToo movement.
However, people still tend to focus on his achievements in the fashion industry and bring attention to the positives.
We should focus on famous people who embrace diversity and hire models of all shapes and colors. For instance, we should take notes from Rihanna with her Savage x Fenty lingerie line which showcased models of all different skin tones and body types. Don’t sweep negative publicity under the rug.
If society is going to mourn someone, society should know all the person’s shortcomings.
It’s not just controversial fashion and music moguls, people love a good villain. Netflix released a Ted Bundy documentary titled “Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil, and Vile,” featuring Zac Efron as Ted Bundy.
Ted Bundy was a notorious American serial killer from the 1970s, with 30 victims spread across seven states.
Women thought he was handsome and charismatic and that’s how he drew his victims in. Even after death, he’s still drawing people in.
Netflix’s Twitter account had to tweet at people to stop romanticizing a serial killer. Let his name die and let his actions never be repeated.
We shouldn’t idolize bad people. In Bundy’s case, I get that some individuals may have a curiosity and fascination with the macabre, but that’s what taxidermy and keeping baby teeth are for. There are so many other significant characters in history to make documentaries about or to celebrate. For instance, Louis Braille, who invented Braille at 15 years old, or inventor and old Hollywood actress Hedy Lamarr, who helped create Wi-Fi.
Basically, we can talk about or celebrate literally anybody else.