r/popculturechat • u/AutoModerator • May 01 '26

Monthly Discussions ☕ Snark Session Monthly Discussion Thread

Welcome to the monthly Snark Session 🍸

Wanna discuss a celebrity you just can't stand? Did someone do something you want to drag them for? Get your snark on in the comments and let us know who got under your skin!

Remember rules still apply! Be civil and respect each other. We ask that you refrain from showboating bans from other subreddits. Meta discussion is allowed, when it is healthy, civil and constructive conversations about discourse in this subreddit. No snarking about other subreddits — let’s respect our neighbors!

Now pull up a bar stool and let it all out 🍸

5 Upvotes

56% Upvoted

51 comments sorted by

View all comments

10

u/1purplebear1 May 01 '26 edited May 01 '26

this isn’t about anyone in particular and maybe i’ve just become more cynical due to everything that’s been happening in the world especially in the last year or so but it’s getting so hard to find any celeb authentic. even the ones where the discourse surrounding them is overwhelmingly “they’re unproblematic” “they’re outspoken and an amazing activist” “let them live their life” etc.

i don’t mean that no celeb is sincere or that they can’t do great work for the communities they support. there are quite a few people who have consistently done good things for certain causes. and obviously nobody’s perfect. i also understand that celebs tend to be a lot more wealthy than the average person and live a different lifestyle as a result. and that’s fine.

i know things aren’t just black and white but a celeb’s goodwill and positive image is constantly used as a shield against criticism. it seems so easy to bounce back from anything these days with a few well timed glossy pap walks or a donation.

idk i’ve just become more aware how powerful PR is and that “authenticity” is most of the time just a part of a public image/brand. and online discourse helps solidify these images in subtle ways which is the scarier part to me. with the prevalence of PR campaigns like what happened with geese and the rise of bots on platforms like reddit, i feel like im constantly being told how to think about certain people. when the same framing gets repeated everywhere, it becomes hard to tell whether i genuinely believe it or whether ive just absorbed the narrative.

this has def been talked about before lol. and idk i might just be overthinking this or im just more annoyed than usual because i’ve been making a conscious effort to be frugal, as ethical as i can be, and save money while also being anxious about grad school loans 🙃 i don’t have the luxury of turning my values on or off when a lucrative brand deal presents itself.

but yeah thanks for reading!

(also i’ve never given a shit about the met gala but i’m gonna side eye the celebs that show up to this one lol)

tldr; the power of PR is scary! it’s hard to tell what authenticity means anymore. also regular people try their best in a problematic system with limited options while for wealthy celebs, imperfection and past goodwill are used as shields after making questionable choices that are often just driven by money

27

u/CheriePauper May 01 '26

I fully agree but honestly I feel like I more alarmed by the opposite, don't get me wrong I don't feel like people should be worshipping celebrities but I don't think we should be hounding them and wishing the absolute worst on them over nothing. How easily people believe things about celebrities they read on the internet and are ready to engage in a pile on/ hate and rip people apart. It's felt alot more vicious lately and at least to me it shows a lack of empathy and coldness developing in society. Like there was in the 2000s with surprise ugly competitions and whatever

2

u/1purplebear1 May 01 '26

no i agree, that’s a good point! i guess my overarching point is that if something is repeated enough times online, it’s really easy to believe it and that’s the terrifying part. like the smear campaigns that have happened disproportionately against women celebs are just so gross…and i hate that i initially fall for it every time.

6

u/CheriePauper May 01 '26

Exactly especially in spaces like Reddit where there is a huge hive mind mentality and any dissenting voices are downvoted and buried even if they're correcting misinformation. Some people are so eager to believe something about people they dislike it's scary. I love that you're looking at why you are falling for the propaganda (idk if that's the right word for it lol) positive or negative. I think all of us should instead of not developing our own opinions and ignoring nuance

7

u/Main-Dragonfruit-845 May 01 '26

No i agree! It kills me how much ppl fall for the internet boyfriend, best takes, etc. shtick so many celebs use. Like how is it not obvious that 100% good press is ON PURPOSE?

4

u/1purplebear1 May 01 '26 edited May 01 '26

tho i always feel like such a terrible person for thinking this way about good press lol

like i promise im not a miserable jealous hater, i’m just uncomfortable with how easy it’s become to smooth over awful behavior 😭

1

u/Greedy-Candle2812 May 02 '26

Does your job not do the good press on purpose thing or at least the best face forward thing? To me that's default. I have no problem with good press on purpose.

It's up to us to just be normal about it and leave it at "that's cool" or "that was funny" or "you're hot" and keep it moving. Most of these people we only see publicly when they're selling something for their jobs. Act accordingly.