In The Age of COVID, Dear Celebs, WTF?!
By: Ezinne Ukoha
Tags: Culture, Celebrity, Instagram, Social Media, Influencers

Kim Kardashian West on Instagram

We are now several months into the full-blown terror of COVID-19, with the predicted arrival of the dreaded second surge, brutally ravaging hot spots both at home and abroad.

The gut-wrenching data illustrating the grim reality of surging new cases and astounding number of the dead and counting, with victims young and old, hasn’t done much to dissuade selfish disrupters, who willfully refused to scrap their travel plans for Thanksgiving. The alarming guarantee from Dr. Fauci & Co., about how things will get much worse if the mandate to stay home and celebrate with housemates is discarded, doesn’t seem to inspire an ounce of humanness in obstinate, pampered Americans.

And if you think the self-entitlement stops with regular folks, who stupidly forget how they’re not in prime positions to gamble with their lives, then check out how your favorite celebrities and influencers who are lavishly gratifying their exorbitant impulses.

The self-professed “Queen of Selfies/ Belfies” and fast-track candidate for the law degree that works strictly for TV practices, Kim K, predictably caused a ruckus on social media when her trending crime was the 40th birthday extravaganza at a private island, that was leased for the entertainment purposes of a large group of invitees, who she swore all tested negative for COVID.

The army of disapprovers and cancellers were up in arms about the audacity of an “iconic” socialite, who makes her millions marketing the surgically enhanced body she stole from the aesthetic of Black women, to completely disregard the sobering climate of desperation, loss, and hopelessness, not to mention the morbid items of sickness and death, by nonchalantly sharing images of her glitzy getaway.

Her “WTF” moment was powered by her non-response to the controversy, and the “fuck you” she dished out, not only be her silence, but also the additional photos she posted after the fact, that were even more out-of-touch than the ones that initially got the wrong attention.

But way before Kim Kardashian’s collage of triggering opulence in the midst of a landscape, overpopulated with joblessness, starvation and homelessness, resulting from the real and present threats of a global pandemic — ultra-wealthy A-listers were doing a shameful job adjusting to the sudden nightmare of a nationwide shutdown, and the self-isolation that translates differently for vulnerable fans of the overprivileged.

From Ellen DeGeneres and the snafu of comparing her sprawling oasis to a jail cell, while breaking news confirmed the precarious predicament of inmates stuck in a petrie dish of widespread infection, to the avalanche of video clips and furnished content from self-indulgent influencers, graciously providing evidence of their blessed immunity from what the needy can’t escape.

Back then, we dared to believe that several months later, we would’ve beaten the odds stacked up against our very survival and remerge victorious with the triumphant end to a severely traumatic year.

However, the current deathtrap that has expanded beyond reach with soaring new cases and the rising death count that won’t stop adding more faces of victims; young and old, who’ve sadly succumbed to the viral disease of our lifetime is the strong indication of how our worst months are ahead.

So how is it that celebs who manage massive platforms that dictate their world-class brands and unconquerable appeal, are still selfishly wedded to their damning stereotypes, that call out their debilitating narcissism, that literally endorses the belief system of how they can buy and sell the fantastical, as reality crumbles around them.

Grammy-award winning rapper Cardi B doesn’t shy away from creatively exploiting her online prowess with her millions of followers, who are able to keep up with the rollercoaster ride of romantic entanglements, and curated thirst traps that are standard fare for those who care.

But the burgeoning actress got into some piping hot water when she made the very bad decision to post graphic details about the Thanksgiving festivities she hosted, that apparently featured exactly what would’ve been admissible in 2018, but is nothing short of scandalous in 2020.

WTF?!

It’s mind-boggling that Cardi B didn’t reconsider sharing details about her large gathering during the beloved holiday season, when so many families are grieving the loss of loved ones, and contending with the harsh reality of not being able to celebrate with relatives they haven’t seen in months. There’s also the direness of not being able to sustain households sinking in debt, due to unsolvable unemployment that undoubtedly wrecks the seasonal joy.

Maybe the rich and famous like Cardi B just don’t give a damn, since their exalted statuses haven’t been irrevocably mutilated by the destructive nature of an unprecedented global emergency. Or perhaps tone-deaf celebs have become so accustomed to their spotlighted privileges, and the cultural worship that comes with it, that they can’t take a step back, in an effort to demonstrate empathy and basic awareness of what it means to live through a national health crisis.

Even pseudo-celebs/reality TV stars, like Real Housewives of Atlanta’s Cynthia Bailey can’t help themselves when it comes to succumbing to self-serving demands that somehow validates the inexplicable decision to throw a “social distanced” wedding in the COVID hotpot of Atlanta, featuring 250 guests, who were willing to show up for the madness and potential health risk.

All through the summer into fall, negligent celebs with all the cash to spare and absolutely no regard for human lives have spared no expense when it comes to jetting in and around exotic locales and popular cities that are built for those who wish to party like it’s 2019 — except it’s not.

Singer and actress Rita Ora, recently issued a public apology for the rebelliousness of throwing a 30th birthday party attended by her famous friends, that broke the lockdown rules in London, that were in place at the time of the ill-fated event held at a trendy restaurant.

Ora admitted that she had “the misguided view that we were coming out of lockdown and this would be OK.”

Nice try, but it doesn’t take an expert to know that “coming out of a lockdown” doesn’t necessarily equate to the “all clear” phase that will take many more months to achieve.

At least Ora’s apology was somewhat more genuine compared to Cardi B, who went as far as to convince the naysayers about how she paid for the COVID tests administered to her relatives. And when that didn’t win her any points, she resorted to self-defense by shaming her critics for getting frazzled over every bloody thing, instead of cutting a spoiled brat some slack, while innocent lives are being cut short by a deadly virus that she’s helping to spread.

In the “real world” there’s suffering and death on a scale that’s never been seen before, by those of us who haven’t been privy to the dire consequences of a once in a lifetime global pandemic.

Funny how the rich and famous voice irritation over how “offended” regular folks get when they litter Instagram pages with glossy pictures of their jet-setting, complete with posh, designer-decked interiors, and the caption that gives mighty thanks on #Thanksgiving, for salivating followers to chew on in the absence of the required three meals a day.

On regular days, Insta-Stories is usually clogged with boxes of free merchandise sent to celebs from fellow celebs, who require shoutouts from grateful recipients, who can’t wait to show their prizes to the less fortunate during their time of urgent need.

In this age of COVID, dear celebs WTF?!

What the hell will it take to encourage screeching those brakes on the relentlessness and inexcusable desire to irresponsibly live your lives like it’s golden, even as the planet is teetering on the brink of extinction?

The excesses of wealth and prominence is the monster of celebrity worship, that forces the realization of why that culture needs to be de-powered for the sake of mankind, and the impressionable brain cells of the young and younger.

In the meantime, all we can ask in all sincerity is — Dear celebs, WTF?