Who Gave Celebrities the Right?
In the new era of influencer-based promotion, celebrities have become the face of just about anything you can think of. An actress making a song, a reality TV star releasing a fragrance, a rapper debuting their own fashion line…each one diverting from their traditional career route.
With the news of Puma announcing the two-time Grammy-nominated rapper, A$AP Rocky, as the creative director for their F1 campaign, it begs the question: What the f*ck does A$AP Rocky know about fashion?
Now, before you come after me with pitchforks and burning torches, we all know that Rocky has had a heavy influence on the fashion world for a while now. His popular streetwear and high fashion debuts have made a lasting impact on the rap-fashion community. He has been the face of many ad campaigns and fashion brands like Gucci, Dior, Guess, Adidas, and the list goes on. But does he actually have a formal fashion-educated background? No. In fact, Rocky told the New York Times in 2016 that he would “never want to be a fashion designer” and has no formal fashion education– but he is still being sought after by these large fashion conglomerates.
Why aren't people who actually have a formal fashion education and years of experience being hired for these jobs? There are so many people in this world who work ten times as hard as celebrities like Rocky to get these opportunities. Yet because of face recognition and celebrity culture, they are cast aside.
This isn't just a problem in the fashion world. Let's flashback to 2021 and look at pop-culture star Addison Rae, who faced explosive backlash after announcing she would be a UFC correspondent. Professional journalists everywhere did not find it amusing that the UFC had hired an under-experienced influencer to do a job they have sacrificed years of blood, sweat, and tears for. Tweets and posts went out all over social media, shaming both Rae and the UFC for not giving that job to someone who had actually committed their education and life to the reporting field. She was then “fired” from the job, tweeting, “nvm y’all got me fired.”
The critics were not wrong. People work so hard in fields like fashion and journalism to get to a point where celebrities can get with the wave of a hand and little to no experience. Why are we giving celebrities these platforms to create and speak about things that “normal” people have dedicated their whole careers and lives to and would probably do a better job at? Celebrity privilege isn't even trying to hide anymore; industries are full-on handing these opportunities to underqualified people just because of their name or social status.
Just look at celebrities like Kim Kardashian, Pharell, and even Selena Gomez; what the hell do they know about skincare and makeup?! Are they just the face of the company? Even if that is the case, that means they’re taking the spotlight and credit from whatever makeup artist or dermatologist is actually creating these “unique” formulas. Kim K alone has had several different business adventures: a fragrance line, a makeup line, a skincare line, and her shapewear line “SKIMS,” she has even taken on a career as a lawyer. It seems that her law career is the only one she is actually qualified for because she is not a fashion student, dermatologist, or fragrance specialist.
Kanye West actually brought this phenomenon up in an interview several years back. While discussing the celebrity as a creative director, he pointed out Lady Gaga was the creative director for Polaroid.
“If you can communicate this product, you can make money off the product because look at Gaga. She’s the Creative Director of Polaroid. I like some of the Gaga songs. What the f*ck does she know about cameras?” said West in his interview with Zane Lowe. The interview went viral as a sort of meme, but West made a good point. Did Gaga actually have the qualifications for this job, or did they just bypass those so she could be the face of the brand?
As celebrity brands and endorsements become more and more popular, we have to remember what it takes to get these opportunities and start allocating them properly. There’s nothing wrong with adventuring outside the box like the celebrities I’ve mentioned. However, these celebrities should have to put in the same effort and experience that “normal” people must have. Let's learn to give real people their real jobs back.
Strike out,
Haley Dockendorff
Boca Raton
Haley Dockendorff is a Content Writer for Strike Magazine Boca. Loud and proud, this Virgo loves writing just about anything that will cause a bit of commotion. If you can’t find her, she’s probably somewhere on a beach with a camera in hand. You can reach her at haleydockendorff143@gmail.com
