I saw on YouTube that one of my favorite commentary YouTubers, D’angelo Wallace, uploaded a video titled, “Influencer-19” where he addressed the problem of celebrities and influencers, such as The Kardashians and Jenners, The D’amelio’s, and Bryce Hall not abiding by COVID-19 guidelines. Since the pandemic began, they have posted about the parties they go to or vacations they take and use it as content. What these people fail to understand is the fact that we are in the middle of a pandemic, so they purposely try to hide the fact that they are breaking rules so they do not tarnish their own reputation.  

Wallace’s video supports the fact that celebrities use their privilege to benefit themselves only, not to educate and be a positive role model of what everyone should be doing during this time. For example, most of these celebrities live in California, which is currently a COVID-19 hotspot, and decide to go on unnecessary vacations to the Bahamas or Hawaii, where they risk increasing the chances of a catastrophic outbreak that would be difficult for these places to recover from.

What’s even worse is that they know that they are in the wrong. At Kendall Jenner’s birthday party, Jenner handed out flyers that said “no social media,” telling people that they are not allowed to film or take pictures of the event because it didn’t follow COVID-19 protocols – but of course people posted anyway. Influencers are trying to hide the fact that they  are being irresponsible and reckless so that they do not tarnish their reputation and lose followers; this shows their privilege.

It’s mind-boggling that celebrities are breaking the rules since they buy multi-million dollar houses with basketball courts, spas and movie theaters, only to still get bored. Meanwhile, I, as well as many others, have been stuck in our homes for months, only leaving to go grocery shopping or do other essential tasks, and have just recently been allowed to do more, such as eat inside at restaurants. Most of us do not have the luxury of having huge houses with basketball courts to occupy our time; we make due with what we have. 

Some celebrities have been punished with small fines, but they can easily pay those off. There was a charity event that many musicians, like the Chainsmokers, performed at where social distancing guidelines were not being met and who ended up being fined $20,000. The problem with the fine was that there were tickets that sold for more than $20,000, so paying off this fine would only take the price of one ticket, so essentially no money was lost. These useless attempts at punishing these people are doing nothing but sending a message that they can do whatever with the littlest of repercussions.

Celebrities have a responsibility because of how many people they influence. They have the power to start trends and impact people to make certain decisions. That’s how many of them became famous in the first place. They seem to have no problem using their platform and fame to convince their supporters and fans to buy their products or use their coupon codes. But, when it comes to encouraging people to have some human decency and cut healthcare workers some slack by staying home and quarantining, they stay silent. 

However, for every handful of selfish celebrities, there are those that use their platforms for good, like Ariana Grande called out TikToker Bryce Hall and others for going to a popular restaurant in L.A. called Saddle Ranch, and not social distancing. She, and some others, are choosing to use their platform to promote the right choices, such as listening to our government and staying inside. 

If your favorite celebrity, YouTuber, or even TikToker is not following the rules and staying home to prevent people from dying of COVID-19, stop supporting them. Don’t like or share their posts. Don’t buy their products. And don’t talk about them. They do not care about those vulnerable who can easily get this virus and they really do not care about how people are losing their jobs and are unable to get any financial help. 

They have big platforms and influence over people, and yet they are repeatedly choosing to use their power and resources only for themselves to get ahead, instead of being role models and educating their followers on how serious this virus really is and the sacrifices people are making to fight it.