In a world full of hate, it is important to sit back and remember things that make us happy.  

This is not one of those times. 

I am not going to lie; I am one of those people who’s always complaining about something. I am never happy about everything and will always find something to complain about. However, there are things that need to be called out and usually I’m the person that calls. Due to that, I have gained the reputation of being grouchy or never satisfied and maybe I am. But I’ll rather be never satisfied then constantly deceived.  

So here I present you with some things (and I really had to limit them down to a few) that have been bothering me lately. 

… 

Celebrities Getting Special Treatment 

Celebrities gets on my nerves. Just think about it, if it was not for us normies (normal people), caring about celebrities and purchasing whatever product they’re selling to us, then no one in the public eye would care about them and they would be poor or at least normal like the rest of us. However, we do have people that walk the face of this earth that mass groups of people follow around and praise. These celebrities have seemed to gain a certain amount of immunity from things that the rest of us have to do or cannot do. Whether if it’s when Nicole Richie served only 82 minutes of a four-day sentence in jail due to overcrowding, or the pressure for Mayor Eric Adams to lift the New York City COVID-19 vaccine mandate so Kyrie Irving can play at home games in Brooklyn; there is always something that celebrities can get away with that the average person cannot even dream of. The inequalities even stemmed from the beginning of the pandemic when we saw hours long lines at COVID-19 testing spots full of people who wanted to get tested. Meanwhile we have big business such as the NFL and NBA where players would get tested every single day or every day that they showed up to a participating facility, when most people would be lucky to get tested at least once a month. The fact that one of the biggest stories in New York City is whether Kyrie Irving is going to be allowed to play at home this season instead of the crime on the New York City streets is a joke. But there is nothing funny about that crime has had an 41% increase and we’re not even three months into the new year. I don’t care about whether Kyrie Irving is going to play in New York City or not, there are much bigger issues going on in the world. However, I do care that Mayor Adams is continually discussing the matter when he should be spending more time on how to tackle homelessness, protect LGBTQ+ rights and many other issues. Yes, the argument of why can unvaccinated spectators attend sporting events in the city, yet unvaccinated athletes can’t play in said area? Is valid. But ending a mandate for private sector businesses so an athlete can play in home games would be revolting. The fact that fans and the Nets organization themselves are pressuring Mayor Adams to do something he clearly has no plans doing, is  egocentric. The blame should not be placed on Mayor Adams, it should be placed on Irving and the Nets organization. For well over a year, there has been a statewide vaccine mandate that everyone regardless of whether they want to take the shot or not, has had to comply with. The rules are simple, get vaccinated and you can stay at your job. If you don’t get vaccinated, you fired. Or placed on “unpaid leave” as it is called officially. Kyrie Irving is not vaccinated so he should not play. If everyone else must comply with the rules, then he must too. If he does not, then he shouldn’t be able to play.

The fact that there are those who are looking at his story as an “inspiration” and that “he’s the voice” of everyday Americans who also refuse to get vaccinated makes me chuckle. Yes, he does lose money from sitting out, but it is much easier to sit out for a season when you have made over $158 million over the course of his career and makes $17 million in endorsements yearly. The average American makes $51,480 a year and that is if you a middle-class American, which is only a little over half of the population. Look, I am not a basketball fan, I am not even a sports fan. But I couldn’t help but keep track of this ongoing story because it is a prime example of the rich and famous throwing a tantrum when they don’t get what they want. Kyrie Irving is not above the law so stop acting like is.

PR Stunts 

There is nothing more that I hate than a PR stunt. It feels like a halfhearted effort to show others that you “care” about prominent issues but really all you care about is your public image. But sometimes, it feels more like a slap in the face to those that they have hurt in the past. I am specifically thinking about what is going on with Travis Scott and his Project HEAL campaign, where he donated $5 million to local community organizations such as HBCU scholarships and mental health programs. A portion of the money also went to U.S. Conference of Mayors Task Force on Event Safety. All of that it great, but seems like interesting timing since it has been a little over four months since the deadly Astroworld Festival he headlines which saw eight deaths and over a hundred injuries.

Gallery • 1 Photos

The criticism has been heavily placed on Scott and his security team as he could have and should have done more to either prevent or limit the deadly ordeal, including the question of why he did not stop the show when he saw that things were looking out of control. The Astroworld Festival organizers, Live Nation and Travis Scott have been hit with over 400 cases due to the incident in Texas, which has recently been placed in a single suit. Since then, Scott has been looked at a very differently and for the most part and it’s not good. Yes, we love scholarships for Black youth and therapy, but I can’t help but think about how incredible the timing it was for him to announce this. He’s is the catalyst to one of the deadliest stampedes in the 21st century and has a very serious court case approaching that can cost him millions of dollars and even jail time. Bernon and Tericia Blount, the grandparents of Ezra Blount, who was the youngest victim of the Astroworld stampede told Rolling Stone, “It’s a PR stunt. He’s trying to sway the jurors before they’re even assembled. He’s trying to make himself look good, but it doesn’t look that way to someone with our eyes. What we’re seeing is that he’s done wrong, and now he’s trying to be the good guy and trying to give his own verdict on safety.” Bernon agreed, “Every time he does something like this, it’s an ongoing reminder.” As a response, Scott’s spokesperson, Stephanie Rawlings Blake stated “It is also disappointing that Mr. Hilliard would attack Project HEAL, a series of philanthropic gestures designed to give students and young people a leg up. Project HEAL is a continuation of Travis Scott’s longstanding work, including academic scholarships and creative design programs for underprivileged students.”. Hmmmm, okay Ms. Blake. We can pretend that this just came from the kindness of his heart and has nothing to do with the fact that eight people died in a stamped at your client’s event not even five months ago. We can also pretend that Scott doesn’t have a history of encouraging crowd crushes in the past as shown through his performance at Lollapalooza in 2015, where he was arrested for allegedly urging fans to jump over security barricades at the event. However, we can’t pretend those things didn’t happen. We also cannot pretend that a man was left paralyzed after falling from a balcony during one of his shows in 2017 and the many other incidents that has occurred where he’s encouraged fans to either push past the security at his shows. It makes me sad when celebrities try to take discussions as serious as mental health and use it as a marketing ploy to make themselves look better. When in reality, their past doesn’t reflect what they’re preaching. While I do acknowledge that there is money going into these programs that desperately need the funds, the money comes from a halfhearted place. 

Celebrities Who Lie About Plastic Surgery 

I just want to start off by saying that I don’t believe there is anything wrong with getting plastic surgery. My problem is when people get it and don’t own up to it. We are living in a world where how many Tik Tok followers you have means more than your education completion level. Most people are either obsessed with how they look or how they can get famous. We have never lived in a more self-centered society, and we have never lived in a more popular time get plastic surgery and that is widely shown through many people’s favorite celebrities. However, those celebrities are not always honest with us about their procedures and while no one is owed an explanation on why someone make the decisions they make, they are owed one when said person is profiting off that decision image that might not be 100% authentic. What is even more disheartening is when these same celebrities, many of whom have a young and impressionable following, tend to deceive those youths by projecting unrealistic beauty standards that were achieved through cosmetic surgery or Photoshop. Kylie Jenner has been hit with a slew of plastic surgery allegations and has only admitted to getting lip fillers  after initially denying it. She continues to deny any additional plastic surgery though her face and body features look different every year. Bella Hadid has also admitted getting a nose job recently, but has denied the allegations for many years.

Khloe Kardashian who has long denied getting plastic surgery, did admit to a nose job recently. Yet, when an unedited photo of her was “leaked” on the internet she went as far as to privately message those positing the photos to take them down, instead of owning up to it. Khloe, like every other celebrity and person on this planet, is beautiful, and we do not need to edit our photos to remind ourselves of that. However, these celebrities who promote unrealistic beauty standards still dominate the top followers spot on Instagram. Yet we still love them, right? It is a fascinating concept; we advocate for honesty and transparency but there is still a large portion of the population that idolizes celebrities who promote the image of perfection. I will say, the notion is changing, and many are starting to realize through natural bodied celebrities such as Lizzo and Bebe Rexha, that we do not need to do anything to our bodies to be beautiful. Yet if you do decide that plastic surgery is something you really want to do, make sure it is because you feel it is right for you, not because a person on Instagram who you will never meet influenced you.