The Media's Dark Side - Celebrities

How can a celebrity’s reputation ruin their career?  

Reputation/Influences 

Celebrities are normally affected largely by propaganda and damaging rumours that get spread around in the media and the internet. Everything they do and say is documented on the media and broadcast to the world. They’re constantly surrounded by paparazzi, and most of the pictures taken of them, they aren’t aware of. Other then the pictures, one of the main things celebrities get called out for is anything people deem 'bad', that they get involved in, or do to themselves. 

Welcome to how the media influences, and broadcasts, a celebrity's, not so flawless life.

Lindsay Lohan -

Lindsay Lohan had her reputation and career ruined by getting involved with drugs and alcohol and getting fired from her acting job. Articles of her obsession got leaked out via many different news stations, social media sites, etc. She now aims to make a lifestyle website, and desires to live a simple life that she always dreamed about.  

Caitlyn Jenner - 

Caitlyn Jenner, who had undergone many sex change surgeries, had her career ruined after people speaking out that they weren’t happy with Caitlyn being transgender, and undergoing all these dramatic changes in her personal life. When she was called Bruce Jenner, her original name, the movie ‘Can’t stop the music’, gained the ‘worst movie’ award, with the Golden Raspberry Awards. 

Britney Spears -  

The high school pop star, Britney Spears, had ruined her career on her own. Due to her mental health and alcohol and drug use, her career quickly ended. People said she was solely responsible for ending her own career and that she never performed/acted the way she normally did. Although she never gave up and announced her first residency show in Vegas, it was clear the singer admitted her future in the music industry wasn't bright. No one ever saw her as the teenage pop icon, instead she was seen as the crazy lady who shaved her own head.  

So, as you can see, one slip up and their famous reputation is ruined. One small mistake can lead to years of nightmares. However, they can also easily influence their viewers, and followers, or just whoever watches them. Sometimes those influences can be harmful, like Brittany doing drugs and alcohol, people might follow in her footsteps and be like ‘But Brittany did it, so I will.’ Celebrities' influences can be quite strong, especially on younger people, like teenagers, and children.  

Propaganda 

It’s very common for almost every celebrity to experience rumours. It’s like if you’re at school, and you hear from your friend that someone has been spreading rumours about you, and it has somehow reached through the school. It’s most likely that it'll only get around your year group, because I don’t think the whole school will know who you are, and I doubt Year 13s will care, since they’ll be more concerned about passing exams than your ‘personal life’. But with celebrities, with thousands or millions of people following them, yeah that’s going to be a problem. Sometimes, celebrities can have their reputations destroyed by one little incorrect piece of information published. This can happen in many ways, like celebrity endorsement, photoshop, or using gossip against the person.  

Ads/Celebrity Branding 

Many brands such as Puma, Dior, Chanel, any brand you can name, all have one thing in common. They all use, or have used celebrities/well known people and pay them large amounts of money to promote their business.  

For example, Dior used actress Natalie Portman to help endorse their Miss Dior label.  

PepsiCo has used celebrities such as Britney Spears, Beyoncé, Michael Jackson, David Beckham, Shakira, and Kanye West, among others, to endorse Pepsi.  

H&M, a global icon and the heartthrob of women of all ages, David Beckham has lent his name to the clothing multinational brand to endorse the brand's selective and exclusive men's collections.    

Some fans/followers of celebrities can affect what they think of the person, depending on the company they get sponsored by. Companies pay celebrities large sums of money to promote their product/create a partnership with the company in an ad, or just putting some sort of video out to the media, giving positive reviews on the product.  

In fact, celebrities have been warned before to not trust ads from some brands, as, most of the time, negative research/information out on the brand could have an impact on the celebrities regarding ‘why’ they did it, or partnered up with the company. 
  

For example,  

Nicole Kidman’s career was damaged, after an ad she did for the United Arab Emirates, Airways didn’t go down well. Customers and fans were horrified as to why. The Association of Professional Flight Attendants put out a statement, criticising the actress and U.N. Goodwill Ambassador for Women for appearing in the commercials of an airline that “imposes abusive labour practices on its female employees.” The actress got little support, but an apology from the Airline was put out, opening to Nicole. 

Scarlett Johansson is one of the rare performers who is both a respected actor and a huge box office draw. Less successful, however, was her relationship with Oxfam International, a humanitarian group for whom she had acted as an ambassador for eight years. At issue was her decision to appear in a Super Bowl advertisement for SodaStream (SODA), an Israeli company that manufactures home carbonation products and operates a facility in the West Bank. She stepped down from ambassador, rather than distance herself from the company. People also started making photoshopped images, that were hands down embarrassing and insulting to the actress, making it look like she was drinking from a blood bag, making her look self centred and much more.

Hollywood

Many of these celebrities are also brought down by certain roles they play in movies, or throughtout their career, and this impact can be positive and negative. One of these cases can be related to a actor we all know and love, Robert Downey Jr. Now, Robert is best known for his role as Iron Man/Tony Stark, in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. If you know anything about his past, then I'm sure you've wondered, just like I have, how the hell he managed to land a role that is known and adored worldwide. 

His past isn't the most flawless one, being introduced to drugs and alcohol by his father from a very young age, as well as having been arrested. In 1995, he was arrested because cops found heroin, cocaine, and a pistol in the actor's car. He was arrested again in 1999, for violating probation, from his previous arrest. In 2015, he was granted a pardon for this conviction, but it will still remain on his permanent record. 

But then how did he land the role in a film that made over $120 million in its first weekend of release?

Well, when he was cast as Ironman in 2007, many people said he was far from being the right man to do it. When Jon Favreau was assigned as the director of the Marvel film, he planned to cast a newcomer as the role, stating that 'Those films don't need a expensive star; Ironman is the star, the superhero is the star.'

However, he was cast as Ionman in 2007. 

So, in Robert's case, his previous reputation had little effect on his future roles, and he became clean from 2013 onward, and has grown to the huge star he is today.