One thing you’ll learn about me over the course of POPSUGAR Rush, the brand new podcast I co-host with icon StarrMcG, is that I am, above all else, a Beyoncé stan. I don’t take any crap when it comes to Beyoncé. But one reason that I especially love Beyoncé in comparison to other celebrities is that she doesn’t try to pretend she isn’t. She’s not relatable, and that’s a good thing.
I feel like somewhere in the early 2010s, and perhaps coinciding with the dawn of social media, celebrities started going out of their way to prove how relatable they are. Maybe they didn’t want to be seen as special or more important, or maybe they thought that’s what people wanted to see from them. The Simple Life wasn’t iconic because Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie knew how to work a drive-thru — it was iconic because they couldn’t.
Whether celebrities can ever be relatable will always be up for debate, and debate is exactly what we did on the new episode of POPSUGAR Rush, with two examples: Dua Lipa and Robbie Williams.
Why Do Celebrities Feel Like They Need to Be Relatable?
For context, Dua Lipa — perpetually on holiday — was seen cooking an entire mountain of prawns on a grill. It was giving Australian Christmas. It was giving MasterChef realness. One problem eagle-eyed fans noticed: the grill appeared to…not be turned on.
Now, I definitely don’t think Dua Lipa was grilling or ‘grilling’ prawns to seem relatable. Let her cook! But the notion of the grill not being on feels like a strange fumble that is unique to celebrities. First of all, her grill is clearly situated in some beautiful tropical location and not a dingy Newcastle backyard like I was used to growing up. But, secondly, the juxtaposition of that idyllic setting with such a silly mistake feels so foreign to a normal person’s experience. The normal action of cooking is inherently relatable — we all cook — but screwing it up in the way she’s been accused of, and in the setting she’s in, is aspirational.
Literally, the exact opposite of aspiration was Robbie Williams’ latest bout of candidness on Instagram. For whatever reason, your mum’s favourite singer took to Instagram to gather us around and tell us about the time he accidentally sharted on stage while performing “Let Me Entertain You.”
Another example of a normal action in an abnormal and not relatable setting. Except I’m good with this one. Robert, you can have it.
But, on the podcast, Starr brought up Kylie Jenner’s TikToks, and how they subtly push a relatable agenda. Yes, the newly-confirmed Ms. Chalamet is just a normal girl, folks!
@kyliejenner ♬ Sweet Sunset – Tollan Kim & dulai
Oh, sorry, what? You’re not a billionaire by age 30? Interesting. Much to think about.
Elsewhere on the new episode of POPSUGAR Rush, Starr and I discuss the drama of Joe Jonas and Sophie Turner’s surprise divorce, why Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour movie might be a bad thing, and the absolute chaos that is the new interactive rom-com Choose Love.
Listen to the latest episode above, or wherever you get your podcasts.
READ MORE: POPSUGAR Rush
