For years, celebrities have managed to avoid punishment for the dishonorable matters they promote or commit. Today, a vast amount of non-A-list celebrities receive unfair treatment, critique or discipline when standing up for what they believe in, especially on social media.
A recent case follows “Scream” star Melissa Barrera’s Instagram post in support of Palestine in the Israel-Hamas war, spiking the debate on whether certain celebrities evade punishment for showing support. Earlier this month, Noah Schnapp, famous for playing Will Byers on “Stranger Things,” posted an Instagram story holding stickers up that read an inappropriate message about Zionism. Also seen in the story, Schnapp held another sticker comparing Hamas to ISIS, triggering fans of Schnapp as they found the sticker insensitive.
“I think it’s absurd that Noah Schnapp is not getting any punishment for posting what he did while Melissa Barrera gets fired from a whole franchise. This isn’t fair to the fans who loved Barrera on Scream. Personally, I think that Noah Schnapp has already gotten away with too much, but this issue just shows that Hollywood and the film industries pick favorites,” junior Tessa Saunders said.
Adding to fan’s disappointment with Schnapp, Netflix allegedly came out saying they would only keep a close eye on the star rather than offering a punishment or encouraging an apology. Meanwhile, the “Scream” production team fired Barrera for reposting a post that supported Palestine. Later that week, Barrera’s co-star on “Scream,” Jenna Ortega, revealed she would also not join the next “Scream” movie. Fans suspected Ortega departed because of her busy schedule as she appears as the star actress in the film “Wednesday,” but Ortega liked Barrera’s post explaining her beliefs, hinting at the cause of her departure falling on her pro-Palestine beliefs.
While these cases happened recently, fans still forget important cases from years ago. After supporting the Black Lives Matter movement, fans called out Mark Wahlberg for hypocrisy after he committed numerous racially motivated crimes during his teenage years, including chasing, yelling profanities and throwing rocks at three Black children. Wahlberg served 45 days in prison for these vicious crimes and tried to remove these crimes from his criminal record. In 2022, Wahlberg presented the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Award to the “Everything, Everywhere, All At Once” cast. Wahlberg upset fans after presenting this award when they did research and found that one of the crimes Wahlberg committed toward an elderly Asian man nearly cost the man his life.
Wahlberg’s representatives and SAG-Aftra brushed this issue aside and chose not to respond to any comments or questions. Once again, ignoring the public and pressing on with daily life remains a common occurrence in Hollywood among A-list actors and celebrities with a die-hard fanbase. Fans believe these crimes or issues must come back to the attention of other fans who may wrongly support a celebrity.
“Mark Wahlberg is a prime example of someone who got away with too much. He performed more than one racially motivated crime. His age does not matter because any 14 to 16-year-old knows what’s right or wrong to do to others. Hollywood needs to change their ways and start doing heavier background checks on actors and celebrities before they give them a platform and jobs they do not deserve,” junior David Achamaja said.
To decrease the chances of receiving hate from the public, fans suggest that celebrities display their true personality and beliefs online before these fans unveil a dark secret. Honesty remains important to fans, as they dedicate time and money toward their favorite stars. Celebrity worship exists and consumes fanbases, therefore, honesty from their idol signifies trust deeper than celebrities think.
