Celebs Are Making Everyone Cringe Again

Fresh off the ‘Imagine’ video disaster, the newest celebrity video is about racism and it’s…just…yeah

The thing about extremely rich, extremely famous people is that they’re not always capable of reading a room. This has never been more evident than now, mid-pandemic, fresh from the “Imagine” video cringey-ness. There’s a new video full of celebrities admonishing themselves for not solving racism, and we’re supposed to take it seriously — or at least that’s what the black-and-white filter tells us. And yes, it’s cringey AF.

In the wake of George Floyd’s death at the knees of the Minneapolis Police Department, the biggest civil rights movement in history has been evolving for weeks. And in the middle of this radical racial uproar, lots of celebrities decided to gather together and donate large portions of their wealth to the ACLU, Black Lives Matter, bail funds nationwide, and Black-owned businesses everywhere.

JUST KIDDING! Well sure, some of them are opening their wallets. But a lot of them are clutching their chests in a dramatic display of empty “I’m sorry for my white privilege” sentiments that in no way serves a purpose. If you can watch it and tell me what it does to cure 400+ years of violent oppression, I’d love to hear from you in the comments (LOL).

The video, sponsored by I Take Responsibility, a new organization that is partnering with the NAACP to get white people to recognize their own harmful actions and take a stand against them, has good intentions.

But the actual execution/result? CRINGE. CRINGE. AND MORE CRINGE.

Many of the celebrities featured are beloved, of course. Who doesn’t love Sarah Paulson, Stanley Tucci, Illana Glazer, and Julianne Moore? The ambiance, music, black and white tone, all of it is giving off major “after school special” vibes. It’s just… who asked for this? Do we need to know that Bryce Dallas Howard, who starred in The Help (sorry but that alone should disqualify her from speaking in this video), admittedly used to excuse police brutality? Or watch Kristen Bell and Debra Messing clutch their chests as they promise to be better whites?

Many people on social media flocked to poke fun at the celebs for their utter lack of self-awareness.

https://twitter.com/jetpack/status/1271094608068411392

Aaron Paul’s assigned role about persecuting killer cops was good at least?

But mostly… can they just stop making this about them? Pandemics, racism — we don’t need to hear how these issues are personally affecting the very rich, very white members of Hollywood. Donate money, time, and energy. Mostly money. Because there’s using your platform to do good work, and there’s using your celebrity to say “hey I did this so I can feel good.” Those are two very, very different things.

And if any celebrities are in need of a personal “PR Barometer” to tell them not to do self-serving, off-the-mark things, well, I’m available.