AH, CELEBRITIES. How they irritate me so.
The past several weeks have seen more than a few celebrities crying censorship in the face of public backlash to their unwarranted, left-leaning political opinions. Oh, you poor, oppressed victims of injustice. Three recent examples have proved that celebrities can dish it out, but they definitely can't take it. It's time they learned that "free speech" doesn't mean that they get to say whatever they want while everyone else bows down to their infinite celebrity wisdom.
Let's start with the most recent example of the terrible injustice done to our beloved celebrity community. Linda Ronstadt, who gave us such tunes as "Poor, Poor Pitiful Me" (how ironic), was recently booed off of the stage at the Las Vegas casino Aladdin after impulsively proclaiming to the crowd that Michael Moore is a "great American patriot who is spreading the truth." She kindly dedicated her song "Desperado" to him, and then urged everyone to go out and see his documentary "Fahrenheit 9/11."
Needless to say, the crowd did not take kindly to this.
They booed, they hissed, they hollered and then they stormed out of the concert hall, tossing cocktails and taking their aggression out on a few unfortunate Linda Ronstadt posters in the lobby.
Ronstadt was subsequently escorted out of the casino.
Now, obviously, ripping down posters and throwing drinks at nobody in particular is a bit of an overreaction, not to mention dangerous and unruly. Ronstadt, however, seems dumbfounded that there are people out there who may have had any kind of a problem with her apparently neutral comments.
"I'm not telling them how to vote. I'm saying, get information about the issues," she told the Los Angeles Times.
Um, Miss Ronstadt, perhaps the phrase "Michael Moore is a great American patriot who is spreading the truth" may seem like an objective one to you, but to the general public, it's a pretty strong opinion. Ordering a crowd to see a factually inaccurate, anti-Bush fireball of a film is not the same thing as telling your fans to "get information about the issues." You can say whatever you like, but don't feign indignation and innocently claim to be neutral when you clearly are not.
This brings us to our next crusader against celebrity censorship, Moore himself. Upon hearing that Ronstadt was escorted out of the Aladdin during the mini-riot that was taking place, Moore fired off a scathing letter to the hotel president.
"What country do you live in? Last time I checked, Las Vegas is still in the United States. And in the United States, we have something called the 'First Amendment' which guarantees the right to free speech. For you to throw Linda Ronstadt off the premises because she dared to say a few words in support of me and my film, is simply stupid and Un-American."
There's more, but it gets kind of mean.
First of all, Mr. Moore, when a person's words have caused a riot among drunken fans in a casino, it is generally a good idea to remove said person from the premises so that said person does not get a cocktail to the head. Hotel officials who escorted Ronstadt out did so out of concern for her own safety and to quell the uprising about to take place, not because they didn't like what she had to say.
But more importantly, Moore's assertion that the negative reaction to Ronstadt's remarks is some sort of infringement on the First Amendment is unequivocally wrong. Las Vegas is, indeed, still part of the United States, which means that just as Linda Ronstadt has every right to spread the Michael Moore love, fans have just as much right to boo her when she does.
The problem with these celebrities is that they step into their spotlight, say whatever they feel like and then cry censorship when anyone dares to react.
Which brings us to our third victim of injustice, Whoopi Goldberg.
Goldberg was recently dropped from her gig as the Slim-Fast spokeswoman after making several off-color jokes about President Bush's last name at a Democratic fundraiser. It's unfortunate that she lost her job, especially since Slim-Fast commercials are about the best thing Goldberg has going for her these days, but Slim-Fast is a business. When faced with losing numerous customers or keeping Goldberg, from whom John Kerry has even increasingly distanced himself, Slim-Fast made a smart business decision.
Goldberg, like so many of those poor celebrities, considers herself yet another victim of Orwellian censorship. She bemoans, "The fact that I am no longer the spokesman for Slim-Fast makes me sad, but not as sad as someone trying to punish me for exercising my right as an American to speak my mind."
Why, exactly, is it OK for Goldberg to shamelessly insult Bush, but it's not OK for anyone to criticize her for doing so? When did backlash become synonymous with censorship? Why can't these celebrities understand that some people may not like what they have to say?
The First Amendment guarantees that a person won't be thrown in jail for expressing an opinion. It does not guarantee that there will be no public backlash against whatever B-list celebrity happens to be hogging the political spotlight. America is currently engaged in one big argument, and celebrities should realize that public response to their comments is perfectly legal, and perfectly right.
Kristin Brown is a Cavalier Daily columnist. She can be reached at kbrown@cavalierdaily.com.
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