Uploaded June 2025 | Updated September 2026, 1 hour ago
most celebrities have power, money, and influence. they are often (as in the case of certain ethnostates) doing propaganda for companies and governments. thom yorke in particular is a celebrity who was an ideal target for criticism because of his many espoused beliefs about injustice and his contradictory lack of participation in a highly popular movement against genocide and apartheid. people are mad he got called out and say it's because it is absurd to look to celebrities for political opinions, but if that were the case, they would not be so concerned with also Defending his political opinion (as many of these same people are) nor would they have been supportive of the many other times thom yorke expressed political opinions. in reality, online centrists and right-wingers have so little political education that they cannot defend their opinions even when famous public figures agree with them. so they simultaneously defend those opinions while also pretending it is absurd that they should be asked for their opinion. let's talk about it
and also: i know that chappelle references the ja rule joke in 8:46. he takes the same position--it is absurd that people should ask me to talk about politics!--and makes a strawman that people are asking him to get on the streets and "talk over the work people are doing." and then he also defends himself by saying "have i not ever said anything about these things before?" so he wants it both ways--i talk about these things and thus should not be called out (bear in mind that he doesn't even say he was called out specifically, he was just offended don lemon would ask celebrities to speak up on Black Lives Matter), but also it's dumb that someone should expect me to talk about these things. so then why speak about these things? why make the admittedly quite poignant 8:46 special speaking up for oppressed people if you think it's also dumb that people should want you to speak up for oppressed people?
i get that sometimes people overstep and make All of politics about celebrities, but acting as though we should never be interested in what they have to say or should never call them out when they don't use their many resources to help oppose injustice, especially when (in the case of Thom Yorke) they are benefitting monetarily from said injustice, is absurd. it is time to retire the ja rule joke.
edited by Danae O.
most celebrities have power, money, and influence. they are often (as in the case of certain ethnostates) doing propaganda for companies and governments. thom yorke in particular is a celebrity who was an ideal target for criticism because of his many espoused beliefs about injustice and his contradictory lack of participation in a highly popular movement against genocide and apartheid. people are mad he got called out and say it's because it is absurd to look to celebrities for political opinions, but if that were the case, they would not be so concerned with also Defending his political opinion (as many of these same people are) nor would they have been supportive of the many other times thom yorke expressed political opinions. in reality, online centrists and right-wingers have so little political education that they cannot defend their opinions even when famous public figures agree with them. so they simultaneously defend those opinions while also pretending it is absurd that they should be asked for their opinion. let's talk about it
and also: i know that chappelle references the ja rule joke in 8:46. he takes the same position--it is absurd that people should ask me to talk about politics!--and makes a strawman that people are asking him to get on the streets and "talk over the work people are doing." and then he also defends himself by saying "have i not ever said anything about these things before?" so he wants it both ways--i talk about these things and thus should not be called out (bear in mind that he doesn't even say he was called out specifically, he was just offended don lemon would ask celebrities to speak up on Black Lives Matter), but also it's dumb that someone should expect me to talk about these things. so then why speak about these things? why make the admittedly quite poignant 8:46 special speaking up for oppressed people if you think it's also dumb that people should want you to speak up for oppressed people?
i get that sometimes people overstep and make All of politics about celebrities, but acting as though we should never be interested in what they have to say or should never call them out when they don't use their many resources to help oppose injustice, especially when (in the case of Thom Yorke) they are benefitting monetarily from said injustice, is absurd. it is time to retire the ja rule joke.
edited by Danae O.
