What is Celebrity? Fake Cat Fights, and Queerbaiting Revisited

Last week we discussed a fan account obtaining exclusive photos of Louis Tomlinson directly from the paparazzi. However, people in Sara’s TikTok comments found reason to get mad at referring to the former One Direction star as a “B-lister.” So what distinguishes A-listers from B-listers and how does cultural context affect how we think of “celebrity”? 

And because celebrities wouldn’t exist without general public speculation, we have a case of TikTok creators reporting on alleged drama between Selena Gomez, Hailey Bieber and Kylie Jenner – while the celebrities themselves have gone out of their way to tell fans that there’s no drama. Are we any better than the tabloids were to Britney? 

Like I said – we can’t stop thinking about things… like Kylie Jenner kissing her BFF Stassie on Instagram. In all of the discourse, the term “queerbaiting” was nowhere to be found – allowing people to have deeper discussions about the implications of Kylie’s post. What does it say about our society that queerbaiting is always applied to men, but rarely women? What does it say about the patriarchy and what men find attractive? And furthermore, what does this tell us about the difference between women’s experience of compulsory heterosexuality vs men’s?  

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Want to talk more? Find us: @name3songs | @sara_feigin | @jenna_million

Sources for What is Celebrity? Fake Cat Fights, and Queerbaiting Revisited

A Complete Breakdown Of The Batsh*t Drama Going On Between Selena Gomez, Taylor Swift, Kylie Jenner & Hailey Bieber (Elle, Ava Gilchrist, Feb 23 2023)

Selena Gomez Just Deleted Her TikTok (The Cut, Olivia Truffaut-Wong, Feb 23, 2023)

Name 3 Songs Episode: Fan-Exclusive Paparazzi Photos + Is It Gay To Kiss Your Bff?

Name 3 Songs Episode: Sam Smith Faces Fatphobia and Transphobia & TikTok’s #mascaratrend

Name 3 Songs Episode: Celebrity Feuds: Human Nature’s Addiction to Drama

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