Overthinking About Celebrity Worship

From Taylor Swift's "Lavendergate" scandal to One Direction conspiracy theories colonizing adolescents' personalities, celebrity fandom appears more hallucinatory and brutal now than ever before... or are we overthinking it? A few stats about celebrity worship have been confirmed: In 2019, a Japanese study found that ~30 percent of adolescents aspired to emulate a media figure, as opposed to an IRL role model. A 2021 study measured that celebrity worship had increased dramatically since two decades prior. During times of both global and personal crisis, our culture has increasingly looked to celebrities not only to entertain us, but to save us, and as social media brings us "closer" to our favs than ever, performative online personas exacerbate the illusion of "mother" status. But cycles of celebrity worship and dethronement have grown hostile, and when the stakes of these obsessions range from Dolly Parton to Donald Trump, from Jane Fonda to Ronald Reagan, we have to ask: Is it healthy to elevate entertainers to such pedestals? Why have our expectations of pop stars gotten so high? And even though the dehumanization side of fame seems downright miserable, why do so many fans still crave a taste of it for themselves? New York Times opinion columnist Jessica Grose joins for a sparkling discussion of celebrity worship. - Join the "Magical Overthinkers Club" by following the pod on Instagram @magicaloverthinkers. - To access early, ad-free episodes and more, subscribe to the Magical Overthinkers Substack. - Pick up a hard copy of Amanda's book The Age of Magical Overthinking: Notes on Modern Irrationality, or listen to the audiobook. - Sources: Celebrity admiration vs. obsession: New study sheds light on stalking behaviors: https://bit.ly/4ftx0f7 When did we start taking famous people seriously?: https://nyti.ms/4dehd25 More sources in the end notes of The Age of Magical Overthinking, Chapter 1: "Are You My Mother Taylor Swift" To watch the podcast on YouTube: https://bit.ly/MagicalOverthinkersYouTube ; Don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast for free wherever you're listening If you like the show, telling a friend about it would be amazing! You can text, DM, email, or send this link to a friend: https://bit.ly/MagicalOverthinkers  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices