Celebrity Handwringing

 

 

 

In the rabble and noise created by nonprofits vying for donors’ limited attention and ever-shrinking funding pools, an enterprising NGO needs a plan—a brilliant plan!

 

Enter the celebrity endorsement. They’re great for raising gazillions for the aid agencies that can harness the gods and goddesses of fame. These stars typically raise awareness on topics people are unlikely to care about, such as deadly strife in distant lands or the plight of migrants. Celebrities can bring reach, exposure and a level of imminence to global issues and much needed cash. It should be win-win.

 

Not, however, according to one Canadian professor who calls celebrity activism ‘humanitainment’. Dr. Ilan Kapoor of York University says the rich and famous are merely exercising brand extension opportunities. He may have a point. After all, who decided that Bono is an expert on HIV/AIDS or Bob Geldof is the go-to guy on structural deficit? Critics argue this dependency on glamour means the rest of us transpose our fleeting concern to a glorified, but unaccountable jet set, while the celebrities disguise narcissism with altruism. There’s no lack of examples.

 

Angelina Jolie accepts humanitainment awards created especially for her. Naomi Campbell broke her vow on fur. Scarlett Johansson and Oxfam. George Clooney and Sudan. The particularly wrongheaded #BringBackOurGirls hashtag. (Where was the storm of Twitter tut-tutting when Boko Haram murdered school boys this past February?)

 

It’s also fair to point out the organization I work for partners with celebrities, but chefs that is with cultural ties to Vietnam. We do it for fundraising and community outreach because we feel it’s a sensible fit.

 

The Perfect Match?

 

However, the following is not a sensible fit. Insert a random television actor into a country they don’t know, can’t name and with an INGO whose mission they didn’t ask about. Go abroad for heart-wrenching publicity purposes and this is what you end up with.

 

“I get the impression that in Africa people have sex far more freely than we do back home,” remarked Downton Abbey star Elizabeth McGovern on a trip to Sierra Leone.

 

“I wonder if World Vision would take on the problem of women wearing the burka. And that clitoris thing is awful.”

 

Eye-watering, isn’t it?

 

Do the people affected by famine or trafficking really need our pouting selfies, tear-stained tweets and petulant calls for someone (typically the US military) to 'do something'? Do the armchair slacktavists help or hinder? Perhaps what’s needed is less emphasis on star-wattage and instead on creating space for genuine experts to weigh in on these philanthropic debates with, well, expert opinion.

 

Ending the horror of (insert cause here) isn’t going to happen with a hashtag or a plastic bracelet or because some rock star wishes it so. Educate yourself about the women and men who have been working for decades trying to 'do something' in the country where (insert cause here) happens. Focus on what real action you can take with your local government to bring political pressure on the issues you care about. Express your support for the unsung campaigners in the field striving for transformative change. Let these communities champion their own spokespersons and ambassadors.

 

Who knows, they might even turn into celebrities.

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Photo: Culturally and sartorially sensitive Elizabeth McGovern in Sierra Leone / Alexander Whittle

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This article originally appeared in Word Vietnam magazine and has been adapted. To view the magazine’s online version click here.