Mic Drops
Over the last couple days I have heard a story or two of Jay-Z being accused of rape some twenty years ago, with the Notorious P.Diddy. Of course he is denying it and claiming innocence, but then, so do the majority of criminals, so the claim really isn't worth much. I have no insight into what actually happened and it is all speculation, but one thing should be very, very clear from all of the dirty laundry -
The rich and famous are depraved.
Not all.
And it might not even be a majority, but how I see it, the level of entitlement they hold, combined with the access to opportunity, they are pretty much all going to be affected in some way that will make them social outliers. No matter where they might have come up originally, once they are famous, they are no longer in the proverbial Kansas, and they are living lives that the average will find difficult to imagine. They are treated like gods, they are handed whatever they want, and people will throw themselves at them just to be close. And, as depraved as they might be, those who throw themselves at another human as if they are a god, just because they are rich and famous or can help make them rich and famous too, have to shoulder some of the blame.
This isn't victim blaming.
And yeah, there are apparently kids involved in this too, as well as drugs - but surely adults must have some level of sense that makes some warning bells go off in the head prior to being at one of these parties as paid entertainment, right?
But, this aside, what about all of the celebrities who attended these parties - shouldn't they all be at the very least be called into give sworn testimony as witnesses? Shouldn't they all be at least partially liable? Again, at least at the highly publicised parties that went on for a couple decades, there are plenty who attended and I call bullshit on all the people who say they, "left before anything like that happened" - because that is not the scene. It was going on to some degree at least the whole time, so everyone at those parties who remained quiet, is complicit. Anyone who thought there might have been something untoward or criminal and said nothing, is guilty, aren't they?
These are many of the most powerful people in entertainment.
They didn't fear for their careers.
FUCK THEM.
It isn't because it is illegal, like doing a line of coke. This is some heinous shit that has been happening. And it has been happening for years. This is before, during and after other high profile cases, like Weinstein and Epstein. And there are many others too, with all kinds of depravity coming out with actors and singers, producers and the like doing things that even as kids, they would have known were wrong. They probably didn't grow up with the intention of becoming a depraved sex offender.
It is systemic.
And, it isn't just the perpetrators and those who stayed silent, it is the rest involved too, and the culture we have created. We developed an incredibly strange world, putting people on pedestals, making them stars, paying them absolutely ludicrous amounts of money for skills that probably don't make the world a fundamentally better place. They can sing, dance, kick or throw a ball, have an ear for music - but the majority of them aren't doing much to cure cancer, end global hunger, or improve nature. The top scientists probably don't have paparazzi following them on holiday, and people throwing their panties at them on the street.
We have failed as a society.
We have failed on so many levels, including the protection of innocence of children, or appropriately valuing human activity and rewarding it accordingly. While researchers looking into conditions that affect humanity struggle to get funding, P.Diddy is buying lube in bulk, as well as the drugs he mixes into them to stun his prey. And remember, he likely didn't buy any of this by himself, because he has a network of people doing it all for him.
It should never be forgotten that the rich and famous are both "rich" and "famous" because of us.
Their fame, their wealth, their access and the driver of their sense of entitlement, is provided to them by society, and we are that society that worships them, that pays them, that overlooks all of their bad behaviours. The question is why? Why do we pay so much to be entertained? Why do we put so much of our time and energy into worshipping celebrity? Why do we ignore these behaviours? Why do we keep on pretending that this culture is okay?
Why is so much of our power spent on empowering terrible people?
Taraz
[ Gen1: Hive ]
The P.Diddy case is crazy and there are allegations that he's involved in so many murders including 2pac and Biggie. I wonder if he's even involved in the cases related to Epstein since it was alleged that high profile people like him and some celebrities were also involved.
It's really difficult to go against powerful people like him. But I also agree when you said that people turn a blind eye on what he's doing because they can gain something for themselves as well.
His parties, especially the "after parties" are extremely disturbing!!!
It would be no surprise.
The world is a scary place. xD
Because behind all this there is a worse, unimaginable mafia at work. It is impossible to fight it from our position. Justice as we know it applies to the weakest, I tell you that with propriety because I fought eleven years of my life against the ‘catholic church’, until a DNA sample gave me my freedom. The priest involved was simply sent back to Belgium, his country of origin, and I lost track of him there.
Not sure what you are referencing here, but it sounds on par with what catholic churches and pretty much all religions do. The religious tend to be the largest fiends.
Because the majority lacks a firmly-rooted value system and ascribes to a faulty one promoted by terrible people, I think. Which is different from saying we're amoral, but we lack a firm understanding of what gives us meaning and value in this life, so we assume it's money, fame, success, sex appeal etc.
We're really insecure. And we're increasingly isolated and lonely, hence the need for more and more extreme "entertainment" (and immersion).
Is a great question. Also a growing lack of meaning (I think). The emptier I feel, the more "entertainment" I need to consume. That and I think we're drawn to the general salaciousness of these people we perceive as living outside the rules. Obviously we don't admire pedophiles, but I do think there's a darkness of the human spirit that draws us to certain amoral bad behaviors (like sexual aggression, law-breaking and so on) that these celebrities are often caught exhibiting.
I don't really know, but these are great questions. Your posts always leave me with things to think about and I appreciate that.
I agree with this. And the "morality" of it gets twisted the more we ascribe to materiality.
"Scroll and swipe for happiness"
We want to break rules that we probably shouldn't have, so look up to those who break the rules we probably should have?
If this is true, why is it a civil case and not a criminal case. That speaks volumes for me. People who want justice file criminal charges. People who want money file civil cases. Who knows, he was definitely associated with Shawn, so it could really go either way.
To be fair, it's difficult to present sufficient evidence for a criminal case after 20 years, and the requirements for conviction/judgement differ dramatically. If I am not mistaken, criminal cases require "beyond reasonable doubt," while civil only asks for "preponderance of evidence."
That's probably true, but it does seem rather suspect. I'm not really invested one way or the other. He's innocent until proven guilty, but if he is guilty, then so be it.
I don't know much about the legal system in the US (or elsewhere for that matter), but it seems that at the end of the day, it all comes down to money. It is probably why most of these people got themselves into those parties and into those cars in the first place, right?
I would guess you are probably right!
The whole thing is disgusting on so many levels. What’s crazy is that often times we think it would be nice to be famous like that but they are the most disturbed people in the world. So many of them were exploited sexually at one point or another, male or female, young or old. It’s pretty sick shit.
Is it any wonder why the rich and famous have all kinds of satanic parties and shit with body cakes and shit? It’s so disgusting.
My wife at one point wanted to explore ways to make our son famous. I fought back on that because it’s nasty shit and it corrupts all of them. I would rather work hard and make an honest living than sell my soul and destroy my son in search for some type of “fame”. It’s not at all worth it.
I think that this is one of the reasons we support - we want to be like them.
I think some areas are better than others, because some require a huge amount of very hard physical work to get there. This isn't a complete protection against the crazy. I wouldn't want Smallsteps to be famous though - especially for something that takes low effort. People want "workless wealth" which is what is encouraged these days - instagram influencers, and onlyfans self-fuckers. The irony is, only a tiny percentage can live off it, but they all themselves out.
It's easy to downplay entertainment as frivolous, but recreation is as important to human flourishing as anything else. That said, the modern corporate and celebrity ecosystem is downright toxic. Like politics, power draws the corrupt and corrupts the benign. Is it worse now than in the past? I remember scandals like Pee-wee Herman getting caught wanking in a porno theater. What else went unreported?
When did recreation change from moving ourselves most of the time, to passive voyeuristic consumption most of the time?
A huge amount. Is there a difference now because of how "public" private lives are?
The irony is that a lot of the people blasting celebrities right now also voted for a politician to be president who bragged about sexual assault, bragged about forcing his way into the dressing rooms of minors, has to pay millions for defamation from a sexual assault, had evidence provided in court about cheating on his pregnant wife and has had credible accusations of raping a minor that were withdrawn when he threatened the death of the accusers family - so yeah, I agree, charge all the celebrities who did horrible, illegal, immoral things including those that didn't do anything to stop it. If most celebrities and politicians go to jail then I'm completely fine with that... but I find it frustrating when people get all outraged on some celebrities but want to protect their favourites. No one should be anyone's favourite if they've committed crimes.
He is a celebrity, like all politicians these days. Politics is not about policy, it is all about personality. And the worse the person, the more some seem to be enamoured.
Imagine if all of them that committed some highly illegal act, dropped dead - who'd be left?
Yeah, it's just frustrating that people mention Epstein and P.Diddy but not Trump or Elon - I assume because they don't want to upset people - but it's so weird to me that people choose who they're offended by and who they choose to not be offended by.
I genuinely believe there are lots of celebrities that act with integrity. Just of the top of my head, Terry Crews spoke out against some producer that grabbed him inappropriately even though it would have been easier not to, Weird Al has had a very long career without the slightest hint of allegations, I'd be surprised if Hugh Jackman has been involved in anything... and honestly, if 95% of celebrities have committed a highly illegal act (especially if it harmed someone else) went to prison then I'd be fine with it. It would obviously devastate so many industries but I'd take the short term pain for the long term benefit.
I think fame and money makes people loose touch with reality. Too much money, fame or power is not good. It literally corrupts people...
For sure - but is it the fame and money, or the way we treat them that facilitates it?
Everyone claims that they are innocent and right. If they were not innocent, would they do that forbidden thing? Maybe that forbidden thing is not forbidden for them, it is what it should be. The problem is with those who make it forbidden.
You said something very nice and appropriate. We as a society determine the famous and the rich. Our interest in them, our communication with them makes them famous, famous and rich. It is not hard for them to turn into an ordinary poor person for a moment.
Just like a fiat currency, the things that gives them power and what can take power away, is the way we behave.
Yep wE've failed because we treat entertainers - including sportspeople in Australia - like Gods. Somehow because they can kick a footy around or play some music they're all good to do what they want. I think it might be in part because we enjoy the entertainment, we find it difficult to reconcile our image of them with their bad behaviour, so we choose to ignore it because we don't want to shine a torch on who we are.
"at least they can sing/run/jump - I am useless!"
Hahahaha we can all sing in our own way ❤️
There is no embarrassment for them and everything they do could be normalized. If too much, they disappear for a while, then cone back as if nothing happened.