Variety’s cover this week is The Inauguration Issue, and the cover is like the looking glass into hell. No, I jest. I actually love Van Jones. But putting Lena Dunham, Chelsea Handler and Michael Moore on the cover like they’re the most salient progressive voices? Nope. No offense to Michael Moore, who correctly predicted Emperor Baby Fists’ victory. But this cover is the reason why I worry about my side. You can see Variety’s whole Inauguration Issue package here. I’m just covering the Chelsea Handler interview right now. I mostly think Handler is a severely damaged and painfully unfunny person and it amuses me to no end that she’s flailing around on a Netflix talk show that few people watch. The only time anyone pays attention to her is when she’s talking sh-t about Angelina Jolie. But to hear Handler tell it, she’s the second coming of Seth Meyers. Or something. Some highlights from her interview:
She wanted to move to Spain after the election but her young staffers convinced her to stay: “They all just said, ‘You’re our only outlet. You’re our mouthpiece.’ That will motivate anybody, and it motivates me.”
Wrapping on her first season on Netflix: “It feels right. We have more of an impact being on Netflix than I would have had on another network, because we have a huge international audience. It’s nice to be able to let them know that just because this man is our president, this is not a representation of everybody in our country. It’s a representation of less than half the people.
Whether she would ever want to interview President Trump: “No. Why would I? I don’t ever want to see him. I don’t ever want to interact with him, which won’t be a problem. Once he came up to me in a restaurant in L.A. to introduce himself — to tell me he’s Donald Trump. I said, “Great.”
What the media should have done differently during the election: “Stop covering [Trump] so much. They were treating him as an entertainer first. It was a reality show. We’ve turned into a reality show. I blame the Kardashians, personally; the beginning of the end was the Kardashians. The way these people have blown up and don’t go away — it’s surreal. Everyone is for sale. We’re looking at a man that gets mad at Vanity Fair for reviewing his restaurant poorly. By the way, have you ever been to that restaurant? It’s the biggest piece of garbage you’ve ever walked into. That place looks like a Southwest airport lounge. It’s the worst.
Trump’s campaign was like a reality show: “Somebody should have put a stop to it. The idea that so many people were so wrong about the outcome is so screwed up. The fact that Russia is interfering with our election is beyond repair. How do we ever recover from that? What’s to prevent them from doing it for the rest of our lives?…. There’s a toddler in the White House, and it’s not one of the children. The other thing about his children, they have absolutely no influence over him. The idea that Ivanka is going to help women, or do anything for women, is absurd, because she’s a puppet. They’re all his puppets. They’re scared s–tless of him, and the fact that they’re still around him means they have never stood up to him.
Could Trump be impeached? “I hope so. Probably. But how would they even get him out of there? He doesn’t abide by laws and rules. They’d have to physically remove him. It’s becoming clearer what a sociopath he is. I think our job as entertainers — or my job — is to reach across and figure out the people who are so disenchanted that they voted for him, and try to find some common ground.
Does Chelsea really have a huge international audience? Are there people in Japan, Sweden and Indonesia checking out her Netflix show? I’m really asking. As for the rest of it…it’s often said that the best comedy is rooted in truth and tragedy, and the best comedians are actually social critics. That being said, I honestly don’t get this: “I blame the Kardashians, personally; the beginning of the end was the Kardashians. The way these people have blown up and don’t go away — it’s surreal.” Sure, but what does that have to do with Trump? Trump was his own reality show circus before the Kardashians came along. Keeping up the Kardashians actually began airing three years after The Apprentice first started, meaning that Trump was a reality star before Kim Kardashian. Isn’t it far more likely that the Kardashians and Trump are symptoms of an even bigger and more insidious problem within the Idiocracy that is America?
Photos courtesy of WENN.
Other than Van Jones, they couldn’t find any other less tone deaf and inflammatory liberals? Really, THIS was your best?
No thanks, if we lose the mid terms in 2 years I will personally blame horrible coverage like this giving these idiots a platform to act like the liberal voice. Best thing the Democratic party can do is separate hard and fast from idiots like this as the mouth piece.
Umm. No one is saying that Chelsea Clinton is the best voice of the democratic party. She is an American who is answering questions about why she cried on her show when trump was elected.
Her show on Netflix is much different than it was on E. She brings on political figures and tries to have conversations that are bigger than drinking at 5am.
Middle America isn’t the only or most important America. Winning an election through the electoral college vs. the popular vote mean that most people believe in the liberal agenda. those people just don’t want to live where there is limited economic growth.
Chelsea Clinton?
@ Amy
Thanks. LOL. I meant Chelsea Handler
@denisemich
..and by “limited economic growth” you mean virulent Obama bashing and Obama Derangement Syndrome aka racism/xenophobia, fueled constantly by Fox News (propaganda arm of GOP) and reich-wing hate talk radio, yes?
That white working class anxiety and economy b.s. was rightwing/GOP spin that attempted to explain the hate and bigotry that powered the Trump campaign.
The fact is, not only did Obama clean up the tsunami of fecal matter that Republicans Bush and Cheney left us weakly dog paddling in, he grew the economy, shrunk unemployment, enabled job growth with his stimulus package, and saved auto/housing/banking.
Not to mention enabled those people in the regions you mentioned to finally acquire good affordable healthcare -insuring that debt and bankruptcy via illness and medical bills was now off the table. By eliminating the no pre existing conditions policies, that meant anyone could be insured and you wouldn’t have to worry that you’d be refused because of that case of bronchitis you had in 1998. Job lock was no longer a thing (being stuck in a horrible employment situation because no one else would carry your premiums)- that enables creativity, entrepreneurship, and innovation when people aren’t trapped in the workplace.
So to say the xenophobic viciousness we all saw at Trump rallies for a year, was econ inspired, IMO is a falsehood generated by a crafty deceptive like minded rightwing.
Don’t fall for it.
With the exception of Van Jones and Moore, this cover is proof positive that Variety must be trying to curry favor with Trump.
Can they present a liberal side that’s any more ineffectual and lame than one with Handler and Dunham as featured progressive voices? I don’t think so.
Everytime Dunham opens her mouth she is walking back a foot in mouth tone deaf offensive comment (see the MET ball Odell Beckham nonsense recently, the ‘I can’t write black characters’ snafu, or her own biography debacle where she describes fondling a sibling) there is no respite from her eye rolling idiocy.
As for Handler, when she’s not imitating the Kardashians by dropping trou and top herself constantly, she’s, as was pointed out, spewing her misogynistic vile bitter hatred (due to her own insecurities and PR flack’s orders), on to Angelina Jolie, for ink and PR.
For the last 5 years Trump called President Barack Obama a foreign interloper questioning his patriotism and citizenship. Likewise, Handler for the last 5 years instead of saying boo, about the attacks on our President, or addressing anything politically related (she said nada about the tea party, or conservative talking points, or black lives matter etc -) she INSTEAD reserved all her energy to…SLAM…wait for it…a revered humanitarian and Oscar winning actress, Angelina.
Yet she’s now trying to be Seth Myers, or Samantha Bee or John Oliver?? Bish Please.
Oddly enough, Donald Trump, narcissist extraordinaire like handler, attacked Jolie too. So they actually have that in common.
Variety should have replaced this fool on their cover with the brilliant Samantha Bee, or any number of other people more deserving than Handler.
Yes to everything you said!!
Co-sign. I can not with Chelsea Handler who I agree is PAINFULLY unfunny in the extreme. Even the tiniest snippets I have seen of her on other shows have positively REEKED of desperation and neediness. Plus, she ALWAYS looks drunk and/or high. (This may just be how she looks, but, yeah, it’s not adding to the overall package.)
Isn’t she also the one who said she, quote, “can’t be racist because I [bleep] black guys all the time”? I mean, you know, Klassy!
The entire cover is like a Republican parody of what they think a “liberal” is.
Almond Milk I usually disagree with everything you post. BUT…this time you couldn’t be more correct!
I know that Chelsea Handler is unpopular with most Celebitchy readers, since she is a friend of Jennifer Aniston and dares to criticize Angelina, but she has a valid point. The Kardashian type of fame has permeated our society. People who are completely without talent and lacking in accomplishment are given an insane amount of attention and are considered newsworthy for no reason other than they walked down the street or got a new boyfriend. What is worse is that offensive, rude, and downright despicable people (e.g., Trump) are treated as humorous cartoon villians or as exciting antiheroes. They’re given validity and elevated to ridiculous levels of importance simply because they’re famous and court the spotlight. The bar keeps getting lower. Now the a$$ hat who hosted The Apprentice is going to run the country. Enough of the public bought into his tv and gossip rag shenanigans.
I don’t think many people care about her show… and Chelsea just latched on to another way to keep her name in circulation.
When was she appointed the Voice of decent. They should have put on Samantha Bee (whose show is being watched, a woman that is funny/smart/relevant) or John Oliver.
Handler is trying to milk this to get notice and make herself relevant. I don’t care what she thinks or feels. And sadly this is giving her a second breath. I can’t stand her. I’ll stick with people that don’t call themselves “pro women” and then do exactly what Donald Trump does to women. STFD Handler.
@nemera34
+1000 thank you.
I suspect that you would feel differently if Angelina said the same thing. And it is “dissent.”
I mean, if we were to read that from another person’s voice, I doubt many would disagree?. she IS right on several points…. but that’s just me.
Hard to care about what someone proven to be as adolescent and childish as our incoming president is saying.
She treats men like crap, women not in her special circle like crap, she’s crazy offensive to the point of down right racist on many occasions.
Hypocrisy doesn’t prove a point it just gives conservatives more ammo to make liberals all like like crazy people who are out of touch with reality.
how does she treat men like crap?
I agree with you. I don’t like Chelsea at all but she does raise some good points.
Yes, she makes good points. At the beginning of the election campaign,I think people and the media were viewing him as a joke. I know I did . I went to bed on election night, positive Hillary would win. I was very shocked when I woke up.
I’m with you, I think she speaks the truth. I don’t follow her at all (other than what I’ve gleaned here) so I don’t have all the negative baggage that other readers might have.
Her point about Trump’s kids still being around because they’ve never stood up to him is a really good one. Chilling. And the idea of him having to be physically removed from the White House is not farfetched.
And while the Kardashians (and their ilk) are technically not the problem, they’re definitely a huge part of why Trump got elected. A huge swath of our population doesn’t give a crap about policy. They don’t even bother to vote.
Are there people in Japan, Sweden and Indonesia checking out her Netflix show? – No. They only did it once when the cast of Captain America was there.
Since you’re really asking (!) – the only reason I even know the name of Chelsea Handler is because I read this site. I know Michael Moore though, if that helps!
Same here and it wasn’t enough to check out her Netflix show.
Also same!
When she first came out on E, her show was actually funny. She had a panel of great comics and they would go over news stories/celebrity gossip and all chime in. I think this worked because she played off of the panel really well, and it was never just her, and she wasn’t doing one on one interviews. It was funny and I remember watching it a bit. Once she moved into a bigger role at E, her likability fell by the wayside.
Actually, I blame racist white women a lot more Chelsea. Just saying.
@Kate
Chelsea is racist IMO, and she’s white.
In fact, IMO a Trump supporter is much more likely to align themselves with the vicious hateful Handler than the inclusive Kardashian bunch, who count black people and transgender people and gay people as family.
If you had to point to one thing that enabled Trump, it was disdain for our first Black President, and I’ve heard similar racist ‘jokes’ about black folk and black men in particular not to mention adopted children of color of the celebs (be it Brangelina’s or Sandra Bullock’s) straight from Handler’s mouth. What’s the difference between Handler calling Angelina a demon c-word and Trump doing it? What’s the difference between Trump mocking a disabled person and Handler mocking Chuey (a little person) on her show.
It’s all the same bowl of nasty bile.
Kardashians don’t traffic in bullying, Handler and Trump do.
What brought about Trump is bigotry and the death of civility, which Handler leads the charge on.
Oh I agree than Chelsea is hugely racist herself even though I think she voted for HRC. Anyone who calls a black girl a monkey is racist. She is vile.
And the economic angle of the election is really tiresome. Economic anxiety my ass… Once again, white supremacy prevailed in this country. 2008 et 2012 were sadly more the exception than the rule IMO.
Kardashian’s don’t traffic in bulling?!? Are you freaking serious?!? Go take a look at Khloe’s twitter. You don’t have to champion them to dislike Chelsea.
Google isn’t helping.. What is the monkey story ?
Trump definitely won the RACIST vote, PUSHED RACIST IDEAS nonstop. I think people who voted for Trump will hide behind any buzz words to say why they support him. IMO If you voted for Trump you support a RACIST and you voted for RACISM.
A Trump vote is a RACIST Vote. I also think if Hillary said even half the things that Trump said she would have been run out of the Country by now. The press let Trump say a lot of lies and Racist things and never really called him on much because they wanted RATINGS for the RACIST.
I also think that half of the voting public was asleep or just don’t care or figured let others do the voting. Sadly a lot of people are or were asleep. If some didn’t see going to vote ,as a happening or a party, some just couldn’t get involved, SADLY. I met them while out canvassing.
The only good point that this hateful woman said in this article was her answer to what the media should have done during the election and are continuing to do now. Instead of covering his tweets, the media should be covering the hearings for Dump’s cabinet picks.
Every last one of them are incompetent, out of touch rich white people who are intent on destroying everyone in the middleclass. I watched a little of Betsy Davos(?) DeVos(?) being eviscerated last night by Al Franken and Elizabeth Warren. There was a clip of someone else flailing around trying to defend themselves during their own hearing, but I am blanking on that person’s name. There should be more coverage of the hearings than anything else. I will admit that am totally a part of why they are covering PeeGate, because I am enjoying Trump being humiliated. Everything he tried to do to Obama he is getting in spades and I am loving every second of it.
Yes! The mainstream media has been lazy and gone for the easy story .. the sound bites and tweets. Also, they don’t support each other. If baby fists won’t answer one reporter’s question, then every reporter after him/her needs to ask the same question again. Wash, rinse, repeat.
That is a really good idea. Hold him accountable to answering questions instead of letting him control the narrative with his incoherent nonsense and foolishness.
@Aiobahn Targaryen – Thanks, it is not an original idea with me, in fact, I think I read it here on Celebitchy. It needs to be repeated over and over until someone gets it. Why are they not holding baby fists accountable? Everyone needs to ask, ask, ask! Can it be just about ratings?
I blame much of this on the mainstream media USA. They wanted Ratings, so they never called Trump our on many things. Trump said so many hateful, disqualifying things which should have had the Trump pounding on him and asking questions, but by the next week they just let it go and was following him around like puppies wanting more ratings.
Trumps says GRAB P…..y
Trump says Certain people are Rapists, Murderers.
Trump says Women are fat, he wouldn’t do her.
Trump makes fun of a disabled reporter
Trump says of a woman running for office Look at her, Look at that Face”
Trump says…….
Hillary says Deplorables…… The Mainstream Media goes into full meltdown for months for this and screams WHY DID She call his peeps Deplorables ….and EMAILS, EMAILS, EMAILS, EMAILS ,EMAILS, EMAILS, EMAILS,
IMO The Mainstream Media was in the Tank for Trump because he brought them ratings. I will never watch CNN, MSNBC , I never watched FOX News…. but I will never waste time wating the US News shows after this election. I realise they are no longer journalists. They wanted Ratings and played us like a Reality show. I have lost faith in the US Political news media. Never again will they get my viewership.
Michael Moore, Lena Dunham, Rosie O’Donnell are the alt-right’s view of what liberals and democrats are. But they aren’t. Those people don’t represent or speak for me at all.
And Handler named the Kardashians to generate more clicks for herself.
Honestly, ANY celebrity right now spouting their truth isn’t going to be as powerful as the lawmakers and mover and shakers that can actually do something, or change something. How about a cover where the up and coming Dems are on it. You know, the ones we should be looking towards to change things in 4 years.
Although, I loooooove me some Michael Moore. All of his shows/writings/predictions have been spot on, and at least he is on point. BUT he also is notorious for being compared to Rosie, so it isn’t doing anyone justice here.
Chelsea and Lena, I appreciate the solidarity, but they are so damn tone deaf their nuggets of truth get lost in their self perceived unicorn glow.
I’m from Austria and the only reason I know her is because she is friends with Aniston and likes to talk sh-t about women like Jolie.
I’ve started calling idiocracy a documentary from the future.
I know she’s not well liked (especially on this site), but I don’t see anything wrong with what she said here. I think the Kardashian bit was just an attempt to be funny (which she can be, sometimes, but not very often). And, yeah, maybe she’s giving herself too much credit with how many people she actually reaches, but again, I really don’t see anything wrong here. Oh well…
I agree- I don’t like her and I really doubt her show reaches the audience she’s claiming , who knows, but I don’t have a problem with what she is saying here. She’s right on all points, and while I do not want her, Dunham or Moore to be the face of the movement ( seriously Vanity Fair? ) I do appreciate her speaking out as much as she has been.
I used to be indifferent on her, leaning towards thinking she was funny. But then I read Leah Remini’s book and she wrote about how when she left Scientology, Chelsea was there for her when so many other people weren’t. That made me really like her.
I know she’s hated on this site because she trashes Angelina, but I just think she’s really ride or die for her friends, and I can understand that. My girlfriends and I are like that too – If you wrong one of us, you’ll will never be forgiven by any of us. I do wish she would stop commenting on her, but the stuff people write on this site about her is just as bad as the stuff she says about Angelina, while thinking they are “above” her.
Apart that she talks too much sh-t about Angelina and posting nuke picture of herself on Instagram to get attention, she is nothing.
Serious question: would it be possible for an US American citizen to simply move to Spain? Does she have ties to Spain? I guess she can afford to rent/buy property, but considering how hard it is to get a residence permit for the States I can’t imagine it’s that simple vice versa.
No its not that simple. It’s not even that simple between canada and America. Immigration is difficult and costly to any nation. Taxes get weird too depending on how your employment works. I take all the “I’m leaving if…” threats as Saber rattling from people too self absorbed to actually look into what it’s like to immigrate.
Does the States still have their Green Card lottery? The first time I heard about this lottery I thought it was a great idea, until I read Canadians weren’t eligible to enter.
I must say I’m surprised she doesn’t blame Angelina Jolie.
The only reason this woman got her job is because she slept with a married with children to producer.
The only reason she is slightly famous is because she was bought by Jennifer Aniston to be her mouth piece against Angelina.
The only women Chelsea “helps” out are those in the same PR agency as her.
I am firm believer that karma always comes back to bite you and I am very glad that Chelsea is fading away. Her show is not a hit and I don’t think it will be renewed for another season.
Chelsea is also a racist and constantly attacks women but claims to be a feminist? She is in the same group of deplorable like Trump, his gang and the Republicans.
What’s everyone’s beef with Michael Moore? He seems thoughtful, insightful, and compassionate. He began spotlighting the forgotten working class decades ago with Roger and Me. The talk he gave in Ohio a few days before the election was spot on. And the way he’s been trying to keep the Flint water issue in the news is great.
I laughed at him when he said Donald Trump will win.. oh well.
I honestly think it has more to do with who he is standing next to than anything else. This doesn’t excuse the insult to Michael, just trying to give a possible explanation.
I agree that Michael Moore is one of the good guys.
He also, many years ago, shined a light on our country’s crappy healthcare system with “Sicko”; our failures with gun control and gun violence with “Bowling for Columbine”; investigated what led up to and the aftermath of 9/11 with “Fahrenheit 9/11″…..
He’s definitely a voice (and an important one) in the conversation. Has been for decades.
Yes. I think the first film I saw of his was Roger & Me, about GM’s role in the decline of Flint, MI.
He predicts that Trump will be impeached, so lets hope he’s wright about that too.
I like Michael Moore. The issue with him is he keeps on making bold claims without presenting evidences. He is like the Adam Curtis of the UK.
I actually like him too. I don’t agree with him a measurable portion of the time, but I almost always learn something and look at things in a new light as a result of his best work.
I like Michael Moore. He definitely needs an editor for both his writing and his films because while he finds the evidence and material needed to make his point, he eventually gets disorganized, goes off the rails, and loses his message. Case in point: Where to Invade Next. Great premise, a jumbled mess of a film.
Oh dear…nowadays the only way people get attention is if they mention the Kardashians (which is exactly what she did and got an entire article on this site.)
The K’s are annoying but stop giving them so much credit. The middle aged white women and hillbillies that voted for Trump didn’t do so because of the influence of reality tv shows (his or another). His show made him a familiar face but his bigotry and horrendous ideals made him win.
When I look at Trump’s twitter feed, pop-ups encourage me to follow Kim.
ROTFL
Trump is a reality show, it’s so embarrassing. I am so embarrassed for our Country right now.
From Articulate, Elegant President Obama to Trump. WTF
Too funny. I’ve been telling my husband it’s the Kardashians fault also!
Michael Moore actually belongs on the cover, along with Samantha Bee and (the controversial) Bill Maher.
It’s a pity that George Carlin is no longer with us. He would have skewered Genghis Con to the ends of the earth (just like he skewered just about everyone else). George had an uncanny way to make a joke of the deadly serious, causing people to utter: that’s hilarious and accurately demonic.
Yes!^^^ I’m anticipating the return of Real Time this week (never miss it), and I still miss George! What I wouldn’t give to hear his take on all of this. Big Samantha Bee fan, too. Too bad Jon Stewart no longer does the Daily Show, I miss him too.
Three cheers for Samantha Bee. She rocks.
I blame Chelsea and her fans. So hateful and evil.
I am not a Chelsea Handler fan, but I do see her point. The rise of the Kardashian brought in the rise of the idiot selling their lives for mass consumption. Trump rode that wave with his twitter account, reality presence and what not. Disgruntled people saw it bought it and now he’s the President. Yes, the Kardashians may not have started it, but they definitely took it and ran with it and created a blueprint for talentless people to have a presence. I’m not saying it’s an easy thing theyhave done, but it does allow for the wrong people to be famous.
Agree with you.
I agree with you as well.
It was a cultural shift that started in the first decade of the 2000s. Reality TV, way more celebutantes famous for being famous and then, of course, social media. The Kardashians played their part.
Shows like Fear Factor and Survivor were the pioneers of reality TV. I blame Joe Rogan.
If anything, Donald Trump is more responsible for the Kardashians than the other way around.
#ThanksODonald
In the article I posted several days ago, the profile of several white women who voted for Trump, one of them literally said Obama was more “celebrity” than president. She said this to justify the fact that she voted a reality show host into the White House. I am just out of words for the idiocy of some of my fellow Americans.
I cant stand Chelsea Handler- I wanted to like her, I tried… but I can’t. I don’t think she’s funny. I think she’s an asshole. However… even a broken clock is right twice a day, and I don’t disagree with a lot of what she said. Except for the part about the Kardashians, maybe…though I think I see where she was trying to go there. She just didn’t quite make it or took a wrong turn or something.
In a twisted way, she is right. Obviously not about the Kardashian’s who ride the wave of there being people silly enough to watch their show “ironically” or unironically and buy their crap but a friend of mine, who is a war reporter for a British newspaper says it’s unnerving how the clicks are far more important when there is a trendy topic (ex: peegate, Kardashians, kale, implants, any actor mansplaining or whitesplaining something, etc.) than the topics that actually explain something.
On the other hand, I find that the capitalist world we live in became so technical that it is sometimes difficult to understand articles unless you have followed from the beginning or are willing and have time to do some research. Because journalists speak journalistic jargon most of the time. The appalling outcome of Brexit, here in the UK, is, in my opinion, a blatant result of that.
The way these people have blown up and don’t go away — it’s surreal. Everyone is for sale. We’re looking at a man that gets mad at Vanity Fair for reviewing his restaurant poorly. By the way, have you ever been to that restaurant? It’s the biggest piece of garbage you’ve ever walked into. That place looks like a Southwest airport lounge. It’s the worst.
…this is the kind of thing Trump would say and the way he would say it.
ironic.
Agreed on Chelsea and Lena, but what’s wrong with Moore? He does use his voice in a responsible, insightful way. He was absolutely right about Trump, for God’s sake. I’m more than ok with him being on the cover.
You’re right, I’m from Brazil amd I don’t watch her nor do I even heard people talking about her as if she was Oprah, as she seems to think she is.
Also:
They all just said, ‘You’re our only outlet. You’re our mouthpiece.’
i.e
“We hate working with you but cannot even afford to be without this crappy job let alone play with the idea pf moving to Spain so please don’t leave us penniless.”
I saw the pic and I thought it was Renee Zellweger after her surgery.
I have never watched her. I’ve read enough to know her obnoxiousness knows no bounds, so I’ve given it a pass in lieu of rearranging my sock drawer.
The fact that we as a country have turned into a literal 24/7 reality show has some merit. In fact, I’ve thought that before as well.
And while the Kardashian popularity demonstrates this at its worst, they were hardly first. And Chelsea’s own fame is built on the same underlying premise……..obnoxious and unfiltered shock value with no redeeming social value.
The fact I agree with her on this makes her no more palatable when she herself has cashed in on that unfortunate but real gravy train.
Donald Trump as president is everything that is wrong with our society. But this wench doesn’t add much to the equation herself from what I’ve read, which embarrassingly is too damn much. She’s simply not worth any more of my time.
I do think she has a point somewhere. My friends and I were talking about this the other day, that Americans have kind of developed a culture of “if people dig it, it works”. The Kardashians are an example of that: They produce a completely vain and stupid reality show, that really takes very little effort to make. Like, Survivor isn’t necessarily cultural, but if you make the math, you’ll notice filming that must be quite a task at least. ANTM at least has to get creative with the photoshoot ideas. I can at least imagine people working when producing those shows, you know? The Kardashians? They don’t even bother to make their dialogues sound organic, which is the bare minimum for a reality show. And yet… some people dig it. Enough to watch their show, and follow these women, and make them richer. It’s not just the Kardashians, but pretty much everything. It’s like the acceptable standards for everything have gone down. You can see it in the music industry and the movie industry as well. Many of the most popular singers nowadays are only average at singing, and they hardly compose, and can hardly dance. Movies are progressively getting more formulaic and predictable. Even the food keeps getting progressively more artificial and less nutritious. Basically, nowadays, in order to be succesful at something, you don’t even have to be good at it. You just need the right contacts, and offer something people are willing to take.
The phenomenon eventually reached politics. The basic qualities a president should have – like having a cold and calm disposition, showing diplomatic behavior – people can overlook that the same way they overlook the lack of nutrients in the food they eat. Trump sends a message some people dig, and as it turns out, that was enough to get him in the White House.
I think people like consuming mediocrity because it gives them hope. Capitalism is sustained by the idea of a false meritocracy, in which anyone can make it if they try hard enough. The concept has evolved now, to the point people are sold the idea they don’t even need to try that hard or be good at all. Cases like the Kardashians or the most famous youtubers may seem very common within today’s entertainment industry, but they are still extremely exceptional. There’s literal millions of people out there desperately trying to “go viral” everyday and the vast majority of them just keep on failing.
It is a harsh comment but I really think you are right. Other countries have other problems, but this seems to be a very American issue.
I remember that there was a conversation on the Gofugyourself website a while ago about the Kardashians and a lot of people were defending them because they “work hard”. I remember saying something along the lines of what you just wrote (but less articulate!). Working hard is not a value per se – damn it, Hitler worked very hard. Some poems we still recite and cherish were written in a few minutes but they come from a lifetime of thought, inspiration, observation etc.
Great comment. I liked your analogy of “people can overlook that the same way they overlook the lack of nutrients in the food they eat.” It’s so true that people just mindlessly consume crap on numerous levels (mind, body, spirit) these days seemingly more than ever. They’ve become apathetic and it’s really dismaying and sad. My only hope comes from the numerous teens I know who seem to be able to look past the surface of today’s culture and realize they’ve got their work cut out for them.
Yeah, and I want them all off my lawn!
Excellent comment. Right on point. Chelsea would never be able to explain it like this.
What’s funny is that Chelsea think’s she’s qualitatively superior to the Kardashians as an entertainer and spokesperson.
“That being said, I honestly don’t get this: “I blame the Kardashians, personally; the beginning of the end was the Kardashians. The way these people have blown up and don’t go away — it’s surreal.” Sure, but what does that have to do with Trump”
She’s absolutely right and I have been saying the same thing for months. The Kardashians and their “fans” have consistently lowered the standard of behavior over the last few years and trashy behavior has become completely acceptable in a way it never was before. Hence, they opened the door for Trump and his trashy behavior/followers.
I get what she’s saying about this. I’ve been saying all along that Trump ran his campaign like a reality show. But the Kardashians or shows like Survivor are symptoms, not the cause.
The dumbing down of America, both through the educational system and the fare served up on TV and in movies, has been going on for several decades. It’s a lot easier to manipulate a population that can’t (or can’t be bothered) to think for themselves.
For any of you who have read about the stages an empire goes through in decline, you will easily recognize that the so-called reality shows are the modern version of the Roman Gladiators. The US is well into the decadence stage of decline. The election of Trump is another symptom. This man would have NOT been electable 20 years ago. But you’ve got decades of gerrymandering, voter suppression, political corruption and a thinly disguised version of “political royalty” (the Bush family, the Clintons etc).
Sanders was by far a more electable candidate, but the political elite didn’t want him. Jeb Bush was probably supposed to be the Republican candidate, they surrounded him with duds designed to make him look good. Only he crashed and burned early on.
Trump is frightening, the man is all ego. But it’s not hard to understand why he was elected. What does he have that Hillary doesn’t? I think it comes down to the fact that he’s not an insider, he’s not part of the “system” and if people are voting against “the system”, it’s because they don’t feel it represents them.
What reality shows have done is make the sort of behaviour we see from Trump acceptable. People get blasé over time. But I think that if this last election had been non-establishment vs non-establishment, the results may have been very different. My 2 cents…
Very smart comment. Agree totally
Well she’s partly to blame…she had the Kardashians on her show many times (though she worked for E so they probably forced her to).
And I blame you as to why people do not take female comics seriously. Slept her way right to the middle.
Maybe Chelsea meant the rise of the Kardashians symbolized the normalization of poor behavior + wealth = living the dream. I can see that. They’re all vapid and have shaky morals.
But here is another case of someone fumbling for an explanation for this election result. And I say until there’s a full investigation into Russian involvement and what Trump knew and when, a complete explanation is not possible.
Trump may be history’s most impeachable President. We just need the government and the 4th estate to have the will to get in there and expose all the shady and possibly treasonous sh!t that went down this election season. Trump is being blackmailed by Russia. I feel it in my bones. Serves him right but we the people have to extricate ourselves from his mess. We’re bargaining chips at this point. Send help!
i am from austria and i have no idea who she is. but i do know who moore and dunham are.
Yeah, I’ll take the Kardashians over Trump and Handler any day. I suppose we should just be glad she didn’t blame Trump’s win on Angelina Jolie.
Generally not a big fan but I do agree with her. The kardashians represent what is wrong with society. Famous for a sex tape and nothing else to back it up. They represent the dumbing down of society. And they are kockroaches who will never go away. They just keep having babies and spin offs, much like the Duggars. I was watching one of jay Leon’s old bits on talking with Americans a few nights ago. One of the ladies couldn’t name the CURRENT POTUS but was able to rattle off the kardashian names. Seriously. And now you have a reality star as president. She’s right!
Not only can i not keep up with Kardashians, I can no longer keep up with all the reasons why Trump won. We better start a list.