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Celeb News: Billboard: WHERE Is Pop's Response To Ferguson?
Member Since: 1/3/2014
Posts: 3,992
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Billboard: WHERE Is Pop's Response To Ferguson?
http://www.billboard.com/articles/co...sic-superstars
"For the past two weeks, the eyes of the nation have been on Ferguson, Missouri," Common said at the MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday night (Aug. 24), unexpectedly puncturing the carefree atmosphere of the ceremony for about 90 seconds. The veteran rapper was tasked with addressing real-world horror on a night of ass-shaking performances and who-wore-it-best debates; wearing a mocha sweatshirt and a grim expression, Common spoke slowly and deliberately, a world-weary father in a room full of giddy kids. "The people in Ferguson and St. Louis, and communities across the country, have used their voices to call for justice and change -- to let everyone know that each and every one of our lives matters," Common said. He then led a moment of silence for Michael Brown and for "peace in this country and in the world," which was observed by all in attendance at the Forum in Englewood, Calif., publicly acknowledged by few artists after the VMAs, and supposedly texted through by the Kardashians.
About an hour after Common appeared, Miley Cyrus won the Video of the Year award for "Wrecking Ball," and sent a homeless runaway named Jesse Helt onstage to both accept the trophy in her place and plead for all of his onlookers to raise awareness about homeless youth in America. "A dream you dream alone is only a dream, but a dream we dream together is reality," Helt ended his speech, quoting John Lennon and drawing thousands of cheers from the audience. The following few days found multiple pop superstars -- Britney Spears, Ariana Grande and Madonna included -- effusively praising Cyrus for her selflessness and asking their own fans to donate to My Friend's Place, a drop-in center in Hollywood that helps homeless youth rebuild their lives. Each of those posts about the cause earned thousands of retweets. Even Kim Kardashian, part of the alleged text-through-moments-of-silence gang, tweeted on Wednesday afternoon, "Join the fight to end youth homelessness with @MileyCyrus * check out her campaign for My Friend¹s Place: http://www.prizeo.com/miley."
Cyrus' decision to speak out about a social cause at the VMAs led to a powerful, understated moment at the ceremony that was rightly championed by pop purveyors, especially those critical of her twerk-happy performance at the VMAs a year ago. Common's moment was also powerful and understated, but roundly ignored. It's not because anyone has anything against Common or what he said; rather, it's because it was about Ferguson.
So why are so many of our favorite pop artists remaining mum on Ferguson? The idea that it is a "black" issue that has nothing to do with a white artist's culture is absurd, since Ferguson is a human rights and American freedoms issue. Rather, the inertia might be caused by fear of criticism or mockery, as if any statement about the conflict in Ferguson will be met with a harsh wave of "they don't know what they're talking about" dismissals. Sure, political comments can have negative impacts for superstars -- look at the Dixie Chicks, who alienated some of their country fans when they blasted George W. Bush, or Kanye West, who raised eyebrows when he… blasted George W. Bush.
On the other hand, standing up for a cause -- even haphazardly, even in a way that doesn't really produce much actual change -- can become an endearing action for a musical artist. The past few weeks have seen J. Cole, a rapper with a sizable fan base but a number of detractors in the critical and hardcore hip-hop community, gather tons of positive press by simply going down to Ferguson and doing something. Cole had no personal history with the city of Ferguson prior to the death of Michael Brown, but he traveled down to talk to protestors days before the governor of Missouri did the same, and spent time making face-to-face connection with community members in a way that lots of outsiders noticed.
However, the genre also includes all of the artists with the biggest megaphones — Katy Perry has more Twitter followers than anyone in the world, including President Barack Obama — and, as a result, the best chance to inflict actual change. I'm not suggesting that pop stars need to start haranguing us about world issues. But in the case of Ferguson, even a little harsh feedback would have sounded better than nothing.
Read More http://www.billboard.com/articles/co...sic-superstars ![clap3](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v232/korn0818/67d90ee8.gif)
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Member Since: 1/1/2014
Posts: 21,331
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mess
let me perch in here
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Member Since: 3/30/2011
Posts: 9,692
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Member Since: 6/21/2012
Posts: 18,849
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Well written ![clap3](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v232/korn0818/67d90ee8.gif)
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Member Since: 1/3/2014
Posts: 3,992
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This was SUCH a well written article!!! ![clap3](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v232/korn0818/67d90ee8.gif)
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Member Since: 8/3/2010
Posts: 71,871
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This was a WELL WRITTEN ARTICLE OMG ![clap3](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v232/korn0818/67d90ee8.gif)
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Member Since: 8/22/2009
Posts: 50,646
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Well said. ![clap3](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v232/korn0818/67d90ee8.gif)
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Member Since: 6/24/2011
Posts: 3,282
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Ehh.. Just because pop stars like Katy Perry have millions of followers does not mean they are obligated to be social justice warriors.
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Member Since: 1/1/2014
Posts: 39,650
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Member Since: 8/10/2012
Posts: 7,072
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Well written for once.
I think most mainstream artists shy away from stuff like this because they would rather not be in a discussion that serious, I suppose.
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Member Since: 11/7/2009
Posts: 9,863
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I frankly have no idea about what is/was happening in Ferguson, tho.
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Member Since: 1/7/2014
Posts: 4,510
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Quote:
Originally posted by Summer
Ehh.. Just because pop stars like Katy Perry have millions of followers does not mean they are obligated to be social justice warriors.
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Nor should they be. Fame and distance from news outlets can keep you away from the truth.
I feel like Madonna will be coming along with some kind of statement sooner or later. I remember she was all about ***** Riot.
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Member Since: 1/3/2014
Posts: 3,992
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Quote:
Originally posted by Summer
Ehh.. Just because pop stars like Katy Perry have millions of followers does not mean they are obligated to be social justice warriors.
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Seriously that was the ONLY thing you got from this article?
So you completely overlooked the part where the author said that Miley did the EXACT same thing Common did but NO ONE mentioned a thing about ferguson yet all these celebs ran to their followers to post about HER cause.
Quote:
Katy Perry has more Twitter followers than anyone in the world, including President Barack Obama — and, as a result, the best chance to inflict actual change. I'm not suggesting that pop stars need to start haranguing us about world issues. But in the case of Ferguson, even a little harsh feedback would have sounded better than nothing.
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Member Since: 9/4/2012
Posts: 4,435
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Ferguson is already getting attention. More attention than any pop star could bring. If you don't know what's going on there, you're really either an idiot or you're choosing to ignore it, which still makes you an idiot among other things.
It's no surprise that record labels are putting pressure on their pop stars to remain quiet about political issues, which is why we hardly see anyone speak about Gaza, Ferguson, etc. Homelessness is far less controversial, so they let it slide.
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Member Since: 8/25/2012
Posts: 30,317
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Member Since: 8/17/2013
Posts: 19,066
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They aren't under any obligation to say anything about it. I also don't see how Katy tweeting about Ferguson would change anything whatsoever.
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Member Since: 1/1/2014
Posts: 12,199
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Because they don't have to..?
People jump up and down when a celebrity comments on something political and now even when they don't. Damned if you do, damned if you don't
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Member Since: 6/24/2011
Posts: 3,282
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Quote:
Originally posted by Howie
Seriously that was the ONLY thing you got from this article?
So you completely overlooked the part where the author said that Miley did the EXACT same thing Common did but NO ONE mentioned a thing about ferguson yet all these celebs ran to their followers to post about HER cause.
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As much as the media wants us to believe that Ferguson is not a "Race/Black Issue", it really is.
It is easy to get behind Miley and the homeless teen movement.
Getting behind Ferguson can put some of these stars in a really sticky situation. It makes sense why they do no want to be involved.
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Member Since: 11/7/2009
Posts: 9,863
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Quote:
Originally posted by Quietly Trek
Ferguson is already getting attention. More attention than any pop star could bring. If you don't know what's going on there, you're really either an idiot or you're choosing to ignore it, which still makes you an idiot among other things.
It's no surprise that record labels are putting pressure on their pop stars to remain quiet about political issues, which is why we hardly see anyone speak about Gaza, Ferguson, etc. Homelessness is far less controversial, so they let it slide.
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I had seriously no idea anything was happening in Misouri... I'm not from the USA and maybe this topic was not widely covered in international news, at least not where I am...
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Banned
Member Since: 4/27/2012
Posts: 33,811
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Quote:
Originally posted by Summer
Ehh.. Just because pop stars like Katy Perry have millions of followers does not mean they are obligated to be social justice warriors.
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There's a difference between being a social justice warrior and actually caring about what's going on in your country....
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