Celebrity and Mental Health
For those of you who follow such things Kanye West had what could only be described as a bit of a meltdown over the weekend at one of his concerts. Doing three songs and an rambling rant he left the stage. This is not the fist time Mr West seems to have had rants in public, and the news today says he has now been hospitalised. This is becoming a regular occurrence in the ranks of the celebrity class, the question is why?
I have been thinking about this and have come up with a pet theory, celebrity for many people is a mental health issue. Let me explain what I mean. If you are a person who is celebrated by doing something, let’s say playing a sport of singing. All of a sudden, rather than just being asked about your particular expertise, you are asked about things and opinions that have little to do with this expertise. Indeed, some court your opinion for political or commercial reasons, which again are outside of your scope.
Now some people can do this without any detriment to themselves, others not so much. When we place people under the spotlight, their opinions seem to carry more weight than us mere mortals and indeed can lead in some people narcissistic tendencies which can manifest in a most disturbed way. Maybe we as a society need to keep our celebrities doing what they do best, and leaving the rest to the people who are expert in these things. Perhaps this will reduce the number of incidents where celebrities suffer needlessly at the hands of the media and the public.
