Public Desensitization for Celebrity Victims of the LA Fires

The ongoing LA Fires have left numerous displaced and unhoused, including some of our favorite celebrity entertainers. However, some of the public responses towards celebrities who lost their homes have been insensitive due to their perceived class status. The phrase, “eat the rich,” has taken on a whole new meaning, with some people feeling justified in celebrating the burning of celebrity homes. This indicates a bigger concern about public desensitization and lack of empathy. Unpacking why the public is emotionally disconnected from trauma is currently important because natural disasters are just a knock away from home, and nobody is exempt from the effects of climate change.

The massive public support Luigi Mangione received after allegedly killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson due to corporate greed is an important cultural marker of class solidarity. The public response is an underlying indicator that the public is fed up with exploitation in this capitalist system, especially from insurance companies. As a result, the social capital wielded by entertainers and their perceived high-class status is a key factor in the public’s response to celebrity victims of the LA fires. Celebrity social capital is a form of social currency based on the amount of influence a person wields due to fame and public recognition. This results in parasocial relationships with celebrities due to the public pedestalizing them, which ultimately leads to their dehumanization.

The dehumanization of celebrity victims of the LA fires presumes that they have enough money to rebuild from scratch. However, this fails to acknowledge the traumatizing experience of losing a home, a space that some consider sacred and a haven. A home carries a lot of energy depending on the occupants, and the nostalgic memories attached to it, especially valuable items, should not be dismissed. Irrespective of the emotional attachment to a home, housing is a basic necessity everyone deserves, so celebrating the unhousing of celebrities is insensitive.

The LA fires also serve as a reminder that the perceived class status of celebrities does not always represent the material conditions of their lives. Most influencers are perceived to have celebrity status due to their social capital, which leads to the assumption that they are financially wealthy. Similarly, a lot of celebrities are perceived to have a lot of wealth because of their fame, when it is possible to have the social capital without the money to match it. In addition to the 2023 Writers Guild of America Strike, which financially impacted creators, it is important to note that unless they are considered A-list celebrities, most entertainers struggle to find consistent work. As a result of not knowing when the next paycheck will come, they must stretch large sum payments from major projects to sustain them over a long period.

An unfortunate example of this is Djimon Hounsou, an Oscar-nominated Beninese-American actor who has been in the film industry for over 30 years and expressed in an interview with CNN that he is still struggling to make a living. Hounsou cites systemic racism as a barrier that results in him being underpaid in Hollywood, a reminder that various systemic limitations impact the net worth of celebrities. More importantly, Hounsou is a well-established actor whose face is recognized globally due to being featured in numerous blockbuster movies, which still doesn’t translate to whatever net worth the public projects onto him. Pocket watching celebrities can lead to misconceptions about their wealth and result in desensitization to their struggles, such as the LA fires.

Going a step further, it’s important to unpack public desensitization for celebrity victims of the LA fires because of the homeless and working-class people. When cosplaying justice in the name of eating the rich, people fail to consider the working-class folks who live in LA and were equally impacted by the fires. Altadena, a historic Black Haven in LA, resulted in the severe impact of intergenerational Black families losing their homes and struggling to rebuild. Celebrating the unhousing of celebrities indirectly celebrates the unhousing of people living around them, including businesses caught in the crossfire, which indirectly impacts working-class communities.

It is also important to note that around 1000 incarcerated firefighters are being used to fight the LA fires, earning as little as $5 per day despite risking their lives. The cheap labor utilized by the state of California is a dark reminder that Californians voted against Proposition 6, which would have ended forced prison labor. The involuntary servitude of incarcerated people is a wake-up call that the LA fires also have a direct impact on prisoners who are not only on the frontlines but are often neglected during natural disasters.

Home insurance companies opted out of renewing their policies for LA residents before the wildfires, which will impact their ability to rebuild. This is already evident based on how landlords are price-gouging rental properties in the wake of this ongoing natural disaster. While some celebrity victims may have financial coverage to combat this issue, the less fortunate ones will struggle financially. The public should also remember that folks who were not directly impacted by the LA fires in California were still indirectly impacted by the diminishing air quality throughout the state.

While celebrities do have the privilege of social capital, which has drawn public attention to their loss in the LA fires compared to the working-class people, it is vital to remember that we are all connected. If celebrities are being impacted, the blow is worse for low-income people because natural disasters cannot distinguish between who is wealthy and who is not. Climate change is drastically impacting the entire globe, and working towards curbing it by collectively organizing against corporate greed is the only option we have left. Instead of reactively projecting our misplaced anger at the state of the world toward entertainers, it should be channeled toward class solidarity against the systems that are ruining our planet.