Celebrities behaving badly; not a new concept. It was only a matter of time before they realized that they could wreak havoc on their social media sites as well. There are so many examples of celebrities using their social media sites as a podium for their views and beliefs that they forget one vital element: they are in the spotlight, and everything they say is under a microscope. If they kept this in mind, they might not make such outrageous blunders that leave us shaking our heads, wondering why they don’t let a professional at a social media agency take over. Then again, there’d be no fun in that for us.
In 2010, 50 Cent (whose real name is Curtis Jackson) tweeted a vulgar message about how he felt about men who were gay, amidst several teen suicides that were circulating the news. The vulgarity of it alone would have been embarrassing, but the delicate subject manner made him look not only uncompassionate, but ignorant as well. If that wasn’t bad enough, just weeks before he tweeted harsh words towards Perez Hilton that also were homophobic. After this, I would hope 50 would realize that a social media agency might be a good idea. Obviously, he needs a filter.
Another rap star, Lil Bow Wow, tweeted after New Year’s Eve in 2010 that he had probably partied a little too hard, and that being behind the wheel of his Lamborghini was a bad idea. Now is that something he really felt he should share with the world? Not only is drunk driving an obvious no-no, but it makes it look cool to his young followers. Probably not the message you want to portray to your adoring fans.
These are just a sampling of what goes on daily in the world of celebrities and social media. We often see “twitter wars,” inappropriate pictures, and, at the very least, some pretty poor grammar. Some errors are more glaring than others, but all do some damage to the celebrity’s image—the very one they are trying to enhance with a Twitter or Facebook account. With a social media agency, celebrities can think before they tweet—or just leave the heavy lifting to the professionals.
