Why Celebrities Are Dangerous To Like

[@GabrielKnightz]

Idolisation is one of the oldest and worst frailties of our species. It doesn't matter if it's a celebrity, sports personality, politician, influencer, scientist or anything else. All lives are complicated if you want to look close enough and blind faith is always foolishness.

[@adidab14]

It's just so crazy to me who people choose to worship as though they are gods. Like the fact that the most common choices are people that literally dress up in costumes and play pretend while people record them is so incredibly strange to me. Right behind them are people that write poems and bang on instruments while reciting said poems loudly while being recorded. I guess the common denominator is to just record yourself? idk people are weird... and annoying.

[@Ron-Ayres]

It's no small accident that it's one of the Ten Commandments...

[@Ron-Ayres]

@@adidab14 Have you ever thought of a career in the diplomatic service?!

[@SamuelBlack84]

If you idolise real people then you exoect them to be perfect all thr time You put them on a pedestal Celebrities are just like everyone else

[@azarisLP]

Charlie Chaplin will not be making any verbal statements regarding the accusations at this time.

[@bethh.6455]

He's got things to answer for so I'm bringing out that ouji board😂

[@SophiaAphrodite]

However his hat did fly up into the air a few times.

[@renobutters]

He was definitely canceled by basically the McCarthy era... (And Hollywood apologized to him many times later.)

[@beingsshepherd]

Is everybody ignorant of his later "talkie" films like _The Great Dictator (1940)_ and _Limelight (1952)?_

[@freespirit5719]

@@bethh.6455 - 😂😂😂😂

[@Alex-cw3rz]

I do find it funny that Eric Idle said he didn't think cancel culture was a thing right now and that story was burried whereas John Cleese saying cancel culture is ruining everything has got his own show on GB news and lots of news coverage.

[@piccalillipit9211]

The pipeline from left wing young comic genius to reactionary grumpy old man is usually paved with money

[@DanKeatis]

Please tell me the thing about Cleese having a show on GB News is a joke

[@Alex-cw3rz]

@@DanKeatis nope unfortunately

[@JohnnyTightIips]

I swear John Cleese has been complaining about 'woke' for the last 20 years.

[@Demun1649]

The Nazis have taken over Britain as revenge for us defeating Germany in 1945.

[@Alex-cw3rz]

Cancel culture is when youu complain about being cancelled on your netflix special.

[@MyTv-]

🤣🤣🤣 Well put!

[@michaelcolbourn6719]

Then they release a top selling book explaining how they're cancelled. And complain on social media to their millions of increased followers how they were cancelled.

[@BritishMaverickk]

Yes!

[@vinnieramone4818]

Are you saying Pablo Picasso was called an asshole? My good friend Johnathan told me Pablo Picasso was never called an asshole

[@MyTv-]

@@vinnieramone4818 I wouldn’t say Picasso was an ashole more an bastard and I like him. But all good artists are bastards. Mr and ms sunshine maybe happy but their art will always be crap.

[@MaterLacrymarum]

It's gaslighting. They simply changed "being accountable" into "being cancelled". By doing this, they get sympathy for their mistakes.

[@SophiaAphrodite]

This. The majority of these people screaming about being canceled are usually talking about it as they plug a new Netflix special.

[@ariaharies3594]

I hate how everyone has just accepted "being cancelled" as a turn of phrase because it distorts the conversation. we just want people to be held accountable when they are actively harming others with their actions

[@granitesevan6243]

But it still involves disgusting and vain moralising and an absence of the most human of qualities: forgiveness. If you've never fucked up in life, then you must be about as interesting as a wet Sunday at an old people's home

[@ariaharies3594]

@@granitesevan6243 sexual assault and assault and battery are not mistakes. No one is perfect but trying to avoid accountability makes you an even worse person.

[@granitesevan6243]

@@ariaharies3594 Yes, of course those are serious offences and not mistakes, but it is completely fallacious to suggest cancel culture exclusively addresses extreme criminality. That is the point: positing an irrefutable moral position does not give you carte blanche to support a "culture" that, in the vast majority of cases, seeks to discredit, marginalise and exclude people via a kind of illiberal orthodoxy. This is also an abuse of power - abusive in the sense that it is frequently invoked to suppress competing ideas and even ambitions - and one that overwhelming affects "ordinary" or powerless individuals or groups. I see it both in my work (academia) and my community

[@ProgressiveRoxx]

you know you're getting old when you don't recognise the cancelled celebrities by sight and have to wait for Michael to mention their names.

[@JaneAustenAteMyCat]

And when you hear the names and still don't know 🤣

[@beingsshepherd]

Not old; those _it girls_ have cult followings. Popular culture's atomised into cliques these days. Taylor Swift's reputedly the biggest popstar in the world, yet has produced no famous songs.

[@carolinepalmer4408]

Thank you. I was struggling and being old😅 and feeling stupid!

[@JaneAustenAteMyCat]

@@beingsshepherd Shake It Off?

[@beingsshepherd]

@@JaneAustenAteMyCat ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Is that up there with: Like a Virgin, Wanna Be, All I Want for Christmas is You, I Should Be So Lucky, Eternal Flame?

[@mllewellyn86]

My Michael Spicer tattoo seems like a pretty dumb idea right about now

[@the_local_bigamist]

Don't worry its fine. In fact, wear it as a badge of honour and make sure the wokerati see it at any opportunity! I show off my Michael Spicer tattoo at any opportunity and this has caused me no end of legal trouble. But what the notoriously WOKE Met Police call "indecent exposure" I call freedom of speech!

[@saoirsedeltufo7436]

How dare you correctly call me psychologically maladjusted! That's grounds for a cancelling

[@brickbuildingcompilations4757]

Unsubbed. Let’s get #HoldTheSpice trending everywhere.

[@garybarnes4169]

You too, huh?

[@brickbuildingcompilations4757]

Yep.

[@TapirMask]

As a responsible consumer I only enjoy the works of artists whose crimes haven't been found out yet.

[@beingsshepherd]

-found out- called out by msm consensus.

[@obscurum6]

😆

[@SophiaAphrodite]

The most astoundingly ironic thing ever said by this group of people is this. "If you offend someone, you don't get to decide you didn't." - Louis fucking C.K.

[@Emanon...]

Edison didn't invent shit. He was a brilliant thief and manipulator, though.

[@obscurum6]

Tesla was betrayed.

[@soundscape26]

You were able to analyse this whole issue of problematic faves in a very balanced way. Well done.

[@beingsshepherd]

His moral objections to couples' age-gaps were weirdly trifling and old fashioned. No one's calling for Michael Douglas to be cancelled. Plus Michael Jackson wasn't found guilty of any child molestation.

[@play4dc]

I've always found parasocial relationships of mainstream celebrities so strange. I've never felt personally connected or related to powerful millionaire performers and artists. Sadly I can relate to middle aged men talking to themselves in their bedroom. Thanks Michael... Have a great day.

[@Metonymy1979]

What's even more interesting is the reverse cancel. For example, Johnny Depp was cancelled. Then Amber Heard was cancelled so hard she had to move to Spain.

[@charliewatson9615]

We don’t ‘like’ what you do Michael, we love it!

[@mityaboy4639]

Luckily Michael Spicer is not a celebrity but a genuinely good comedian :)... so are we safe to like him? :)

[@BOBBOBBOBBOBBOBBOB69]

He is more likely to kill himself than get me2ed, well we can only hope... Love you Michael please don't off yourself

[@archivist17]

More importantly, what do I do about the oversized tattoo of his face on my back?

[@Toupret]

You are safe to like Mr. Spicer, just not safe in admitting that publicly. 🤣 I'll start the queue behind you, as I too, sit in that "small boat".

[@Toupret]

​@@archivist17 Wear a shirt?

[@mityaboy4639]

@@Toupret careful with the small boats... we might get turned back to France :D or get shouted at by Nigel F. :D

[@annemariefrank]

Actually the best analysis of this topic I've ever come across! Thank you!

[@Chernobyldogs]

Chris Brown is the one that always disturbs me

[@90sHONEY]

Sean Connery said in two interviews in the 60s and 80s that he sees no problem with men hitting women when they disagree too often and don't obey. He did beat up his wife once for coming home after him. Whenever a woman says he was an attractive man I have to laugh. Maybe on screen yeah, from far away...🙂‍↔️

[@durandas6661]

Abuse is toleratable depending on how attractive people are.

[@avchoo]

he didn't ever budge on that opinion either, did he?

[@JohnPreston888]

@@avchoo Wow...no wonder he accepted an Academy Award for his portrayal of an Irish-American with a thick Scottish burr. His hubris clearly has many strands.

[@bhoops13]

Connery was a c***

[@beingsshepherd]

Soldiers don't murder women?

[@greenhowie]

I've said it before and I'll say it again, even if it sounds pretentious as hell: You can stan fictional characters but always keep an open mind about real people. You don't know them and they will have aspects of their life you don't know about, even if they are no longer alive. You can like them and support their work but never place them on a pedestal, even legends like Ursula K. Le Guin and Terry Pratchett. I'm like this because so many of my childhood heroes had nasty sides to them and I wouldn't wish my resulting mental state on anyone.

[@serinadelmar6012]

Joseph Swan invented the lightbulb. I mean I love you man but facts innit.

[@nidostar2013]

Oh no. I bet that made you incandescent with rage…..!

[@serinadelmar6012]

@@nidostar2013 hardly. Curious take 😂

[@NoNotThatPaul]

Excellent work, as always

[@thedroningbore]

Getting better with every installment, thank you very much yet again!

[@theoriginalquinnpiper]

It's a tiny part of this entirely delightful video, but your take on Picasso was a stand-alone gem :)

[@superpantman]

The legal age for marriage is 16. Whilst I would never let my daughter marry someone at that age, Chaplain broke no law. It’s weird and frowned upon but not outside the law.

[@mggardiner4066]

Legality doesn’t equate to morality, but in cases like that I think that the fact that it was a repeat behavior and past his 20’s that really raises eyebrows. It is really hard to defend it as “meeting the one” at the wrong time when it kept happening, and more like someone who is too immature or wants to take advantage of younger partners

[@someoneghvjvj1808]

Chaplin married those girls in America, where it is very much illegal.

[@SamuelBlack84]

Either something is legal or illegal If you're against something then make it illegal or shut up about it

[@markricketts6957]

I used to admire how much of a gentleman David Niven was. Then I found out how he treated his family.

[@EvenTheDogAgrees]

I wonder how people visually conveyed having come up with an idea, prior to the light bulb's invention... 🤔

[@ac5788]

Don't put anyone on a pedestal ever.

[@ToCoSo]

I look forward to your videos so much, the best content out there!!!

[@PedroConejo1939]

...which of course... is still ...controversial. - With nary a wince. Excellently done.

[@corn_juice2195]

The industry work so hard influencing public to build weird parasocial relations with those celebrities ! WE should stop playing into their games

[@sebastiansmith41]

Genius, pure genius. Can't disagree with a single word.

[@MammaApa]

Maybe you should get a Michael Spicer tattoo?

[@kikidevine694]

TBF anyone who was in the Wonka film deserves to be cancelled with extreme prejudice

[@pirlie]

3:10 ".. he was mainly a corpse." - cuts to Marilyn Mansons picture.

[@owensims7491]

7:44 The slug-balancer seems now to be doing some feeble impression of Buster Keaton

[@NinpoUK]

Parasocial relationships have become a real problem with the current internet.

[@obscurum6]

They are everywhere. 🙄 What is really bad is they go after you for not being like them.

[@amazing_bastard]

They've been around forever. Read about beatlemania.

[@garybarnes4169]

@@obscurum6 For me, it's not just "parasocial", it's just even "social". If you want me, I'll be in the corner of the pub with my dogs, and my headphones in. That's your cue to leave me alone.

[@imnampun2625]

“Seperate art from the artist” What about all those arts made by a certain Austrian painter back in the early 20th century?

[@Account.for.Comment]

He made nice paintings. Those are comfy to look at. Peaceful. Can't say for his art of rhetorics or writings, I can't read German so I would not know. His group of fans do produce great artistic stylistic paintings, posters and fashion. Even if they are a bit unhinged.

[@JohnPreston888]

Interesting point. I could not do what Daniel Barenboim did, and conduct performances of the "Ring", judging it only on its merit as a musical work, but I would not encourage people to boycott it either.

[@spencerhardy8667]

If you can't paint as good as that, then you're definitely worse than Hitler.

[@bhoops13]

Or the music of Gary Glitter? Who would defend listening to that when every time it’s played on the radio, streamed or bought, that disgusting abuser gets money? Or M.J. too? Sometimes the art cannot be separated from the artist.

[@spencerhardy8667]

@@bhoops13 I don't think he does. Spare a thought for the actual musicians and writers of the G band. It wasn't their fault. GG was just a front man. I hope the other guys are getting their PRS and residuals.

[@Unregulatedperson]

Micheal, if you do something to make me hate you, I swear to god I'll ............buy tickets to your show at madison Square....I guess..?😂😂😂....

[@cgmcreative]

Psychologically maladjusted 😉😂

[@jonharvey6277]

#me too😂

[@ProgressiveRoxx]

@@jonharvey6277 A meta joke on a meta joke! I salute you both.

[@kbarnett2921]

Oops! Psychologically maladjusted too, and proud of it! lol😂

[@carlosr1176]

Some celebrities are great people. Some others are terrible people you shouldn’t allow in your home, associate with, or allow around your children.

[@beingsshepherd]

Love is blind. Consider how many civilians president Obama had killed.

[@AdeptHavelock]

An adult single ticket for the "You can't say anything these days, can you?" gravy-train, please?

[@AcousticUplift]

Also there needs to be a distinction made between allegation and that which has been proven (i.e. the Michael Jackson and Lizzo references)

[@vetinaris1297]

Michael Jackson was a serial child sex abuser.

[@Dead_World_Walking]

Back before early modernism made artists into celebrities, we could like them under the assurance we'd never know anything about them. That seems to be the only art that has staying power in history.

[@Liquidsback]

I thought it was funny that Jerry Seinfeld said that Seinfeld couldn't be made today with the episode showing Kramer exploit Homeless People and Rob McElhenney posted a pic of Rickety Cricket from Sunny.

[@azarisLP]

After years of watching the beloved sitcom "Seinfeld", fans are shocked to learn that Jerry Seinfeld is actually an unfunny hack comedian and also a terrible terrible person.

[@soundscape26]

@@azarisLP Not at all, Seinfeld is funny and his TV show will always be a classic.

[@azarisLP]

@@soundscape26 He's not even the top 5 funniest comedian in his own show.

[@soundscape26]

@@azarisLP Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David literally wrote the whole show.

[@JonnyJayJonson]

​@@azarisLPwhy is Seinfeld a 'terrible person'?

[@JohnnyTightIips]

11:10 all those people that got Daenerys or Khaleesi tattoos after those last 4 seasons of GoT lmao

[@EverywhereAndyMorrison]

What am I supposed to do about my Michael Spicer tattoo now😢?

[@SHIZZLE71]

People can change. No one’s perfect. And no I’m not talking about nonces or abusers

[@marklangley7758]

... i am certified psychologically maladjusted; I KNEW there'd be good reason to read the whole damn card!

[@Orlok1970]

Excellent as ever! Mike's on a hot streak 😊

[@Dognt343]

If you haven’t already, I would thoroughly recommend Stewart Lee’s stand up special “snowflake”. There is a really funny criticism of Ricky Gervais “saying the unsayable”.

[@mattheweagles5123]

Will this video be replayed on the news when Mr. Spicer is inevitably arrested for electrocuting giraffes?

[@kikidevine694]

Or carving secret formulae on elephant tusks

[@JohnPreston888]

So it IS true. I thought that TikTok video of the terrible suffering of those gentle (occasionally very violent) creatures was a deepfake. Just goes to show. Ah well...

[@kshinokevin]

Ricky Gervais roasted the Hollywood elite at the Golden Globes, as much times (5x) as Susan Lucci (19x, for more than 2 decades, protraying the villainous acid-tongue vixen, Erica Kane on the daytime "All My Children" soap opera) has been nominated for an Emmy (but didn't win; fortunately, Erica Kane finally did win a Lifetime Achievement award at the 1999 Daytime Emmy's, by actor Shemar Moore ("SWAT" action/drama tv show series).

[@old_grey_cat]

9:05 Suddenly it is "... Mr Phelps' films" instead of Mr Jeffrey... I liked the video, thumbs up as well as this comment so the algorithmic gods will be happy, but we jackals gotta nip at things needing correction in stuff we love.

[@carolinepalmer4408]

You nailed it. I do struggle with stupid feelings of loss over cancelled artists. Thankyou Michael.😂

[@NillerMann]

Why does Danish actor Nikolaj Lie Kaas keep referring to himself as Michael Spicer?

[@MichaelBosley]

I don't know, but he should definitely be cancelled for it!

[@FatNorthernBigot]

Louis CK, and the like, will always have work and are uncancellable. However, if you're a minor league celeb (someone from Mumford and Sons who read a book instead of burning it, or a gigging comedian who was either quoted out-of-context or made a misjudged joke about the "current thing"), then it's more of a problem. I wouldn't want to be unable to feed my family because someone on the internet was virtue-signalling.

[@frightbat208]

“At least he made this plate! “

[@bahramebrahimi6643]

Thoroughly enjoy your work as they are thought provoking and of course entertaining as well.

[@danthomassolo]

Colour me psychologically maladjusted! 😂

[@seanelstob5922]

I love the fact that during editing, you thought about turning the video upside down….and then did it anyway. It demonstrates a level of petty foolishness that I’m totally on board with. Thumbs up.

[@tiotom9217]

...what?

[@patchso]

Brilliant! Intelligent, thoughtful and, crucially, very funny.

[@AdamRThomasMusic]

that charlie chaplin statement absolutely folded me up, hat movements and all

[@Anonymoususer_8823]

Probably because popularity is getting more dangerous and the more celebrities are more famous it’s harder to ignore them.

[@zeldakitsch]

Edison didn't always invent stuff, he employed people to invent things and put his name to them. Other than that, great vid 👍🏻

[@vizbuck]

I don't follow any celebs, I don't even know their names unless its in the title of there works MICHAEL! I like the media I watch and the music I listen too and thats it. Except you, you are my hero...

[@j.x.x.r3645]

7:48 oh dear, I'm psychologically maladjusted

[@fasttrack70]

Very thought provoking thank you

[@Shadypines2]

This is particularly brilliant.

[@Tempestzzzz]

Something I learned after I met a 'hero' when I was serving with the Air Force....Now listen up..... You don't want to meet your Hero. Keep your illusions. Same with celebrities. Leave them on the screen.

[@PatrickSilent]

3:13 "accused of allegations"? 😂

[@simcard027]

so i guess i'm psychologically maladjusted

[@dirt_diver13]

I really liked this one. Continuous excellence from the start. Well done Michael :)

[@Hiznogood]

7:51 Oh, I see … well I did pause so I guess I’m a bit of a loony? 🤔😬🤪

[@felicityblamires1978]

I'm proud to say that I'm psychologically maladjusted

[@GrinStudios1]

Or better still... don't follow celebrities to begin with.

[@DJWHITE_]

Michael, your Americanized use of canceled is triggering me. As is my iOS. 😭😤

[@elliotcohen6652]

The general rule is anyone who has said more than 10 words in public or lived more than 20 years will have said or done something at some point that someone considers puts them outside the "community of the acceptable". If they haven't, then they are so vanilla and mild then there's no reason to follow them anyway.

[@stephencable7655]

You're the guy from the 'hello northerner' skit!!!

[@anniehosking2408]

I do like what you do but apparently I'm psychologically maladjusted.

[@claudiaxander]

Who else held their breath when Chalamet came up! Phew! But he's got a long career ahead of him, so watch this space...

[@pirlie]

Me :D

[@ariaharies3594]

He is a Zionist

[@ConnbineHarvester]

Thank Christ Willy Wonker 2 has been saved!

[@KevReillyUK]

What saddens me is when filmmakers and showrunners decide to take non-acting overnight celebrities from other branches of entertainment or even social media, in whom I have no interest one way or the other, and cast them in ongoing productions in which I *do* have an interest. It creates the sort of fandom-by-proxy in which any subsequent revelation of wrongdoing not only ruins their reputation but risks doing the same to the show they were dropped into. It's not a new phenomenon; celebrity cameos were a staple of TV series in the last few decades of the 20th century. But the rapidity with which newly minted celebs pop up in contemporary shows feels much faster, and riskier. If they turn out to be wrong 'uns it can ruin entire franchises, or at least make re-watching certain parts of them discomforting. Not that established actors are always a safe bet, of course. It's always been a minefield. But in the current age this sort of flavour-of-the-month casting feels like choosing to cross the minefield while also juggling three boxes labelled _"May contain additional mines."_

[@saulsmith2939]

Oh, I'm psychologically maladjusted, thanks for the diagnosis

[@jasondevonshireportraits8908]

So true!

[@imonlydancingsal1509]

cancelled (two l's) is preferred in British English and other dialects

[@zunairaehsan5560]

Celebrity worship has to end

[@MammaApa]

I'd do an ever broader stroke and say worship has to end

[@Kurzula5150]

I wrote a very long insightful comment which was both witty and apt. But then I accidentally cancelled it.

[@bhoops13]

Thank Christ for that

[@joseph291]

I agree with what he said.

[@Ettrick8]

Edison didn't invent the lightbulb it was Joseph Swan in 1860. However, Edison was a right Bar-Steward

[@BenDayProductions]

Can't wait for Stutz: Reloaded

[@xCriticalStrikex]

I've never been bothered by the reflection of your light ring in your eyes.... until now :P I cannot focus on anything else hahaha

[@LeonardLime]

Arent there two L's in "cancelled"?

[@MichaelBosley]

The other L was cancelled. We don't talk about that L.

[@AndrewKay]

Somebody took an L.

[@SIXITHS]

You make a lot of good points, but what do I know, I'm psychologically maladjusted...

[@obscurum6]

😆

[@PhoenixProdLLC]

Tell the truth Michael: you wrote this just so you could play Charlie Chaplin! You're not fooling ME! 😂

[@casim8842]

This is sooo on point - I wish I had your insight and precision! Wait, no I take that back and regret ever saying it.

[@alexmaxwell4210]

I prefer to idolise inanimate objects, like the landing gear on the MiG-23. Since when have military aircraft ever hurt anyone?

[@coventryboy68]

Dont make statues to people. Make statues to ideas.

[@Morf3000]

I'm psychologically maladjusted 😀

[@gimoroemma]

I cancelled Arnold Schwarzenegger for his screw your freedom and pushing Pfizer clotshots. 😣

[@AcousticUplift]

The thing about J. Timberlake is not that he's above reproach, it's that when people do criticise him, I believe it's for the 'wrong' thing. MS misrepresents the Janet/Superbowl incident here, for example. It's not as if 'that' move was not planned by both artists. That whole fiasco is still disputed and bear in mind, Timberlake was only 22 at the time. Janet was much older and a more established artist. JT also apologised for his role in that debacle. Ditto, his treatment of Britney as reported is dishonourable but he was also very young. You can't hold people to every foolish thing they did as a youngster. If that's the standard, then there are far worse culprits still floating around and unrepentant. If you're going to criticise JT do it for some of the questionable videos he's made, highly objectifying women (albeit not the only artist to do so)....

[@AcousticUplift]

...Or, even more worthy of recrimination, JT was one of the many celebrities to sign that obtuse and blindly patriotic letter to Biden at the start of the current onslaught on Gaza. The letter effectively encouraged Biden to carry on aiding and abetting what has transpired to be very probably a genocide. I like JT's artistry but this latest blunder was for me beyond the pale and he'll be in the doghouse for a while. But no, that's not what MS and others talk about. They just didn't like him anyway (c/f the 'SexyBack' rant) and found comparatively spurious ad revisionist reasons to justify it (no pun intended). More broadly, what does 'cancelling' even mean? A media storm on social media for a while but the culpable carry on making money? How often is there true accountability and consequences for celebs who do objectionable things? And yet academics genuinely pay the price with their careers for opinions deemed too unpopular or controversial. Students are suspended from their programmes or lose out on traineeships for protesting horrendous wars. Meanwhile, we've seen over the past few months a number of celebrities who have more or less been cheerleaders/apologists for war crimes and have faced no bona fide consequences to their careers. Some even get awarded and feature on the cover of Vanity Fair. There's a more mature conversation to be had about so-called cancel culture.

[@andrewgoodall2183]

How the fook do any of us know how for real any of these so called offences are? People claim all kinds of stuff and it would come as no surprise that many of these cases are false accusations for money/fame/whatever. The fact that you take any notice of any of this stuff is more telling than anything. Go buy a Hello magazine, why dontcha. I feel like Michael Spicer is stretching for material these days.

[@DarkMoonWayfarer]

Celebrity worship is a replacement for mythology.