‘There’s a sense that celebrities are irrelevant’: has coronavirus shattered our fame obsession?

The speed of the spread of Covid-19 has been one of the most astonishing things about it; the rate at which it emerged and upended all of our lives. It is no surprise, then, that it should affect celebrity culture in the same way. The pace at which artists of every kind responded to the crisis, mostly through their own social media channels, was only equalled by the ferocity with which the public clapped back as they exposed new depths of narcissism and privilege.

In the 21st century, it is hard to overestimate how far we’ve come in using celebrities to make sense of the world. They have inserted themselves in pretty much every facet of existence, from how to bake muffins to navigating war zones, and this is now broadly accepted as the norm. Again, this isn’t necessarily sinister: Tom Hanks’s Covid-19 diagnosis is credited with helping many Americans take the virus seriously (unlike, say, their president).

“I think one of the factors that is different about the virus is the sense that celebrities are appearing to the audience as irrelevant. The cure now lies with medical staff and with scientists and politicians. It’s becoming apparent, in a crisis like this, that whatever gestures celebrities have made, they’re as helpless as the ordinary person.”

One of the most dominant stories being told in this Covid-19 era is that it could lead us back to a kind of simplification, or detox, and this applies to showbiz, too; there seems to be a persistent hope this pandemic may yet sort the celebrity wheat from the sublebrity chaff. It is an impression that is reinforced when I speak to one senior showbiz publicist in London, who looks after a handful of old-school megastars. “Eurgh! Influencers!” he cries. If coronavirus does us one favour, he suggests, it would be to flatten the curve of the influencer boom.