Blockout 2024: Why People Are Done With Celebrity Culture

Image; TikTok/haleyybaylee via MSN

Nicknamed the "digital guillotine" or "operation blockout," people are calling for a boycott of all celebrities, many of whom attended the 2024 Met Gala. "Block them, block them, block them all," the user thelifeof__ recommended to her millions of followers. "The only way this works is if we go in as a collective," continues user Alexis Nicole, "Us in District 12 need to fight back."

The origin of this digital movement is simple. This year, outside the Met Gala, influencer Haley "Baylee" Kalil, who was not invited to the Gala herself, lip-synced (and posted online) a phrase that would infuriate many: "Let them eat cake." It immediately garnered criticism and morphed into a more general anti-celebrity sentiment.

The backlash, like with the phrase's infamous origin, has been brutal, with many boycotting not only Kalil herself but celebrities in general, who have lost millions overnight.

The Met Gala as detached

Historically, "Let them eat cake" has been attributed to French Queen Marie Antoinette, who became a symbol of aristocratic greed. She was beheaded via the guillotine during the French Revolution for allegedly conspiring with foreign powers as well as other crimes such as incest (note—although utterly detached, as most nobles were, from the plights of French peasants, she probably didn't say this particular phrase).

Over time, this statement has since come to represent the meme of an out-of-touch elite that fixates on opulence while the peasantry starves. It was this framing that many online used when Haley Kalil lip-synced, "Let them eat cake." As user Beck Berwick remarked shortly after the initial video:

“When you say ‘Let Them Eat Cake’…as you are going to the Met Gala dressed like that. It feels like you're looking down on other people. It feels like you are disregarding what other people are going through and the suffering others are trying to bring awareness to. It’s not you're intention, probably, but its how it comes across.”

While Kalil, again, did not go to the Gala, she was still representing it as a host for E! News, interviewing celebrities about the event. According to Kalil, her comment (allegedly) was not meant to remark on elitism — a joke that would ring hollow anyway since she is an influencer, met gala invite or not.

It's ironic this reaction was not anticipated as the theme for the dress code that night was The Garden of Time, based on J.G. Ballard's short story of the same name about the "masses" or "rabble" overtaking the estate of an aristocrat, who uses magical time flowers to halt their advance (and possibly extend his lifespan). Designers used the theme to create ephemeral outfits of "fleeting beauty" — some of them too delicate to ever be worn again — but the story implies the very reaction that Haley Kalil received. It is ultimately about an aristocrat burning extra resources — in this case, magical flowers — to maintain their privileged position.

It speaks to the comfort of the wealthy that they not only feel comfortable hosting such a party during a moment of great wealth inequality — this is your reminder that the price for a single ticket is $75,000 — but that they could not perceive that such an ostentatious display would not earn such hatred.

After all, it's in the very story they referenced.

Boycotting Hollywood

This was not the first time Hollywood elites had done something that earned such ire in recent years. From the song Imagine sung by Gal Gadot and other A-listers, to Kim Kardashian's 40th birthday party during the pandemic, the climate against celebrity culture is noticeably shifting. As Brian Moylan wrote in an editorial for NBC about the Imagine fiasco:

“The general consensus was that a bunch of rich celebrities imagining a world with “no possessions” while people around the country suffered a social, health and economic crisis wasn’t what the world needed at the time.”

It's that sentiment we are seeing a lot these days— and although hatred of celebrity culture and the rich more broadly is nothing new (see the "Eat the rich" meme), the nature of social media means that often these celebrities benefit directly from our clicks, views, and attention. A relationship we are all painfully aware of at this point. As commentator Elaine Lui told The Ringer during the early stages of the pandemic:

“These are entertainers, ultimately. And whether or not we want to admit it, we created them. We enable them. We make it possible for them to exist.”

It's for this reason that the Blockout movement is calling on people to divest from celebrity culture. "Block celebrities so they don't earn ad revenue from you," comments one user. "You know the last time Kim Kardashian made money from me? It was December 13th of last year. It's when I blocked her."

From Ariana Grande to Britney Spears, the names of celebrities vary depending on the user, but they are generally highly influential A or B-listers who either attended the Met Gala or, in some cases, who have not spoken out on issues believed by users to be necessary, such as the genocide in Gaza.

It's no coincidence that this movement is emerging side by side with the pro-Palestine movement, which has made Boycotts, Divestments, and Sanctions (BDS) of the state of Israel one of its primary goals. Even before "Operation Blockout," there has been a widespread effort to engage in consumer boycotts of companies such as HP and SodaStream for their support of Israel, as well as more targeted divestment campaigns (see more details here).

Returning to the Beck Berwick video, one of the things that horrified so many was that a Pro-Palestine protest was occurring nearby, and in fact, attempted to get close to the event before being halted by police. There was an attempt to get these celebrities to use their influence — the thing we give them through our attention — to talk about this issue, which was met with silence.

And so now (some) people are trying to take that influence away. In the words of the user theluncheonlawyer:

“When we talk about [Palestine], we are getting arrested. These protesters are getting carted off to jail…People are getting fired for talking about this. Celebrities, what’s happening to you? You losing a couple of sponsorships but you still get that movie deal. I doubt you're losing views as to where you're going to be destitute and not have another job. But we, as regular people, are. We are putting more on the line than you. So yeah, you gonna have to get catch the smoke.”

The blade falls down

It remains to be seen whether this movement will be successful. Most boycotts do not work, even when they are very targeted and do everything the "correct way." Some believe that algorithms and marketing teams are too adaptable for this type of action to work anymore (see user thisisharlie's criticism on this matter). Others have commented that this feels performative. As user Chrisitan Divyne remarked:

“To me, it feels a little, ‘where’s your black square?’ It feels a little superficial. The hallmark of any good protest or boycott is a direct and specific goal…[while here] we’re blocking and unfollowing any influencer who isn’t using their platform to talk about Gaza, wide net, unclear aim.”

There will always be those who remain skeptical of an action at the moment, and that’s healthy. We should never uncritically accept a type of action because others say it’s "the right thing to do." Our time and attention are being pulled in many directions, and it’s worth debating the intentions of those asking for our time, even from allegedly good people.

However, as the genocide in Gaza continues and our culture of rampant inequality exacerbates, it is worth noting that the anger people are feeling right now is warranted. Things are indeed f@cked.

If the elites are worried about a digital guillotine, they should be afraid of what else remains on the horizon if these calls go unlistened to yet again.