What makes a celebrity so important to children? Why would children want to be like a person they don’t even know? Is it the way they dress or act in public? Does this person have a special talent that most average people cannot do? These role models are athletes, actors, actresses, and singers. They are seen and heard by millions through television, movies, radio, and the internet. Do they have a responsibility to their fans that admire and worship them? Yes because celebrities are role models whether they like it or not. (Lovett)

Celebrities have the spotlight on them because of their high status. They have money, fame and glory. They are not treated like normal people because they are in a different class. There popularity is worldwide, and sometimes they forget that. They forget that millions of children look up to them. Celebrities also know that they do not live average lives. They cannot walk the streets without being mobbed by fans. There name is known by millions of people around the world. They cannot be like normal people that make simple mistakes. Their mistakes affect more people, and they might not even know it. (Lovett)

Hulk Hogan was given a super hero image by World Wrestling Entertainment. His fans where mostly children, so Hogan wanted to set a good example. He would tell kids to “Train, Say your prayers, and eat your vitamins,” but in reality he was not that great. Hulk Hogan was using steroids when they were illegal. He never admitted he took steroids because he had an image to take care of. He didn’t want to destroy his character that brought joy to millions of children. He didn’t want the kids to stop believing in his character. (Hogan, Friedman) As the years went by in the wrestling business Hogan’s character was considered corny by fans. Fans enjoyed Stone Cold Steve Austin whose character was a beer drinking wrestler who beats up his boss. (Austin)

Hogan’s character was out of date, and as time went by he wasn’t as popular as he once was. The Fans in the World wrestling Entertainment liked the bad guy and hated the good guy. Times were changing and being considered “good” was not an image everybody liked. Which could explain the popularity of Marilyn Manson whose strange ways gave him a huge fan base?

Many children also look up to Kobe Bryant. Bryant had a clean image like Spear’s, but is watching his image go down because of his case. Bryant was accused of raping a 19 year old girl in Colorado. His image made him look like the perfect human being: never done drugs, hard worker, and a good family man. It was too good to be true, and many fans felt cheated because to many people Bryant was perfect. Kobe could face four years to life in jail, and doesn’t need to care about his image right now. Bryant is innocent until proven guilty of the crime he was accused of. What he is guilty of is committing adultery.

“Many kids are growing up in the world that does not welcome them or make them feel needed,” according to Karelene Faith(139) Role models can affect a child’s life in so many ways, but is it fair to put that pressure on celebrities?

Some topics in this essay:
Bryant Bryant, Strauss Oklahoma, Faith139 Role, Lovett Celebrities, Binelli Spear’s, Responsible Actions, Madonna Spears, Hulk Hogan, Hogan Manson’s, Karlene Faith, role model, responsible actions, role models, average people, set example, celebrities responsible, celebrities responsible actions, responsibility fans, image bryant, responsibility fans admire, marilyn manson, fan base, world wrestling entertainment, fans admire worship, role models lovett,