“I’ve recently become the father of a new baby daughter, born outside of my marriage. I plan to be a loving and supportive parent to her. I love my wife and my children, and I am doing everything I can to regain their trust and earn their forgiveness.”

When my friend sent me the Instagram post with the attached message, I originally reacted indifferently. Why do I care about some guy who cheated on his wife? Famous people do that all the time. But when I realized who posted it, I felt overwhelmingly confused.

Dave Grohl, the former drummer of Nirvana and lead singer of the Foo Fighters, has been my answer to the question “who’s your favorite celebrity” for quite a while. But after he admitted to siring an extramarital child, I thought it prudent to rethink my stance on him and celebrities in general.

Why was I so attached to Grohl? Did I want someone I could aspire to be like? Did his “down-to-earth” personality make him seem approachable? Was his music just that darn inspiring?

It could have been none or all of these things. I’m still not entirely sure. But what I am sure of is that our views on celebrities are weird and need to change. Two celebrities with cult-like status that I’d like to explore are Taylor Swift and Elon Musk.

Let’s start with Taytay. Last semester, I wrote an article on the culture surrounding her and her environmental impact. Despite the polarized reception, I stand by the things I said. Anyway, the vocal minority of her followers are weird.

People put this woman on the highest pedestal they can find. Nothing is more relatable than a billionaire who’s killing our planet, right?

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I don’t care if people like her music. Music is subjective and songs aren’t inherently violent or harmful. But why is she worshiped like a goddess when she is a mere mortal like the rest of us?

I’m fully willing to admit that I don’t “get” her. Maybe she’s got some kind of appeal that’s lost to my simple mind. I acknowledge that possibility fully. Even still, the zealotry is insane to me.

Tickets to the Eras Tour currently start at roughly $1,600. I’m not going to criticize someone for spending their money how they want. My video game collection is probably worth more than that. But it’s still worth highlighting how much the tickets cost. 

For whatever it’s worth, she’s not nearly as terrible as someone who’s killing the planet, scamming their followers and spreading misinformation.

Elon Musk is a mega weirdo. His business model includes buying or starting companies, running them into the ground and repeating the cycle. Take a look at Twitter/X if you want proof. 

His followers would drag their naked selves across broken glass to whiff his sweat. He has lied to them, scammed them and promoted misinformation as a hobby.

In the past few weeks, he has implied that he would rape Taylor Swift and support an assassination attempt on Joe Biden and/or Kamala Harris. Unacceptable actions by all accounts, yet he lost very little support.

He has released multiple vehicles that suck. Tesla seems to be trying to set a record for “car that was recalled the most.” The Cybertruck is not only super unsafe, it also looks like a PlayStation 2 car that’s still loading. In fairness, Musk could be a Grand Theft Auto villain.

There are thousands more examples. Jimmy Donaldson aka MrBeast – along with a plethora of other YouTube personalities ​​– Donald Trump, John Lennon, the Kardashians and Kanye West. Chappell Roan herself thinks her fans have been taking things too far.

My point in highlighting all of these people is that they don’t deserve to be elevated to the levels they are at. People can do good things and bad things. But ultimately, they are just that: people. 

You can like things. It’s possible to separate the art from the artist. But we need to stop revering these rich people whose music is becoming as out of touch as they are.

Ultimately, my perception of Dave Grohl’s music has changed. I still love and appreciate the Foo Fighters, but I interpret their music much differently now. 

If someone wants to listen to Taylor Swift, there is nothing stopping them. However, ignoring her shortcomings and praising her every breath is both weird and not constructive.

There’s no excuse to support Elon Musk, though. If he drops an album as good as “There Is Nothing Left To Lose,” maybe I’ll reconsider.

Tolbert can be contacted at [email protected]. Worship him as a god. His ego could use it.