Oh yes, I'm not saying they have no blame in this. They chose to be celebrities after all. But if yielding to anything fangirls want becomes the norm, they can't exactly escape it either.
I mean, talent can take you a long way, if you meet the right people, but there are also the "swim or sink" situations. Please your fans cause we need to make lots of money off them.
The industry is ruthless and celebrities with less power and prestige have to obey their agencies and fans to move forward and have a chance at a less suffocating future.
Worrying about looks is normal, especially for celebrities, but if the standards of "what looks good" were not so outrageous, then they wouldn't abuse themselves so much.
And it has nothing to do with being impressionable or not if you have no other choice or if you've grown up being brainwashed about the whole subject of "what I have to do".
And especially in the idol category, most of these kids start off very young. At ages where fame gets to their head and anything people say seems like an order from God himself.
We all accept peer pressure, but not to such a scale. Having crowds of fans and reporters commenting on your every move is not something most people are equipped to handle without help, no matter what their age.
If not brainless fangirls, the industry and other fans should make sure the person's physical and mental well being is taken care of. We don't see so many celebrity suicides and hospitalizations in other countries, do we?
Because in most countries, no celebrity is called fat for being normal, a slut because they date someone other than that guy we personally favored or ugly because they haven't had enough nose jobs done. Not to this extent.
And in other countries, an actor is asked to act and a singer to sing. They're not asked to do a million things in one day. Or freeze to death filming dramas in "Spring Collection" clothes in the dead of winter to please sponsors.
Yes, they chose this career and yes, they knew this was coming, but if they've been assured time and time again by every single person around them that things will be awesome, only to be abused like that, is that right?
No one wants to be unhealthy. But fans demand more and more and agencies demand more and more. Whether you have no choice or whether you've been conditioned to think you have no choice, it IS someone's fault.
And unfortunately, in South Korea, celebrities have very little power. At least the ones that aren't talented and strong enough to break free of their agencies and make a name for themselves, using their successful career.
Being a celebrity (actor, singer etc) is a job. Like any other job. Being physically healthy and provided for should be a basic right for every employee. They're not slaves and we shouldn't demand more than people can handle.
They're not our plaything and they're not some characters in a movie or a series. They're people. They have boundaries in what they can do and how much. Fans and agencies overstep their boundaries in these people's lives.
Just because they "chose to do it" doesn't make what agencies and fans do right. And it doesn't stand as an excuse to leave things as they are, when it's clear many people are having a hard time with it and have their rights trampled.
Anyway, the world goes round and round and we can only express our thoughts and hope that, at least sometimes, people with power will use it well. I sincerely hope the South Korean mindset on celebrities changes eventually.
They are very talented and gifted people, but too extreme as well. I think pushing people forward is good. It raises the bar. But the bar can't be raised in some issues and no one should demand that it does. Everything has a limit.
And a totally off-topic comment: I miss my unnies.
It seems we're all either busy, sick or both.
I am both, but I plan to stop the "busy" part now. Time to rest and recover, damn it! Need reeest! Go away, flu! Shoo!