“I don’t think that these people always have a good idea of what they are signing,” says trademark expert Niklas Turner Olovzon.
Among the 160 who posted the call “We demand” on social media are several members of the Wahlgren-Ingrosso family, actors such as Peter Haber and Gustaf Skarsgård and writers such as Camilla Läckberg and Mian Lodalen.
Lagercrantz wrote column
Because the call focused on Israel’s attacks on Palestinian territories and did not mention the terror-labeled Hamas attack on Israel, it has been criticized by writers such as Madelaine Levy in Swedish daily newspaper and David Lagercrantz in The Express.
“Here there seemed to be easy goodness points to be won. All that was needed was an okay on the emails, and then you would get your name in the paper, and show that you were on the right side. And my God, what could go wrong? Who is not against war and suffering?”, writes Lagercrantz in his column.
Niklas Turner Olovzon works at the communication agency Passion Lab with market analyzes and brands. He says peer pressure in social media and the competition for attention and space make celebrities want to take a stand on issues they may not be rooting for in the first place.
— Celebrities don’t always keep track of what all the hashtags stand for. They see someone they trust, admire or like among their fellow celebrities and so they sign something. It will be important to position yourself by choosing the right side and quickly, he says.
“Mirror of the Ego”
The US call “No hostage left behind” chose to focus on the Israeli hostage captured by Hamas. There, celebrities such as Madonna, Jerry Seinfeld and Gal Gadot signed and the letter was heavily criticized on social media, as it did not mention anything about the situation of the Palestinians.
Many also asked: What good do celebrities’ open letters and appeals really do?
— Picking up calls left and right makes very little difference to your brand. And at the same time it makes quite little difference to society. Many positions and appeals are ineffective in practice. It just becomes a reflection of the ego, says Niklas Turner Olovzon.
At the same time, there can be a stress factor in that “everyone else” picks up on something and you feel compelled to speak out.
— In social media, things happen quickly, you can experience peer pressure that becomes very difficult to resist. It may not even be your followers that you are targeting, but you feel that you will end up outside. The celebrities want to get along well with other celebrities in the same circle.
Davidson joked
Now many people are pushing the propensity of celebrities to speak out on political issues. Comedian Pete Davidson joked about the phenomenon in his opening monologue on an episode of “Saturday Night Live” the other week:
“We’ve seen horrific images and heard vile stories from Israel and Gaza. I know what you’re thinking, who better to comment on that than Pete Davidson?”.
The joke newspaper The Onion has also published an article with the title “Celebrities sign open letter declaring that they intend to sign an open letter”.
— What you would like to call for is genuine commitment. It would be liberating with celebrities who take a stand and work long-term on an issue they are passionate about, says Niklas Turner Olovzon.