With social media apps becoming the new norm, it’s the latest way for people to keep in contact with each other and even discover new people. With these discoveries can come great success, such as TikTok influencers who make a living off making simple videos. However, this makes it much easier for people to be exposed to hate. Is the internet reading too much into every move made by prominent figures or is the hate justified?
Recently, pop icon Taylor Swift can be used as an example, as she’s been in the hot seat for the way she acts with other celebrities, or even in general. Since November 2025 to now, people have posted clips of Taylor interacting with other celebrities, shaming her behavior.
The backlash Taylor has been receiving has been over numerous moments, even going as far back as the 2024 Grammy’s. During the 2024 Grammys, songwriter Jack Antanoff won the “Best Producer” award. As the camera was focused on him, Taylor, who was sitting next to him, began to rub his head like one would to a child and pushed him around, causing a scene.
An account on TikTok under the user “miiike_jonesss” with a certification in philosophy and expertise in narcissistic behavior studies Taylor during this moment. He claims she was diverting attention to herself and points out how her behavior is directly correlated with a narcissistic personality.
While people seemed to think Mike was reading too much into Taylor’s actions, others believe that his commentary was enlightening and shed light on a new issue that they should be aware of. Can this go to show people are too particular with the way people want celebrities to live their lives?
In another instance, during the 2025 Grammys Taylor similarly received backlash because of her behavior with Sabrina Carpenter, a recently emerging singer in the pop scene.
As Sabrina is speaking to actress Margaret Qualley, Taylor Swift interrupts the conversation to mention Sabrina only won “1 and a half” Grammys instead of the 2 she won earlier that night, evidently discrediting her work. While she says this, Sabrina and Margaret barely acknowledge her remarks, focusing on their earlier conversation.
While people defended Taylor claiming she was just making a lighthearted joke, it seemed that more people were piling onto the hate train. However, is this criticism going too far? There’s a familiar pattern with the media being too comfortable with harshly attacking celebrities, sometimes even resulting in harmful consequences.
More often than not users on the internet practice their freedom of speech in the form of hate, which can be more severe than people think. A prime example of this is Britney Spears in what many consider the “peak of her career” in late 2007-early 2008. Being known as the “Princess of Pop” all eyes were on Britney, especially during this time where her every move was constantly surveilled and pulled apart by the media.
Being a public figure with so much influence only means more people are waiting for you to mess up. Today, people don’t realize the real problems celebrities face and the dangers it can have on their mental health. Social media treats these icons as an idea instead of the people they are beneath the surface.
In 2008 Britney faced multiple psychiatric holds against her will, even resulting in her losing custody of her 2 sons due to her erratic behavior in the public eye, her alcohol problem, and constant drug abuse. On top of this, she had to deal with a court-ordered conservatorship, where she lost all autonomy. This meant her father, Jamie Spears, was able to take control of her finances and personal affairs.
While dealing with all this, she still received constant hate where she was judged for her life decisions and even her body image, which only made matters worse for Britney’s mental health.
Britney’s behavior during this time can only go to show how being in the spotlight can affect these public figures mentally from all the criticism and hate they receive, without people thinking twice about what they say and the damaging effects they can have on these celebrities.
In South Korea this has also proved to be a serious issue. Korean idols deal with a cruel industry where their every interaction is being studied and criticized. However, with this industry being more brutal than in the United States, the consequences are also a lot more critical.
Former K-pop member and actress, Sulli, faced intense cyberbullying and misogynistic comments over her public advocacy for women’s rights and body positivity, going against South Korea’s conservative norms. With Sulli going against a toxic fandom that challenged their ideals, this drew a great deal of hate to herself, leading her to suicide in 2019 at only 25 years old.
She was found unresponsive in her home, after she would not respond to her manager’s calls. However, this wasn’t considered too much of a shock with police stating that she was severely depressed before this.
With all this in mind, this begs the question: Are people today too comfortable with being hateful? People seem to forget that behind every influencer persona lies a real person with feelings behind the screen. Are celebrities today really as bad as they’re said to be or have they fallen victim to the media’s hateful ideals?
Written by Melany Gomez, Staff Writer