Friday, December 06, 2013

That Celebrity Has No Duty to Be a Good Role Model for Your Child

I think it's funny whenever someone expresses anger at some celebrity for being a "poor role model for my children." A celebrity is under no obligation to be a good role model for anyone else's children. Insofar as a celebrity makes poor life choices, it is best to leave that celebrity free to face the harsh consequences of his own poor choices, and to let him be an example of how not to behave.

When someone says that Celebrity X "ought to be a better role model for my children," I want to say, "Why should that celebrity have to be a role model for your children at all? Here's an idea: You be the great role model for your children. I would be less worried by your child emulating that silly celebrity than by your implicit admission that your child finds that the celebrity is worthier of emulation than you are."