Nearly one year and half after the COVID-19 crisis, celebrity assassiny continues to decimate our world. The latest viral video, which captures yet another celebrity crime against a willing public, might actually be the worst.
The cast of the Cinderella movie musical chose to promote it by flash-mobbing innocent Los Angeles drivers for some strange reason. This being the world that we all know, the flash mob quickly grew beyond the chaos of LA traffic to become a social media swarm.
The viral clip features Idina Menzel, James Corden and Billy Porter dressed up in Target costumes, while Camilla Cabello, James Corden and Billy Porter perform a high-school theater-caliber rendition Jennifer Lopez's "Let's Get Loud!" on unsuspecting civilians.
You heard it right. J. was even dragged along by them. Lo was even dragged into this shambles, which I hope is grounds to issue a cease-and-desist letter. The assault on violations did not stop there. The "climax" of this horror short film is when a rat-suit-clad James Corden starts vigorously drying the air by humping it near the driver's windows.
One Twitter user, who posted the original video and presumably saw the event, had a positive takeaway. While I am happy for them, I cannot help but feel a bit of exhaustion in their response to Corden’s antics.
Everybody on Earth seems to be aware that celebrity culture, as we knew it, died sometime back in 2020 when the pandemic hit. Except for the most clueless celebrities.
These millionaires are continuing to spread their Not Reading The Room-itis to the public. We find ourselves too busy with unprecedented economic freefall, climate-related disasters and class inequality. Eviction and housing crises. Emotional trauma and burnout. And, of course, a global pandemic that has claimed millions of lives.
Jokes aside, the cringey videos of celebrities from the pandemic-era aren't doing any harm other than maybe to the public goodwill. The vitriol that antics like this elicit from so many people on the internet is one indication of a shift away from the rich and famous being seen as something to be admired, but more as an insult to everyday life.
It's obvious that celebrities are the last thing any commuter to Los Angeles requires. They likely got a ride from a personal driver to get to this intersection so they can sing about their role in another Hollywood remake. They're also interacting with strangers while doing so unmasked.
Twitter quickly reminded these stars that Kim isn't the only one dying.
Below is where a good portion of the viral spread of this clip comes from a reshare. It has since been ratio-ed to death, with over 22,000 tweets of quotes, and a comment section that reads almost like group therapy.
One man thought about the impossible question of what he would do in such a situation.
However, a number of Twitter users have already spoken out to confirm what many of us are thinking.
Some people began to share the clip with something similar to a trigger warning to avoid the blissfully unaware from witnessing what the rest cannot unsee.
Another made tragedy into an opportunity with an edit that spares Jennifer Lopez any unwilling participation by replacing "Let's Get Loud” with a more appropriate soundtrack.
Perhaps a Bible verse from the Book of Revelations might be what you need to help you get through this unimaginable horror.
There's Los Angeles slander being flung around, too. As a resident of Los Angeles, I ask you to spare the sufferings of celebrity tyranny.
A few other LA residents have put it in perspective and asked for the internet's support when they imagine us suffering not only the notoriously bad traffic but also this goddamn bullshit.
