Staff report

Nine individuals were wounded and three lives were lost as a direct result of the Colorado Springs Planned Parenthood shooting on Friday morning of Nov. 27. The event shook up the nation and reignited dormant fears. It was another absolute tragedy inside our own borders. Following the news, Chrissy Teigen, model and wife to singer John Legend, resorted to Twitter to express her take on the situation. Teigen tweeted, “Every time sh*t like this happens, John and I immediately make another donation to planned parenthood.”

Teigen received a fair dose of negative backlash after the impetuous comment. One user tweeted back, “It would be wonderful if you could promote this as quickly as you promoted donating to PP (planned parenthood),” providing a link to the crowdfunding page dedicated to raising money for the family of the officer killed in the shooting, according to E! News.

The model’s response: “Oh f**k off, nothing is ever enough for you, is it? How about you donate?”

Yes, everyone has a right to have and share their own opinion, but could the thought behind and timing of the statement have been better? An even bigger yes. Personal beliefs aside, all sensitive situations, especially ones involving death, should be regarded with a certain degree of respect. Teigen showed none. Given the elevated platforms celebrities have, they should be much more cautious of what much they say and how they chose to present it to their often millions of followers.

Social media has facilitated a collision between pop culture and politics. The two worlds serve society in two different ways, and for the most part they should remain separate. Celebrities now more than ever take to Twitter and Instagram to post their support or lack thereof for candidates and other political issues. Whether it be Kim Kardashian’s selfie with Hillary Clinton, with a caption telling followers she is voting for her, or any other form of promotion, I hesitate to call it a good thing. Celebrities have an ever increasing pull on society, and with that added responsibility they should be aware of the impression they have on others.

“If Kim Kardashian thinks something, all of her followers will think the same. Her perspective influences millions of people who will vote in the next election,” said senior Max Lehr.

Pop stars have turned into figures of admiration for the younger generation, and with that, new voters could become the victims of this pop culture-political jumble. It is important to be educated on what is going on around the world and to develop your own views, which may or may not match those of your celebrity role model.

“It gets people involved and interested in the topic even if they may not have the same opinion,” said senior Miranda Lichtenstein.

I cannot deny that any level of celebrity association with a cause does lead to often needed increased attention. For example, Angelina Jolie is the Goodwill ambassador for the UN Refugee Agency and Matt Damon is the co-founder of Safe-Water charity, which works to develop clean water programs for countries, according to suggest.com.

Helping others is one thing, but commenting on a topic with very limited knowledge or understanding is another. When Kim Kardashian tells you (possibly one of her 54 million Instagram followers) to vote for her husband, Kanye West, when he runs for President in 2020, remember: 1) Who it is doing the promoting and 2) Who it is that’s being promoted. Celebrities are not necessarily the people I would call “qualified” to be advising the nation. E! News has even created a whole subpage of its website, “Pop & Politics,” to compensate for this trend. Features include, “Michelle Obama’s famous friends” and “Celebs endorse Hillary Clinton.”

Celebrities are just like everyday people in that they too have opinions and they too have the right share them. But, what you and I don’t have are millions of people analyzing everything we say and do. This is where the average individual and celebrities differ. With power comes responsibility, so all I ask is that those in positions of elevated status and influence, take the time to think before they speak; a kindergarten lesson that should never be forgotten.