The rapper Kanye West made a serious mistake when he stated that if slavery for Blacks lasted for 400 years then it must have been by choice. Slavery a choice? Yes, he really said that. Of course, there was a quick and extensive reaction and he issued an apology. But, this highlights the phenomenon of pop stars and movie stars who believe their name recognition gives them the right to sound off on all sorts of cultural and political issues, about which they are ignorant.
Another case in point is Natalie Portman, the Israeli-American actress who has starred in many movies. She was to have been given the Israel Prize, a very prestigious and valuable award. She had accepted the nomination, but then withdrew her acceptance wen she found that PM Netanyahu was going to speak at the award ceremony. She said she did not want her presence to be considered as an endorsement of his views and policies. Now let me ask you, would you think that if she got the award and he spoke that that was in fact an endorsement by her of his policies. Nonsense. The real reason she with drew is because her friends in the Hollywood left are anti-Netanyahu (and even anti-Israel) and it would have hurt her chances of getting further parts and support in Hollywood if she had appeared on the same stage as Netanyahu.
We give far too much attention to the uninformed and irrelevant opinions of actors, actresses and popstars. Who cares what they think about the state of the economy, the issue of gun control and the Middle East situation. As far as I am concerned Natalie Portman crossed the line and she doesn’t deserve the Israel Prize and she should stick to trying to act.
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