Why celebrities are a cult of capitalism

Celebrities have achieved something that everyone wants In addition to their money, Brand and Walliams used their celebrity status to exercise power over women. Brand got his break presenting TV’s Big Brother’s Big Mouth in 2004—a recap of the reality TV show where a studio audience would discuss episodes. The hugely popular Little Britain revolved around just two actors—Walliams and Matt Lucas. Crucially, both shows played with the idea of “reality”. Big Brother was supposedly about “normal people” being themselves. Little Britain, though clearly fictional, was a satirical show with different characters—the chav, the benefit scrounger, biddies from the Women’s Institute. Both shows invited audiences to relate to the people and characters on screen. Viewers were encouraged to compare their own experiences, values and opinions with those they watched.

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