As more people are finding fame, notoriety and lucrative careers through “content” creation on platforms like Instagram and YouTube, the idea of what fame is — and who gets to be famous — has drastically shifted.
Particularly stars who ― unlike Gen Z celebs, including Billie Eilish, Lil Nas X or Timothée Chalamet, who grew up with social media and understand it more intuitively ― are pivoting to influencer-ship after creating more traditional, more remote personas.
Unlike so many of the celebs who are flailing as they try to produce relatable content during this pandemic, he has mastered his online persona as effectively as he mastered his “Will Smith: Movie Star” persona during the height of his acting career in the 1990s and 2000s.
In 2016, Forbes put Smith number two on its list of most-overpaid actors ― recent movies like “Concussion” and “Focus” had cost millions of dollars but failed to make decent returns, especially for a big star.
But for every Will Smith or Cardi B. (a little messy but endlessly entertaining on social media, where she initially became popular), there’s an Ellen DeGeneres complaining about how quarantine is like prison from her LA mansion.
