It is no overstatement to say that 2020 has been one of the most confusing and difficult years of many people’s lives. The lockdowns which have been imposed in countries across the world have been instrumental in culling the spread of the Coronavirus, however following the rules have not been easy for many. Why is it then, that so many celebrities view themselves as above the law, and have been seen openly flouting the rules, whilst many ordinary people are instead worrying if they will make enough to cover their rent next month?

Despite the fact that some of the lockdown guidelines in the UK have been complicated, celebrities such as Rita Ora and Kay Burley have deliberately chosen to disregard the rules. Ora has been one of the most critiqued celebrities for breaking lockdown, after she flew to Egypt to perform at a corporate event, and did not quarantine upon her return to England. In the time that she was supposed to be quarantining, she instead held a 30th birthday party in London. It is unknown exactly how many people attended, however it was far more than the 6 permitted, and it is certain that they were not from the same household, with the party boasting other celebrity guests such as Cara and Poppy Delevingne. Although Ora has since apologised via social media, and offered to pay a £10,000 fine, the influence which she has as a public figure sets a very poor example for her followers, as it suggests that she views herself as above the law owing to her celebrity status. 

Another celebrity who has been exposed breaking lockdown is from a very different sphere, however the actions of Kay Burley are no less important, as she is perhaps influential to a different age bracket of the public. The Sky news presenter went for dinner in London with 9 friends in order to celebrate her 60th birthday, then entering a second establishment in order to use the bathroom. Burley later apologised for ‘inadvertently breaking the rules’ (apologising for using the bathroom in the second restaurant, but completely omitting the fact that she broke the rules by hosting the gathering in the first place). Although there should certainly be an aspect of responsibility placed on the restaurants which allowed the rule breaches to occur, the blame ultimately lies with Burley, and her actions have led to a six-month suspension from Sky. 

Across the pond, it appears that celebrities have been just as reluctant to follow the rules. Even though the USA is currently reporting over 200,000 new COVID-19 cases per day, figures such as Kim Kardashian, Kendall Jenner and Justin Bieber have all been caught breaking lockdown, and posting about it across social media. Kendall Jenner has been criticised for breaking the rules more than once, often alongside sister Kylie, after she not only attended a party thrown by Bieber in August, but then proceeded to throw her own 25th birthday party in November. She imposed a ‘no social media’ rule for the guests (which, unsurprisingly, was not complied with), which shows that she was perfectly aware that her actions were highly immoral, however she chose to proceed with the celebrations anyway. 

No celebrity seems to be quite as obnoxious about breaking the lockdown rules as Kim Kardashian, who flew friends to a private island in order to celebrate her 40th birthday. She claimed that all those who were included in the trip quarantined for a full 2 weeks beforehand, and were also tested for COVID-19, but this does not make her actions any more acceptable. She tweeted that she appreciated the opportunity to ‘pretend things were normal for a brief moment in time,’ a comment which was highly criticised for Kardashian’s lack of empathy and understanding of her own privilege. Musician Peter Frampton replied to the tweet, branding Kardashian ‘insensitive’ and pointing out that ‘People are going to food banks not private islands.’ Kardashian’s tweet has since been reimagined into a viral meme, but the seriousness of her actions, and the actions of those who attended the island, cannot be overlooked. 

It is interesting that the majority of celebrity lockdown breaches have been for birthday parties, something which is completely non-essential and has been entirely impossible for most of the world this year, giving the impression that celebs view themselves as detached from the struggles of the common man. The backlash which they have faced shows the fact that we are beginning to hold celebrities more accountable for their actions, especially as they have impressionable and often young fans who look to them as role models. To remain in the public eye as positive figures, the behaviour of these figures needs to improve greatly, and many of them need to learn to understand their own privilege. Perhaps Lorraine Kelly said it best on The Last Leg, telling celebrities who broke lockdown to ‘Go f*** yourselves.’

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