Last week in Ibiza, shit got reportedly real between Orlando Bloom and Justin Bieber. For those of you who don’t read the Metro, Bieber allegedly made a remark to Bloom (”what’s up bitch?”, ”say hi to Miranda”, ”I loved you in Lord of the Rings) about his ex-wife Miranda Kerr, who Bieber may or may not have bedded in 2012. Bloom tried to throw a punch, Bieber scuttled from whence he came, and Leonardo di Caprio led the whole of the Cipriani restaurant in a round of applause. While a blurry video of the event made the rounds on every social media channel possible, Bieber took to his own Instagram account – where he uploaded a picture of Kerr in a bikini (he later deleted it) and another of Bloom crying – and continued the fight out of harm’s way. And he’s not the first celebrity to do so. From Miley Cyrus vs. Katy Perry to One Direction vs. The Wanted, celebs have been airing their dirty laundry online since they first logged on. But where should we draw the line? When it comes to social media, where does freedom of speech end and something a little more menacing begin? And even then, just because we have the right to freedom of speech doesn’t mean we should exercise it online, and here are some reasons why.
The whole world will see it. As the old adage goes, what happens in Vegas stays offline. Break-ups, affairs, or losing a friend is hard enough as it is without the whole world watching, especially when there are children involved.
The whole world will put its spin on it. A few cryptic tweets is all it takes before the cogs of the celebrity rumour mill begin to turn. After last week’s Bloom vs. Bieber gate, the press has gone into speculation over-drive, as they try to work out what actually went down. And there’s nothing Bieber or Bloom can do about it. Because, once something is out, it’s out. It can no longer be contained or controlled, and remains at the mercy of mindless public opinion.
If you can’t walk the walk, don’t tweet the talk. There’s something very empowering about writing something from behind a screen. You feel as though you can write anything, especially things you would never say IRL. In the heat of a tweet, things can get unexpectedly nasty. And sometimes even libellous, which is what Sally Bercow, who is married to the Speaker of the House of Commons, found out last year.
There’s a word limit. No compelling argument has ever been made in just 140 characters; let alone an image, or a couple of emojis.
You tend to look like an idiot. One of the main reasons Kate Moss is still one of the most mysterious, captivating women in the world is because she eschews all types of social media. As Johnny Depp once told her, ”never complain, never explain.” Keep your dignity by channelling Kate Moss.
It can backfire. Two years ago Katherine Jenkins caused a rash of online fury when she publicly denied having an affair with David Beckham, an affair that up until that point nobody had any idea about. Not only was she chastised for what Twitterverse decided was a publicity stunt; she was also trolled for trying to upset everyone’s favourite couple HRH Posh ‘n’ Becks.
The fans get involved. Behind every Bieber there’s an army of Beliebers, for every Bad Gal there’s a Navy, and for every Queen Bey an entire Bey Hive. Fiercely loyal to their idol, fans will stop at nothing to defend the celebrities they love. Last year, when Kelly Osbourne lashed out at Lady Gaga, she received hundreds of death threats from a legion of Little Monsters. Which is when airing dirty laundry turns into cyber bullying.
It will be there forever. Just like drunken texts to your ex and gap year tattoos of your dog’s face, what may seem like a good idea at the time, invariably turns out to be quite the opposite. Thanks to the mysterious magic of cmd + shift + 4, not to mention the all-seeing eye of a trillion Beliebers, Bieber’s outburst will forever be etched into the fabric of time. Despite his attempt to delete it.
In our Post-Orwellian world of reality TV shows, Google Street View, Gmail scans, browser cookies, and magical glasses which can tell what you’ve had for lunch, just by looking at you- a world where everybody’s phone is a GPS tracker, and where you’re only ever a click of a button away, privacy is a luxury of the few. Particularly when it comes to celebrities, who are never far away from the prying lens of the paparazzi. Which is why it seems crazy that celebrities would even want to #share their dirty laundry in the first place. Call me old fashioned, but what happened to the days when simple disputes were settled behind closed doors, and then bitched about later? Such antisocial behaviour shouldn’t be tolerated on social media. After all, you are what you tweet.
Credits
Text Tish Weinstock