Should we hold celebrities accountable?

[john_galt]

Not many people are willing to argue that Gadaffi (or however you want to spell it) is a murdering bastard. He has killed his own people for years and occasionally came out of his hole to kill Americans (Canadians, Brits, Scots, French, etc). Some celebrities have made a nice piece of change going to Libya or thereabouts to entertain this scum and his family; Beyonce', Usher, Nelly Furtado, Mariah Carey, Jay-Z, etc. There have been other lesser celebrities over the years. Remembering people have castigated the Bush family because Proctor Bush did business in Germany during the Nazi era, ditto IBM, and some others.
Should any celebrity be condemned and shunned by the entertainment business (think Sean Penn, Danny Glover, et. al.)?

[Longermonger]

Who was Proctor [sic] Bush and what songs did he sing?

Or is this a thread about comparing war profiteers to entertainers?

I really don't know much about those artists performing in Libya. Did they give a PUBLIC performance or a PRIVATE performance just for the Colonel? (I look forward to your argument that there is no difference between public and private...so I can quote you in the Wisconsin thread.)

[john_galt]

I was thinking about the nephew but the old man was George Prescott Bush and he did business with companies in Germany during the Nazi era before the US was at war with Germany. However, his actions has been the basis of attacks on the Bush family in general. You know, the sins of the fathers...

Using the same example; what if Carole Lombard had given a private performance to Hitler or Stalin after we were well aware of what they were? For performances for dictators it doesn't matter... never mind. I just want to see what kind of tortured logic Longer is going to try since I can't see any connection between Libya and Wisconsin. Maybe only the town fool can see it.

[lacrew_2000]

Most celebrities are too stupid to know better. They weren't born stupid; but, something about being a celebrity seems to cause the average person to regress to the intelligence and emotional level of a third grader. (BTW, I don't claim that I would be immune to it myself).

But who would 'make them pay'? Look at the celebrities you listed - do you honestly believe their average fan knew who Gadaffi was a few weeks ago? We live in a society that forgets history almost instantly.

I'm a little more concerned that large banks such as Citi, J.P. Morgan, and others have been doing business with Gadaffi....and BP's presence there is a little shocking. Gadaffi's Libya is a giant organized crime operation, complete with protection schemes and murder for hire. In any western society, Gadaffi would either be in a mental hospital, or prison cell...yet these western companies did business with him? They aren't just stupid like Usher, they knew exactly what they were doing.

[catnipdipper]

No Escort or Call Girl had to give their money back from Spitzer, Vitter or the myriad of others.

I think they entertained for the children of Qadaffi while in the Carribean or something like that. Not in Libya to my knowledge.

I want agents on the ground finding the Lockerbie bomber and smuggling him out!

[lacrew_2000]

Nelly Furtado has just announced that she will give $1 million to charity, to offset the $1 million she made singing for the Gadaffis.

I'm sure more will follow, with other celebrities.

[guest010313]

There is no way to hold them accountable. If people can forget the pictures of Rhianna's face after Chris Brown beat her up just a couple of years later, why do you think a single person in this country is going to stop listening to their favorite artist after this? Libya is "not here" therefore unworthy of notice. I'm not quite old enough to have a working memory of Gaddafi prior to the riots but even so, if you reference him I know to think "not good."

All the charitable donations won't change the fact that when offered TONS of money to be performing seals most celebrities will happily start balancing balls.

[Philhelm]

It's not like they were purchasing uranium from the Libyans (Great Scott!). They made a legal business transaction, which is their right to do. Having said that, I don't have much respect for the celebrity culture. Most of them seem to be buffoons, unless it's a marketing ploy (Apparently dumb is the new sexy).

I would be loathe to have the state interfere in such a matter; however, if market forces were to dictate the demise of their careers, then so be it.

[KCJoe]

Accountable for what? Making money? Are you against free enterprise? The capitalist system we have here in this country? If they broke no laws, what are they accountable for? Better you worry about politicians who knowingly break laws in order to further their political agenda than a bunch of celebrities who have no morals when it comes to who pays their fee.

[Longermonger]

I just stopped by to check on this thread. The OP
got pwned already, so there's not much to ad.