I have become increasingly skeptical about the morality of the emerging generation. It’s become common to blur the lines in conversations that, in reality, should have clear and bold boundaries. This, in part, is due to our chronic online presence.

The further we get into the age of social media, the clearer it has become how dependent we are on influencers and celebrities to tell us what we think. Without even realizing it, most of our beliefs and values have begun stemming from what we hear adored public figures say.

After reading the opinion piece “What Ye’s antisemitic hate speech means for Jewish fans,” this idea of overwhelming celebrity influence was brought to my attention. How far are fans willing to go in supporting a public figure who has repeatedly been openly hateful towards a minority group? It’s easy to make the claim “just separate an artist from their music” until the artist is pointing their finger at you.

While Ye’s claims circulated the news more prominently, countless other celebrities have made similarly problematic statements. Artist Machine Gun Kelly once tweeted that he finds young girls “hot” and feels like a “creeper” for looking at them. Despite this, MGK’s album “Mainstream Sellout” reached No. 1 on Billboard’s Top 200 Album Charts in 2022.

50 Cent also took to Twitter to make homophobic comments against Perez Hilton in 2010. Despite this, and the fact that he hasn’t released an album in over a decade, his music remains incredibly popular, with several albums even recently charting in the United Kingdom.

When are we going to notice that these public figures have too much power, and we are part of the problem? We continue to feed into their stardom, allowing them to say as they please, with essentially no repercussions. When will we redraw the line that has become dangerously faint?

Savannah Geyoghlian-Mendelsohn is a third-year transfer American literature and culture student.