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Chrissy Teigen is an overrated role model

Chrissy Teigen is an overrated role model

Sorry not sorry, but Chrissy Teigen is overrated.

For those of you who don’t know who she is, Chrissy Teigen is a famous fashion model, cook, television host, wife to singer John Legend and mother of their adorable Instagram-famous baby Luna.

Another thing to know about her: she is super overrated.

You can’t go on Buzzfeed without seeing articles or lists like “Chrissy Teigen Just Got Real About Mental Health” or “24 Chrissy Teigen Tweets About Food That Are Relatable AF” or “13 Times Chrissy Teigen Was You In A Relationship.” Go ahead, go on Buzzfeed. I made up these titles but I’m sure they, or titles eerily similar, exist somewhere on the Internet.

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Teigen is known for “getting real.” She celebrates her post-baby body and cellulite, discusses the ups and downs of her relationship with her husband, slams President Trump on the daily, writes hilarious tweets and speaks out about her struggles with alcoholism, postpartum depression, and in vitro fertilization. She does this in a very funny, but serious way that everyone feels like they can relate to.

I believe in these causes and what she stands for. But can we stop idolizing celebrities for doing things that non-celebrities do?

Marie Claire, a women’s fashion magazine, published an article online titled “Chrissy Teigen and Her Mom Just Ordered Too Much Junk Food, and It Looked Incredible.” How many people don’t do this? Don’t get the wrong idea — my mother and I don’t deserve attention for our typical Wednesday nights, but neither does Teigen.

What gets me is the self-promotion at the end of the article: “Follow Marie Claire on Facebook for the latest celeb news, beauty tips, fascinating reads, livestream video and more.” What does the article about Teigen’s junk food qualify as? It’s not “news” because nothing noteworthy or important occurred. It’s definitely not a “beauty tip” (unless you’d like to argue that the message of this article is that women shouldn’t be subject to the pressure of dieting and can indulge in fast food). I also don’t think any six sentences explaining the contents of an Instagram photo is a “fascinating read.” It obviously wasn’t a “livestream video.” What it really counts as is “more,” which is better known as “clickbait, or 30 seconds of your life you’ll never get back.”

Teigen “gets real” but she’s still a celebrity. She might preach things like body positivity, but even that is undermined by the fact that she’s still a rich model who has access to things to make herself beautiful. Real people don’t have to “get real” because that’s already what they are.

Unfortunately, I don’t think celebrities can be seen as ordinary people, despite how much we try to will them into being that. Celebrity magazines such as People or Us Weekly often feature paparazzi photos of famous people buying a watermelon at their local Trader Joe’s to prove that “Celebrities — They’re Just Like Us!” There is something inherent about fame, fortune and wealth that strips them of the ability to be everyday heroes and role models.

Here’s where that also gets complicated. Although celebrities are inherently different from non-celebrities, they are still human beings, too. The idolization of “normal” celebrities makes it impossible for us to keep in mind that they are fallible. 

While Teigen hasn’t committed any major faux pas yet, it’s very possible that she could.

Remember back in the day, when other female celebrities were at the peak of fame? What ever happened to Jennifer Lawrence or Lena Dunham?

At one point in time, they were the apple of the Internet’s eyes and we thought they could do no wrong. They spoke their minds. They were funny, relatable and feminist. Sound familiar?

Lawrence was known for being relatable in her food-eating habits and how she wasn’t a size 2, anorexic model. Dunham was also known for her body-positivity and her sex-positivity.

But, time marches on. People realized that they didn’t really contribute anything to modern feminism and could actually be quite offensive. Lawrence scolded a reporter for using his phone during a backstage press event at the 2016 Golden Globes. Later in 2016, she told a story about how she used sacred rocks for “butt-itching” while filming on location in Hawaii. Dunham once bashed NFL player Odell Beckham Jr. when he didn’t recognize her at a party. She has also made sketchy comments about abortion and Planned Parenthood.

In the blink of an eye, both Lawrence and Dunham were dethroned.

And yes, it’s probably our fault that these women have suffered these horrible falls from grace because we’ve idolized them so much to the point of infallibility.

Like I said, Teigen has not done anything to offend the public (yet). Regardless, she is the newest “It” girl. She embodies many of the same qualities as her predecessors. So, is Teigen slated to eventually suffer the same downfall? Only time will tell.

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