Why we should be mindful of how we respond to celebrities and mental health
Last month I wrote about how I believed that Naomi Osaka withdrawing from the French Open to protect her mental health was a sign of strength and a good example of self care (if you haven’t read it yet you can find it here) and this lead me to think about other examples of celebrities opening up about their mental health. In particular I have been thinking about how society responds to celebrities talking openly about their mental health or setting boundaries to protect themselves and unfortunately, despite all the #BeKind, we still have a long way to go in actually being kind.
I believe the #BeKind movement was sparked by the tragic suicide of Caroline Flack in February 2020 - at least that’s when I saw it flooding my social media platforms. I was reading things like “if only she had spoken out” and “help is out there, you just need to reach out if you are feeling this way”. Fast forward to earlier this year and that Oprah Winfrey interview with Harry and Meghan when the Duchess spoke very openly about her own mental health struggles. The message I was seeing was a very different one to that of February 2020. There was so much viciousness aimed at Meghan (who was also pregnant at the time). People were calling her a liar, manipulative and attention-seeking for daring to talk about her mental health yet a year before many of these same people were talking about how Caroline Flack should have spoken out.
Recently I read an article about Kendall Jenner who spoke out about how she has been made to feel that she has no right to claim poor mental health due to her privilege. As if people with lots of money are immune from mental health struggles. I think Britney Spears would disagree with this.
All of these people I have mentioned so far have one thing in common. They have all been attacked, called names or made fun of for their mental health. Even Caroline Flack, who inspired people to plaster #BeKind all over their social media platforms, was persecuted in this way while she was alive and it was only when she ended her own life that we treated her like a real person with real feelings. Why can’t we seem to do that for Naomi, Meghan and Kendall who are, thankfully, still alive and in need of a bit of kindness?
I think it’s also worth remembering that when celebrities speak out about something they are going through it raises awareness and could encourage other people to seek help. Kendall Jenner, for example, has a massive following and if by speaking out about her own struggles she gave just one of her fans the courage to reach out for help then she has potentially saved a life.
Of course, as humans, we have every right to our opinions and I’m not saying we have to like certain celebrities or even believe them. I’m also not saying that I don’t make unfair judgments about some of them myself and I’ve certainly said things that I now look back and cringe about, but I do think that it is very dangerous to pick and choose who we believe and who we don’t when it comes to mental health. One of the best tweets I saw after the Harry and Meghan interview said something like “Meghan Markle won’t read your opinions about her being a liar but your friend or family member will and it may prevent them from getting help for their own mental health struggles.” This really hit home for me and it sums up exactly why I think we need to be more mindful of how we respond when someone famous speaks about their mental health. They won’t hear/read your opinions but someone you love will.
