(Yipee! I’ve sold some books! Four copies of FORGET THE FOREPLAY yesterday to be precise. Ohhhh. Just four copies in spite of almost a thousand people visiting the site yesterday. So, I don’t think I’m ever going to get to the 50 I was hoping for. Still, I might as well struggle on for another few days in case some of those thousand people suddenly find they really can afford a few pounds after all. Though this seems unlikely. I didn’t realise that so many of my readers were so financially squeezed)
Nowadays, tragedies seem to attract celebs like a huge pile of fresh steaming cow dung attracts starving flies. No sooner had we heard about the dreadful Grenfell Tower fire than various singers and celebs and suchlike quickly rushed to the scene to supposedly “comfort” survivors and, conveniently, get their pictures and opinions splashed all over the press and TV.
But (in my humble opinion) perhaps, nobody has shown a greater ability to exploit the shallow superficiality and narcissistic emoting of the snowflake generation than the wonderfully wealthy ‘Sir’ Simon Cowell.
When we heard about the fire, Cowell’s PR people quickly got in touch with the sycophantic, brown-nosing media to announce that generous ‘Sir’ Simon would be raising about £5m for the unfortunate victims. So, let’s just consider for a moment the two main ways generous ‘Sir’ Simon might raise that money:
1. Use his own fortune
According to Google, ‘Sir’ Simon is worth about £325m and earns over £70m a year. So, if he really wanted to help the Grenfell Tower victims, he could have just quietly and anonymously donated £5m or £10m or even £20m and it wouldn’t have made even the slightest dent in his fortune. In fact, assuming he pays a little tax, he could have actually set his donation against tax and it would hardly have cost him anything.
2. Use the tragedy to make more money
The second option would be by getting a bunch of his karaoke singers to make a record in support of the Grenfell Tower victims. Then hundreds of thousands of shallow, superficial, selfie-taking, me-me-me, emoting snowflakes could buy the song and feel they were contributing to help the fire victims.
This approach would have several benefits – for ‘Sir’ Simon, of course. Firstly, ‘Sir’ Simon wouldn’t have to part with a penny of his own money mountain – it would be shallow snowflakes’ money that went to the victims. Secondly, it would get Cowell and his karaoke warblers massive media publicity for his and their supposed “generosity”. Thirdly, it would help sales of future records by Cowell’s karaoke warblers making him and them lots more money. And fourthly, it would probably lead to him getting a knighthood or some other gong for his “services to charity”.
Conclusion
Given this, it’s not too difficult to guess which approach ‘Sir’ Simon has chosen to demonstrate his “generosity“. Apparently, the great record will be on sale from Monday!
Meanwhile, Sir Andy Murray also seems to have jumped on the Grenfell Tower bandwagon. He has (or rather his PR people have?) promised to give all his “winnings” from the Queens Club tennis tournament to the Grenfell Tower victims. Had Sir Andy won Queens, as he has done five times in the past, that would have raised £350,000 for the fire victims. So, quite a generous offer. Unfortunately an off-form Sir Andy got knocked out in straight sets in the first round of Queens yesterday by a substitute player who only found out he would be playing a couple of hours before the match due to the scheduled player dropping out through injury. So Sir Andy’s “winnings” are going to be slightly more modest than the widely-publicised £350,000. Well, actually a lot more modest! About £12,000, I think.
Little nowadays smells quite as bad as the extremely wealthy using other people’s tragedies to further their own careers and increase their own wealth.
So ‘Sir’ Simon and Sir Andy and Dame Lily Allen and others of your ilk, next time there’s a tragedy, give anonymously if you want. You can afford it.
Otherwise STFU!!!!
I agree with the premise of your article the trend of celebrity’s exploiting such events. However it says on today’s Metro on line Cowell is donating 100 million of his own money.
Sorry mate, but you’ve got your numbers a bit confused. Cowell is donating just £100,000 of his own money – NOT £100m!!! Moreover, he could have done this anonymously. But he wanted the PR because it’s just more self-promotion and will help sell his ‘charity record’.
And don’t worry, Cowell will earn millions from increased sales of his karaoke warblers’ records in the future. I’m sorry that someone like you gets taken in so easily!!!
sorry – you are correct. And as you say he will recoup and make vastly more via this.
Cant disagree with the article in any way at all.
These days, its all about self promotion, hijacking a cause to get yer ugly lefty mugs plastered all over the shop. You can almost see Cowhead Cowell elbowing the victims out the way for his own pus filled face to get prominence.
Not a very altruistic guy is he?
100k? Chicken shit money cowhead, cmon, dig a little deeper, get Sting and Lily allen in there as well if thers room for their egos on screen.
Whatever happened to the days where people would just donate to a cause and not expect something back?
Narrow self interest does not impress me in the slightest and neither does simon “look at me” cowell and co.
Far better to have kept out of the situation than look like an opportunistic vagina.
5 copies now 🙂