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It’s an easy win to pick on flamboyant Formula 1 star Lewis Hamilton. That’s probably why I enjoy it so much.
He does make it ridiculously easy for me, though. Take this week, when he decided to post a video on Instagram of him with his nephew. Slightly unusual, as he usually populates it with pictures of him looking moody and urbane with some famous models. Or effortlessly suave and moody with some famous music stars.“I’m so sad right now. Look at my nephew...” says Lewis, before turning the camera on the lad, who is wearing a fetching purple and pink outfit and waving a wand. “Why are you wearing a princess dress?” asks the fashionista multi-millionaire, who often looks like he got dressed in the dark with whatever ridiculously expensive tat he had lying around, and attended the black-tie F1 prize giving in something that looked suspiciously like his pyjamas.
“Boys don’t wear princess dresses!” says Lewis, who is usually seen wearing lots of jewellery.
“Celebrities with huge numbers of social media followers shouldn’t be judgemental, gender-shaming idiots to anyone, let alone a kid!” replied very large numbers of people. (Except they used slightly fruitier language than that.)
Perhaps Lewis, or more likely his over-worked PR team who thought they might be getting a few days off over Christmas, sensed that a titanic clanger had been dropped, and deleted the post.
It was way too late for that. A tirade of righteous indignation was unleashed, like a screaming F1 engine, in his direction. Like it or not, people - and kids - do look up to him. The argument that just because someone is famous doesn’t mean they have to set an example is utter tosh. And in this celeb’s case, he’s more than happy to tell the world how he wants to be seen as a role model when it suits him.
So your nephew wore a dress and had fun? Good for him. What he doesn’t need is a famous relative mocking him on social media. Well done, Lewis – you’re setting a great example there.
Inevitably, there were the subsequent apologetic posts on Twitter. Allow me to translate:
“I meant no harm and did not mean to offend anyone at all...” = I’ve stupidly said something bad and made a shed load of people really angry, time to try and dig myself out of this very deep hole.
“I realise it is really not acceptable... to marginalise or stereotype anyone” = I’ve been called-out for my ridiculously out-dated attitude and need to say stuff that makes me sound less like a Neanderthal.
“I have always been in support of anyone living their life exactly how they wish and I hope I can be forgiven for this lapse in judgement.” = Damn. Time to apologise and say I’m way cool with diversity and hope this all blows over.
Whatever you’re wearing, enjoy yourselves and have a wonderful New Year. See you in ‘18. (2018, not 1918, Lewis...)
This post first appeared as my "Thank grumpy it's Friday" column, in The Mai,l on the 29th of December 2017. Whilst the version used on their website retained my title, the print edition became "A dressing down for Hamilton", which is good - liking that!
I see that a tetchy Hamilton has subsequently deleted everything from his Instagram account, which some folks are saying is a pity, as we've lost the insights into the man that it provided. Another way of looking at it is that we've stopped a very rich person from posting pictures of his lavish jet-set lifestyle and celeb posturing, along with his old-fashioned opinions.
Lewis likes to portray himself as rising above the trials and tribulations of life, and that he's unaffected by what people think of him. Interesting... this looks an awful lot like a full-on sulk.
Wishing you all a very happy and prosperous 2018!
(CD A-Z: They Might Be Giants - Almanac Live 2004.)
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