Why are people blocking celebrities on social media in ‘digitine’ movement?

Following celebrities attending the Met Gala earlier this week, social media users began a “digitine” movement where they are blocking public figures who are not using their platform to speak out on social issues such as Palestine.

Model and influencer Haley Kalil sparked outrage after she attended the fashion event where she posted an “out of touch” video lip-syncing the famous Marie Antoinette quote “Let them eat cake,” while dressed up in a floral headdress and gown inspired by the last queen of France.

Due to the outrage, Kalil recently responded to all the backlash she’s received from the viral video.

“I am so, so, so sorry that I chose a sound that you guys could ever possibly feel was malicious in nature,” she said, then added how her choice had “no deeper meaning” as she uses “trending” sounds for her videos which is how she found the clip from the 2006 film Marie Antoinette.

But added she wouldn’t have used the sound if she anticipated the backlash it caused and described herself as a “normal person,” who “wasn’t elite enough to even be invited to the Met Gala”. The influencer explained she was invited to the event as a pre-Met Gala host with E! and later went home to watch the event with friends.

However, this has sparked a wider discussion on how out-of-touch celebrities are given the ongoing Israel-Gaza conflict and the cost of living crisis, with edits being created of the celebs Met Gala contrasted with harrowing scenes from Gaza, using the song ‘The Hanging Tree’ from dystopian film franchise The Hunger Games.

One of those who invited the discourse was TikToker Rae (@ladyfromtheoutside) who called for people to take part in a “digital guillotine,” a historical reference to how Marie Antoinette convicted of high treason against the French Republic and was executed by guillotine in 1793.

But rather than chopping someone’s head off, a “digital guillotine” sees people mass blocking celebrities to disrupt their influence on platforms and take away earnings from their ad revenue.

“It’s time for the people to conduct what I call a ‘digital guillotine’. A ‘Digitine’, if you will,” the TikToker explained.

“It’s time to block all the celebrities, influencers and wealthy socialites who are not using their resources to help those in dire need.”

The video has over 1.7m views, 446,000 likes, and thousands of comments from people who shared which celebrities they have blocked.

One person said: “Yup. I blocked Haylee Baylee, Tom Brady, Taylor Swift, & Kim Kardashian.”

“Did her, Taylor Swift, Selena Gomez, Tom Brady, Justin and Haley Bieber, Beyoncé, and every Jenner and Kardashian I could find,” another person wrote.

Someone else added: “French Revolution on the internet and I’m here for it.”

“Anytime a celeb comes on my fyp, instant block. Unless they’ve spoken up about Palestine,” a fourth person commented.

Another creator who has also called for people to block celebrities online is the TikToker @blockout2024 as he informed viewers that this move means they can’t earn ad revenue.

He also encouraged people to “make this a trend” by making videos sharing your celebrity block list and using the hashtag “blockout2024” to get the message out there.

This is something the creator does himself as he shares his “Honorary Blocks of the Week” which include Rihanna, Drake, Hailey Biebeer, Jimmy Fallon, The Rock, and Selena Gomez.

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