Should Celebrities be on Substack?
and some updates
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Dearest Readers,
You may have noticed that I haven’t put out another issue of “This week’s Rage & Softness” since early April. To be honest, I have been too exhausted to do it. I have also felt like it’s maybe not what people want. I’m tired of trying to think of what might make people pay to support my work here (and on Instagram). I’m tired of feeling sadness when I see my paid subscriber number drop yet again. Substack is social media lite and it’s making me think I should leave.
I fit into an odd space, because I do have a platform—on Instagram. My current following is 226K. What people don’t understand is that this does not equate to money or subscribers on Substack (or any email list). I created this newsletter in January of 2020. I know people who created their newsletters later than me who have amassed hundreds of paid subscribers. I have been trying to get to 100 paid subscribers for 5 years. I do not have a readership. I have an audience and they’re on Instagram—an audience I’ve built up since 2013. And with the increasingly unforgiving algorithm, less and less of my following sees my posts.
With the influx of celebrities coming to Substack and charging for their content, I’m becoming frustrated, angry, and annoyed. Glennon Doyle, specifically, was “pushed off” Substack because of backlash due to her offering a paid subscription. Within minutes of being on this platform, she was already a “Substack Bestseller.” Doyle came with an enormous email list, which obviously helped her achieve this. It’s interesting that a month or so ago Doyle said she was divesting from Instagram. She then asked her following to sign up for her newsletter—the one on her website. And now, she joins Substack. Perhaps that was the plan all along?
Doyle seems like a nice person. She is also someone who has “made it.” This doesn’t make her “bad” or “wrong,” but I have very little in common with someone who lives in 6.5 million dollar home. I also struggle to understand the need/desire to charge for writing when you’re rich and have countless opportunities available to you. Why not offer a free newsletter?
I believe people should get paid for their work. I also believe that celebrity writers take up a lot of space and when folks have to decide between paying for a celebrity’s Substack versus mine (or anyone else’s who isn’t a celebrity), it kind of sucks.
People can’t afford food right now, so if they’re going to pay for a Substack subscription, it’s pretty rad, and I wish that money would go back to writers who haven’t “made it”; to writers who seriously need the money.
of sums up my thoughts well:
My issue with her [Glennon Doyle] and other celebrity writers/actors/etc showing up on Substack is akin to my issue with Target/Walmart/Amazon eliminating small independent shops by their very existence. These people already have HUGE platforms that people throw money at. They've earned it, and I don't begrudge them their success. And yet they seem compelled to come to Substack and ask people for even more money via paid subscriptions while small time creators are struggling to get eyes on their own work. So while we work diligently to be compensated for our writing while working other jobs and hoping to get some paid subscriptions and new readers, Glennon and her ilk come in like cruise ships amongst the lovely little sailboats and say, ‘Hi Substack readers! I know you've got limited time and resources to spend here, but instead of spending those on unknowns, come and give them to ME!’ It feels like colonization and greed to me.
Not all of this is Doyle’s fault, of course. It’s a problem of celebrity and capitalism. Her fault lies in not reading the room. That being said, there are a lot of celebrity/rich people writing on Substack. Doyle is not the first nor the last. People’s vitriol should not be solely on her.
I’ve read a variety of “takes” from writers on here about this recent brouhaha, and I’m cringing hard at all of the “pick me” energy essays about how she “belongs” on Substack. This is, of course, mostly coming from white women. I don’t think we should be stanning rich white women, or white women, in general (I say this as a white woman).
People have said that Doyle was chastised for breaking the “social norm” of turning on paid subscriptions right away (for the record: this isn’t actually a social norm). People have said Doyle was attacked like all women are who break “norms.” Other takes call out “supposed feminists” for their “attacking” of Doyle. There are people who are pearl-clutching because someone with “feminist” in their bio would deign to critique Doyle’s move to Substack. These people are the type of believe that feminism is “supporting all women all the time.” Other takes from white women are defending Doyle as if they know her personally. These people are obsessed with the idea of any proximity to celebrity and wealth. It feels like they’re hoping to be asked on Doyle’s podcast, which will catapult them into fame and fortune.
We need to have these conversations, specifically we need to have them intracommunally—as white women. I’ve read various takes from white men about this whole debacle, and much of it is laced with misogyny and sexism.
What white women are missing in their long-winded “girl boss” essays is any discussion or critique of capitalism and celebrity.
I do think Doyle does a great job of platforming folks who aren’t rich & famous. She has given her virtual spaces to a variety of people over the years, specifically her podcast.
What can get murky is, if everyone should get paid for their work—their writing—is there a moment where this should stop if someone has accrued a specific amount of wealth? In my opinion, yes. If you are a one-percenter; if you have more than you need to live, why ask for more? I’m not saying do everything for free, but do you really need to charge for a newsletter?
Doyle is not Enya rich. She’s not living in a castle sitting on top of her $150 million. She does appear to live well and the professional opportunities keep rolling in. Yes, she has “earned” this, but others have, too, right? And when we talk about “earning,” we have to also talk about the privilege in attaining success and getting noticed. Again, this is not a fault of Doyle’s. White women (specifically white women who are deemed conventionally attractive) are given more opportunities than Black women, Indigenous women, and any other women of color. It is not inherently “bad” for white women to be platformed, but it’s bad that we are the ones most often platformed with seemingly unending opportunities.
The United States is a country with extreme wealth disparity and that’s not going to be abolished overnight, but we need to continue talking about it. The truth is, there isn’t enough for everyone—not in the way that our society is currently structured.
Is it wrong to attack a single person for this when other famous writers are also doing it? Yes, of course. I think that many people who are critiquing Doyle expected better of her and feel immense disappointment, which is why there is such tremendous backlash. I think many people thought she was a bit more conscious about privilege, about wealth, about celebrity. To those people I say: I hope you learned to not place anyone on a pedestal—they will inevitably fall.
And really, what we all should probably be doing is divesting from these online spaces; these social media lite venues. I’m feeling more and more that a newsletter built into a website is the way to go. Platforms like Substack take too much and don’t give it back.
10 Things I’ve liked this week:
new song from Fiona Apple:
cardinals, always
acupuncture (and learning I have a tight/stiff diaphragm and need to do more twists!
kitties
Strawberry Shortcake record from my guy (I heard talking about this and was talking to my partner about it, and then he got it for me!) Strawberry Shortcake goes to the “Big Apple.” She also raps on my favorite song, which is succinctly titled “Strawberry Rap.” Her voice is both creepy and cute.
Texts from Momma:
This essay on why sexuality is work by Silvia Federici.
This sticker:
a magazine I really respect asked to include the intro to my book in their next issue!
The “Unrest” documentary, which is about people living with ME/CFS.
