From Pink to Selena Gomez: This was the week pop stars lost their sense of humour

Pop music is really fucking fun. It has an innate ability over all over genres to take us to places of euphoria. At its best, it is the genre of coming together. Of sing alongs. Of eagworms that stay with you for the rest of your life. The best of its peddlers are icons of the culture – individuals as iconic as the music themselves. It’s a place of good times, even when those good times can be the saddest ballads you’ve ever heard. The point I’m trying to make here is that pop music shouldn’t take itself too seriously – so why are pop stars this week determined to wage war on the social media content that keeps them relevant? From Pink to Selena Gomez, this week the girlies are out for blood on the memes that have made us smile. Can we get a crumb of humour in here please?

Pink: The vibes stink

Since the dawn of the internet, celebrities have been called the wrong names for the sake of laughing. It’s funny. It just is. Declaring someone earnestly as their lookalike never gets old. It’s not trolling, it’s not remotely deep of any sort. When I used to be a bit bigger and had no beard, my mate used to post a pic of Lea DeLaria of Orange is the New Black when wishing me happy birthday. It’s… funny.

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Pink is an artist who has been for years compared to literally any other blonde woman with short hair. From Big Mo from Eastenders to Denise Welch, Pink finds herself getting the laughs. Earlier this year, a video of Pink doing her usual shtick of flying through the air at concerts for no reason whatsoever went viral after Twitter jokingly said it was Denise Welch surprising son Matty Healy at a 1975 gig. Denise Welch, ever the good sport, laughed her short blonde head off. This week, however, it was Pink’s birthday. Someone tagged her happy birthday but the picture was not Pink, but instead Suzy Eddie Izzard.

I’m not sure why this is the hill Pink decided to die on, but she went IN on the tweet. So much so that you’d think she’d been compared to a plate of flaming dogshit, not a picture of a trans woman who does in fairness look quite a bit like her. Pink was fuming. And it’s an ick.

Selena Gomez is seething

Joining Pink in the war against memes is Selena Gomez. The other month, The Gomez went viral for a nice little pic of her swaddled in a blanket on a porch. It was all good vibes. She even laughed along. After the VMAs on Tuesday night, a video went viral of Selena Gomez pulling a disapproving face when Chris Brown’s name was said amongst the nominees – and she was so real for it. The video started going viral, and Selena Gomez responded by saying “I will never be a meme again.”

I understand that the reasons for Selena Gomez pulling that face aren’t funny, but in this scenario, who beyond the bizarre people who call themselves Chris Brown fans are on anyone’s side but hers? She was literally in the right. I think we’d all just be better off if everyone lightened up!

Even the likes of Zara Larsson, a pop star usually on the correct side of the internet with her finger on the pulse of what her army of twinks are laughing about that week, has had a bit of a mare this week thanks to an unfortunate coincidental meeting of minds with hyper pop icon Hannah Diamond. Hannah is releasing a song called Poster Girl today, which shares aesthetics with the Zara Larsson album of the same name. Hannah Diamond and Zara Larsson are not really aware of each other, and they’ve both shaded and then apologised for the mishap in too many words that just make everyone wish they logged off.

Thank god, actually, for pop stars like Charli XCX, HAIM and Taylor Swift – who just get it. Charli XCX laughing along and saying “shout out to my gays in the writers room” after characters on Eastenders name a baby after her? Bliss. HAIM dancing around to the cursed Britney and will.i.am single Mind Your Business and captioning it, like the chronically online do, “Manjobi”? Comedy gold. And Taylor Swift getting pissed and having the time of her life at the VMAs despite being one of the most awarded and acclaimed artists ever? I love it. Real!

Pink and Selena Gomez would do well to get a crumb of humour when it comes to memes made pretty tongue in cheek about them. Take your music very seriously, but don’t take life the same way. People will love you a lot more if you all just lighten up a bit.

@harrisonjbrock

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