Celebrity Crises and Conflicts

Exploring Scandal, Failure and Misconduct
1. Auflage 2026
ISBN: 978-1-041-37146-5
Verlag: Taylor & Francis Ltd

Buch, Englisch, 136 Seiten, Format (B × H): 174 mm x 246 mm

Fame is fickle, as conventional wisdom has it, but in current times, celebrity seems to be in crisis more than ever. Sexual abuse scandals and the #MeToo movement have rocked the foundations of celebrity culture; media and AI developments have questioned the nature of the 'star' as a human figure; various forms of societal, cultural, and political polarisation have put celebrities under increased public pressure; and more and more famous figures are opening up about their mental health crises and the negative effects of fame, such as burnout, anxiety, the impact of hate speech, body-shaming, or performance pressure.

This edited collection explores how such moments of crisis—scandals, reputational breakdowns, public controversies, and conflicts—shape the contemporary dynamics of celebrity culture. Bringing together interdisciplinary perspectives from media studies, cultural studies, and sociology, the contributions examine a wide range of cases, from high-profile public scandals to the affective politics of celebrity failure and reputational repair. This book highlights how celebrity figures become focal points for broader social debates about gender, class, race, morality, and authenticity, offering critical insights into the mechanisms of fame, the politics of visibility, and the cultural work performed by celebrity scandals in the digital age.

This volume will be of great interest to postgraduate students, researchers, and academics in media and cultural studies, sociology, communication studies, and celebrity studies as well as anyone interested in understanding the complex relationship between fame, power, and contemporary culture. It was originally published as a special issue of Celebrity Studies.

Zielgruppe

General, Postgraduate, and Undergraduate Advanced

Autoren/Hrsg.

Franssen, Gaston

Leppert, Alice

Meyers, Erin A.

Fachgebiete

• Interdisziplinäres Wissenschaften Wissenschaft und Gesellschaft | Kulturwissenschaften Populärkultur
• Geisteswissenschaften Kunst Kunstgeschichte Kunstgeschichte: 20./21. Jahrhundert Pop Art, Minimalismus
• Sozialwissenschaften Soziologie | Soziale Arbeit Spezielle Soziologie Freizeitsoziologie, Konsumsoziologie, Alltagssoziologie, Populärkultur

Inhaltsverzeichnis

1. Celebrity crises and conflicts: Introduction 2. Crisis, conflict and the affective politics of celebrity failure: Britney Spears, Meghan Markle and the spectacle of (misplaced) feminine fame 3. Exposing Russell Brand: navigating allegations of sexual misconduct and appealing to the manosphere 4. ‘Somehow, Iger returned’: brand fandom, cultural intermediaries and the contested authorship of Disney’s celebrity CEOs 5. ‘Losing 640 million RMB with one finger’: Bai Baihe’s career crisis and the politicised star system in Xi’s era 6. ‘Artistic genius’: celebrity auteur-directors after #MeToo between Hollywood and Central Eastern Europe 7. ‘Bad vibes, forever?’: intersectionality, severity hedging and philanthropic redemption in the XXXTentacion fan community 8. Crisis and capitalism: discourses of British royal celebrity in the 21st century

Über Autor(innen)

Gaston Franssen is Professor of Dutch Literary Studies and Intermediality at the University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

Erin A. Meyers is Professor of Communication at Oakland University, USA.

Alice Leppert is Associate Professor of Media and Communication Studies at Ursinus College, USA.