Celebrities & Their First Amendment Rights

The right to free speech is a key part of our nation’s foundation.

But what happens when that speech does not align with the personal views and opinions of the majority of the public?  More importantly, what happens when the person expressing those views is smack dab in the center of the public eye?

Recently, there has been an influx of cases in which celebrities have been ridiculed for expressing their personal beliefs, both publicly and behind closed doors.  Following public outrage, many of these celebrities were suspended from their respective roles and positions.

Celebrity foot-in-mouth Incidents

There have been a number of notable cases in which celebrities have been hoisted from their roles following opinionated comments.  Phil Robertson, star of the show Duck Dynasty, was suspended from the reality TV show after making a series of homophobic and bigoted remarks which were eventually published in GQ magazine.

Was Robinson entitled to express his own views?  He was—but he was not entitled to keeping his job after doing so.  Since Robinson’s remarks could have proved costly to the network by which he was employed—A&E—they retained the right to suspend him from the show indefinitely.

The fact of the matter is that the reality-programming trend of recent years has made stars from out of the ordinary, average-Joes.  Thus, does it really comes as a shock when these ‘authentic’ people express opinions and values that fail to fit the mold that their networks attempt to create?

The Food Network was faced with a similar predicament when show host and celebrity chef, Paula Deen, was reported to have used racial slurs.  The remarks were brought to light after one of Deen’s former employees filed a complaint against her for the behavior, leading to a discrimination lawsuit that was eventually dismissed by a federal judge after a settlement between the parties was reached.  The settlement, however, was not enough to save Deen’s Food Network career.  She was dropped from the network immediately after the expiration of her contract.

More and more often, celebrities are receiving hits to their income and financial future as a result of things voiced in public. As a result, many stars, in both the sports and entertainment industries, have begun using spokespersons in order to prevent themselves from being held accountable for anything they say—that could so easily be ill perceived.