Robert Downey Jr. has pushed back against the idea that social media influencers will become the 'stars of the future.' Speaking on the 'Conversations for our Daughters' podcast, the 'Iron Man' actor said he does not reject online fame outright, but he questioned the belief that influence alone can replace craft, work, and real output.
Robert Downey Jr. questions influencer culture
According to the podcast, Downey said, 'Nowadays people can create celebrity without ever doing much besides rolling a phone on themselves.' He added, 'I don't look at that as a negative thing. I just look at it as more like the challenge for individuation is being upped.' The Oscar winner expressed hope that young people will look beyond attention-driven online fame. 'Hopefully the [larger] part of the youth of – let's just call it America for locality's sake – is gonna say, “Yeah, but that's not my thing. I want to go do something, I'm going to make something, I want to build something, I want to educate myself and I want to have more inputs, so whatever my output is, it isn't just a self-aggrandizing kind of influencer-type thing,”' he said.
Downey was blunt when asked about influencers being called the next generation of stars. 'When I hear people talk about, “Oh, the stars of the future are going to be influencers,” I go, “I don't know what world you're living in, but I think that that is absolute horseshit,”' he stated.
Robert Downey Jr. on social media and 'Avengers: Doomsday'
Downey also spoke about his 14-year-old son getting drawn into influencer culture. '[My 14-year-old son] kinda got caught up in this whole influencer thing, and next thing you know, it's like, “Hey, if you like the way I'm playing this video game, do you wanna send me a donation?” And really, it becomes a religion,' he said. He compared some influencers to 'the Evangelical hucksters of the information age,' but also acknowledged that he has met influencers during film promotions and found 'many of them grounded, accomplished, cool people.'
Downey, who has 58.1 million followers on Instagram thanks to his Marvel run as Tony Stark, will return to the MCU as Doctor Doom in 'Avengers: Doomsday,' releasing in theaters on December 18.
